“And why take ye thought for raiment?”
The full verse · Matthew 6:28 · KJV
take ye ? the of the , they ; they , do they :
Asked to
Disciples: "his disciples" (Matthew 5:1), the followers who came to Jesus on the mountain with the multitudes nearby, not limited in the text to the twelve, who are first named in Matthew 10:1-2; Jesus turns from food to clothing and tells them, "Consider the lilies of the field" (Matthew 6:28).
The Scene
Having spoken about food and the birds, Jesus turns to the other worry He named at the start, what to put on (Matthew 6:25, 28).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionJesus asks "why" so His hearers will look at the worry itself and see that it has no good reason. He had named clothing in His opening command, "nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on" (Matthew 6:25). Now He gives it its own question and points at once to the lilies, which "toil not, neither do they spin." Gill notes that Christ does not point to garden flowers, which get some help from a gardener, but to the flowers of the field, which no one tends. Barnes says they grow "with a beauty which the most splendid monarch of the East never knew." If no one dresses them but God, the question answers itself.
The Response
What Scripture recordsJesus answers His own question with a picture and an argument. "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow... And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these" (Matthew 6:28-29). If God clothes the passing grass like that, "shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" (Matthew 6:30). He then reminds them that "your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things" (Matthew 6:32).
Historical Context
The world behind the words"Raiment" translates endyma, clothing or a garment. "Take ye thought" is merimnao again, to be anxious, which is why the ESV says "why are you anxious about clothing?" "Consider" is katamathete, a command to observe.
The two things lilies do not do were the work behind every garment: "toil" (kopiao, to labor) and "spin" (making thread for cloth). Comparing a wild flower to Solomon "in all his glory" (Matthew 6:29) set the plainest thing in the field beside the splendor of Israel's famous king.
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThis question shows God as the One who clothes His creation with beauty. The lilies do no work for their beauty, yet "even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these" (Matthew 6:29). Matthew Henry says that Solomon, however finely he dressed, "comes far short of the beauty of the lilies." The text says plainly who dressed them: "God so clothe the grass of the field" (Matthew 6:30).
Jesus does not ask His hearers to stop caring about clothing at all. He asks them to see who already clothes the field and to trust that the same God "knoweth that ye have need of all these things" (Matthew 6:32).
Look Closer
What two things does Jesus say the lilies do not do?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Father, You clothe the lilies with beauty they never worked for; what worry about my needs or my appearance do You want me to bring to You?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- Why do you think worries about clothing and appearance can weigh so heavily on people?
- Share a moment when something beautiful in creation reminded you of God's care.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
When you start worrying about what you will wear or how you will afford it, take Jesus' words literally: go look at the flowers. No one sewed for them, yet God dressed them more beautifully than a king.
Your Father knows you need clothing (Matthew 6:32). You can pray honestly about real needs and do your part to provide, while refusing to let anxiety about appearance or supply run your life.
This does not make clothing unimportant or beauty wrong. God Himself clothes the lilies with beauty. The question is where your trust rests.
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Keep questioning
“Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?”
“Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?”
“If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?”
“How much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?”