Matthew 6:16
““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.”
What does Matthew 6:16 mean?
Jesus is calling out a hollow kind of religiousness here, where people perform spiritual discipline for show rather than genuine transformation. The Pharisees would make their fasting obvious to everyone around them—wearing ashes, looking deliberately miserable—so others would admire their piety. Jesus says that public approval is all the reward such people will ever get, because that's really what they were after all along. The point isn't that fasting itself is bad or that you should hide all your spiritual practices. Rather, Jesus is asking us to examine our own hearts: are we doing these things to draw closer to God, or to impress others and feel superior? When our real motivation is the applause of people, we miss out on something deeper, on the actual spiritual benefit and the genuine connection with God that comes from authentic devotion.