31 “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” – Matthew 6:31-33 ESV

Like many others, this command was delivered during Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. He was letting His Hebrew audience know that, with His arrival, things were about to change. Throughout His sermon, He emphasized the Mosaic Law to accentuate the kind of righteousness God demanded from His chosen people. He had already told them He had not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it.

“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.” – Matthew 5:17-19 NLT

Jesus was communicating a new and improved version of righteousness based not on human effort but on the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. True citizens of God’s kingdom would live according to His laws willingly and obediently, and their desire to obey would emanate from the heart, not the head. He told the Samaritan woman, “But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24 NLT).

Through the prophets, God had promised to provide His chosen people with new hearts so that they might worship Him in spirit and truth.

“And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart, so they will obey my decrees and regulations. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God.” – Ezekiel 11:19-20 NLT

“I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.” – Ezekiel 26:26 NLT

“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” – Jeremiah 31:33 NLT

This new covenant would require a new way of living made possible by a new source of power. The Holy Spirit would provide the life-transforming power that allowed disciples to obey God’s commands and live according to His will. Jesus had come to disrupt the status quo. Adherence to the law had never produced righteousness because that was an impossible task. The apostle Paul explained the built-in problem with trying to attain righteousness through law-keeping.

For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.

But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. – Romans 3:20-22 NLT

Jesus explained that He was offering something new and better. The law could only expose sin, not eradicate it. But Jesus came to provide a permanent solution to mankind’s sin problem. And that solution was not a slightly improved version of the old one. Jesus made that point clear when He compared the new covenant with the old one.

“No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn’t even match the old garment.

“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine must be stored in new wineskins. But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine,’ they say.” – Luke 5:36-39 NLT

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus provided a glimpse into the new Kingdom He had come to establish. It would be radically different than the one the Jews expected the Messiah to bring. His kingdom would not be about palaces, power, armies, and the overthrow of Israel’s enemies. Jesus had not come to be the deliverer who would ride into Jerusalem on a white horse and vanquish the dreaded Romans. For centuries, the Israelites had longed and waited for the Messiah who would be the Warrior King and restore them to power and prominence. Even Jesus’ disciples held on to their long-held expectations that the Messiah would be a new-and-improved David who would put Israel back on the map politically and economically. In their minds, the Messiah’s arrival would usher in a new age of prosperity, power, and global dominance. That was clearly the expectation of the mother of James and John when she boldly asked Jesus, “In your Kingdom, please let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left” (Matthew 20:21 NLT).

When Jesus was later brought before Pilate, the Roman governor, He was asked, “Are you the king of the Jews?” (John 18:33 NLT). His response was short and succinct.

“My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.” – John 18:36 NLT

Yet, when Jesus was asked by a Pharisee, “When will the Kingdom of God come?” (Luke 17:20 NLT), Jesus gave a seemingly contradictory answer.

“The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.” – Luke 17:20-21 NLT

How can the Kingdom not be an earthly kingdom and yet be present? If the Kingdom of God is already among us, what does that mean and how are we to “seek first” this Kingdom?

When Jesus delivered this command, the people of Israel were living in a time of great oppression, suffering under the iron fist of Rome. These descendants of Abram were powerless, king-less, and helpless to do anything about their circumstances. Their greatest concern was for their next meal. They were ruled by the tyranny of the urgent and had lost sight of their position as God’s chosen people. They had ceased to be Kingdom People and lived like all the other nations around them. They worried and fretted over material things. Their religious practices were done for the sake of men, not God. They were outwardly religious but inwardly spiritually bankrupt. They had failed to live as a set-apart people. Their ancestors had been plagued by sin and ruled by a spirit of rebelliousness and ended up in captivity. Even when they later returned to the land, they continued to struggle with a love affair with this world, refusing to live under God’s command and according to His rules. So by the time Jesus showed up on the scene, they were a weary and demoralized people.

They were spiritually and physically impoverished, constantly wondering if their sins were truly forgiven and whether they would be able to afford the next meal. They lived with constant guilt over their sinfulness and a gnawing frustration with their status as second-class citizens. They were starving to death both physically and spiritually. That is why one of the Beatitudes Jesus used to open His Sermon on the Mount was “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6 ESV).

The apostle Paul later expanded on this idea, providing much-needed clarification to Jesus’ words.

For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. – Romans 14:17 NLT 

And that is exactly what Jesus told His audience that day.

“I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?” – Matthew 6:25 NLT

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” – Matthew 6:31-33 NLT

Paul described the Kingdom of God as “living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Jesus associated it with living righteously. Neither emphasized material wealth, earthly power, or physical needs. So, what did Jesus mean when He said, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously” (Matthew 6:33 NLT)? The apostle Paul provides an answer to that question.

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. – Colossians 3:1-4 NLT

Paul encouraged those he discipled to set their sights on the realities of heaven. He wanted them to understand that Jesus had returned to His Father’s side in glory and was destined to return. He wanted them to remember that the Father and the Son were orchestrating the grand redemptive plan that would usher in Christ’s future earthly Kingdom. This world was not to be their home or the focus of all their cares and concerns. When Paul commanded them to think about the things of heaven, he wasn’t suggesting that they become so heavenly minded they were no earthly good. He wasn’t encouraging a form of escapism. Paul was reminding them that the true Kingdom was yet to come.

Just prior to His death, Jesus informed His disciples what was going to take place when they arrived in Jerusalem.

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. – Matthew 16:21 ESV

Upon hearing this news, Peter responded, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you” (Matthew 16:22 ESV). He couldn’t imagine such an unexpected and unpleasant outcome because it would crush all his hopes and dreams concerning Jesus’ Messiahship. Death was not part of the plan. But Jesus knew the Kingdom He came to bring was dependent upon His death and resurrection. His Heavenly Father had a plan for reconciling the world to Himself and it could only take place through the willing sacrifice of His one and only Son.

That is why Jesus turned on Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Matthew 16:23 ESV). Peter had lost sight of the goal. He had taken his eyes off the prize and focused his hopes and dreams on earthly things.

As painful as Jesus’ rebuke must have been, Peter learned a great deal from it. He would later encourage his own disciples to replace their cares and concerns with confidence in the power and plan of God.

So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.

In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. – 1 Peter 5:6-10 NLT

To seek first His kingdom is to keep our focus on what really matters: The return of Christ and the establishment of His Kingdom on earth. The apostle John describes this future-focused lifestyle this way:

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world. The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever. – 1 John 2:15-17 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.