Matthew 6:16 teaches that fasting is meant to be a private act of devotion between you and God, not a public performance for other people to admire. Jesus warns that those who make a show of their hunger and gloom have already received the only reward they will get, which is human attention. Jesus spoke these words in the Sermon on the Mount to the crowds and his disciples gathered on a hillside in Galilee.
“Moreover when you fast, don’t be like the hypocrites, with sad faces. For they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen by men to be fasting. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward.
Matthew 6:16 (WEB)
What Matthew 6:16 Means
Jesus begins with “when you fast,” assuming fasting is a normal part of the devout life. He is not discouraging the practice. The contrast lies in the next phrase, “don’t be like the hypocrites, with sad faces.” The word hypocrites refers to actors who wore masks on stage, and Jesus uses it for people who play a religious role for an audience. Their gloomy expressions are a costume.
The verse then says they “disfigure their faces” so others will see them fasting. That is a deliberate neglect of their appearance, a way of announcing their piety. Jesus closes with a sober observation: they “have received their reward.” The approval they wanted from people is the whole payment they will get. The verse does not promise that God will ignore a fast kept in public, but it makes clear that the motive of being seen is a poor exchange for what God offers.
The Context of Matthew 6:16
Matthew’s Gospel was written for a community of Jewish Christians and was traditionally attributed to Matthew, the former tax collector and disciple. The Sermon on the Mount, which runs through chapters 5 to 7, sets out the character of life in God’s kingdom. Jesus has just taught about giving to the needy and praying in secret, and this verse follows the same pattern. Giving, praying and fasting are the three classic practices of Jewish piety, and Jesus addresses each one with the same warning about performing them for others.
The verses that follow in verses 17 and 18 give the positive instruction. Jesus tells his listeners to anoint their heads and wash their faces so that no one notices, and to trust that the Father who sees in secret will reward them. Read alongside that, verse 16 is not a ban on fasting but a call to keep it hidden from public view. The surrounding teaching shows that the reward Jesus has in mind is the Father’s own, given to those whose hearts are turned toward him.
Key Phrases in Matthew 6:16
Matthew 6:18
So that you are not seen by men to be fasting, but by your Father who is in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.
(WEB)
This verse completes the thought by promising that the Father who sees in secret will reward you. It shows the positive side of Jesus’ warning: hidden devotion is seen and honored by God, even when no one else notices.
Isaiah 58:3-7
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ say they, ‘and you don’t see? Why have we afflicted our soul, and you don’t notice?’ “Behold, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, and oppress all your laborers. 4 Behold, you fast for strife and contention, and to strike with the fist of wickedness. You don’t fast today so as to make your voice to be heard on high. 5 Is this the fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to humble his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under himself? Will you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD? 6 “Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to release the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? 7 Isn’t it to distribute your bread to the hungry, and that you bring the poor who are cast out to your house? When you see the naked, that you cover him; and that you not hide yourself from your own flesh?
(WEB)
Isaiah rebukes people who fast while continuing to oppress their workers, and he asks what kind of fast God truly wants. The passage widens the picture, showing that genuine fasting shows up in justice and care for others, not just in the body and its appearance.
A Short Prayer From Matthew 6:16
Father, you see what no one else sees, and you know the motives behind every prayer and every hungry hour. I confess that I sometimes want to be noticed for my devotion, and I ask you to loosen that desire in me. Let my fasting, my giving and my prayers be offered to you alone. Teach me to be content with your approval and to trust that you will reward what is done in secret. Amen.
