Matthew's Gospel originally targeted the Jews, though the Gospels certainly minister to every believer.
The telling differences between Matthew and Luke's accounts of the Sermon on the Mount also reveal the division of the Old and New Covenants, with Matthew's Gospel ministering to men and women who were still living (or trying to live) under the Old Covenant of demand, sacrifice, and obedience under Moses, compared to Luke's audience, Gentiles who were not laboring under the Old Covenant, who did not have a "Law Mentality"
The diverging elements between the Matthew's and Luke's Gospels expose this difference, and can help us receive great truths about what Jesus has given us through His death and resurrection.
"24No man can serve two
masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will
hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
25Therefore I say unto
you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink;
nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and
the body than raiment? 26Behold the fowls of
the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your
heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27Which of you by
taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28And why take ye
thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil
not, neither do they spin: 29And yet I say unto
you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30Wherefore, 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?
31Therefore take no
thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal
shall we be clothed? 32(For after all these
things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need
of all these things. 33But seek ye first
the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added
unto you.
34Take therefore no
thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of
itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. " (Matthew 6: 24-34)
Here is Luke's account:
22And he said unto his
disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye
shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. 23The life is more than
meat, and the body is more than raiment. 24Consider the ravens:
for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God
feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? 25And which of you with
taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? 26If ye then be not able
to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? 27Consider the lilies
how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that
Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28If
then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is
cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little
faith? 29And seek not ye what
ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. 30For
all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth
that ye have need of these things. 31But rather seek ye the
kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. 32Fear
not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the
kingdom." (Luke 12: 22-32)
Matthew's Gospel describes the tension of trying to serve two masters:
"24No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."
I believe that Matthew is indicating the Two Covenants, the Covenant of Moses, of laws, sacrifices, and obedience to the letter; and the Covenant of Grace, in which the Spirit of God moves in the believer because of Christ Jesus' final sacrifice and ministry on our behalf. For the Jews, they were under the law, with its ordinances and requirements. This message pertains to us today, as many churches, as many communities are trying to mix Law and Grace together, and it cannot be done.
When we take thought for our lives, we are under law, convinced wrongly that our lives are our responsibility.
In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus gives God a new, more intimate title:
"26Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?"
and
"31Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things."
For the Jews, "God as Father" was still a new concept, one which they were not used to, even though the prophets throughout their ministries referred to God as Father, in connection with the Coming Messiah:
"For unto us a child is
born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and
his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting
Father, The Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9: 6)
and
"Doubtless thou
art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge
us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is
from everlasting." (Isaiah 63: 16)
In Luke's account, "Father is mentioned only once, yet in a passage which underlines the Grace of God:
"32Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."
In a sense, Matthew's audience already knew that they were "sheep" of the Lord, yet the Gentiles to whom Luke was writing probably did not share the same sentiment. The open offer of the Kingdom belongs to everyone, not just to the Jews, and Luke emphasizes this.
I also believe that Luke, in writing to the Gentiles, who were not under law, did not believe that he would face any opposition or rebuffing from Gentile readers, who would not be struggling with a conscience of sin, as the Jews under law struggled, even after receiving Jesus as the Messiah.