Matthew 6:17 tells you that when you fast, you should not make your hardship visible to others. Jesus instructs his listeners to groom themselves as they normally would, so that their private devotion stays between them and God. The words come from Jesus during the Sermon on the Mount, spoken to the crowds and his disciples who had gathered on the hillside to hear his teaching about the kingdom of heaven.
But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face…
Matthew 6:17 (WEB)
What Matthew 6:17 Means
The verse begins with “But you,” a deliberate contrast with the hypocrites Jesus has just described in verse 16. Those people made their faces look gloomy and neglected so that others would notice their piety and admire them. Jesus does not forbid fasting here. He assumes his followers will fast, and he says that when they do, they should not announce it.
The instruction to “anoint your head” and “wash your face” is an ordinary, everyday action in the ancient Near East, where oil and washing were part of normal grooming, especially for a feast or a day of gladness. Jesus is asking his disciples to look as though nothing unusual is happening on the outside. The fast is real, but it is not a performance.
The verse does not promise that fasting will bring any particular result in your circumstances, nor does it describe the rules of fasting in detail. It addresses the posture of the heart: your devotion is meant to be genuine and directed toward God rather than toward the approval of people around you.
The Context of Matthew 6:17
The Gospel of Matthew was traditionally attributed to the apostle Matthew, a former tax collector who became one of the twelve disciples, and it was written primarily for a Jewish-Christian audience familiar with Israel’s worship practices. Chapters 5 through 7 form the Sermon on the Mount, a sustained teaching on how the people of God should live, pray, give and trust.
The verses just before this one, in 6:14 and 6:15, speak about forgiveness, and the verses after it, in 6:19 and 6:20, turn to treasure stored in heaven rather than on earth. Read in that setting, the instruction about fasting is one part of a larger call to make God, not human praise, the center of your hidden life. The surrounding verses show that the reward Jesus has in mind comes from the Father who sees what is done in secret.
Key Phrases in Matthew 6:17
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)
The very next verse completes the thought of Matthew 6:17 by stating the purpose of hidden devotion: that you may be seen by your Father in secret, who will reward you openly. It shows that the goal of fasting in secret is relationship with God, not concealment for its own sake.
Isaiah 58:6
“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?
(WEB)
This Old Testament passage shows that true fasting is measured by justice and mercy toward others, not by outward ritual. It helps you understand that the quiet devotion Jesus describes is part of a longer prophetic concern for a fast that changes how you live and treat people.
A Short Prayer From Matthew 6:17
Father, you see what no one else sees. When I come to you in hunger, in grief or in longing, help me to be honest with you and not to perform for anyone else. Keep my heart pointed toward you, and let my private seeking be real. Teach me to trust that you notice every quiet act of devotion and that you will answer in your own time and way. Amen.
