Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
All Commentaries on Matthew 6:27 Go To Matthew 6
John Chrysostom
AD 407
Note the acceleration of images: just when the lilies are decked out, he no longer calls them lilies but “grass of the field.” He then points further to their vulnerable condition by saying “which are here today.” Then he does not merely say “and not tomorrow” but rather more callously “cast into the oven.” These creatures are not merely “clothed” but “so clothed” in this way as to be later brought to nothing. Do you see how Jesus everywhere abounds in amplifications and intensifications? And he does so in order to press his points home. So then he adds, “Will he not much more clothe you?” The force of the emphasis is on “you” to indicate covertly how great is the value set upon your personal existence and the concern God shows for you in particular. It is as though he were saying, “You, to whom he gave a soul, for whom he fashioned a body, for whose sake he made everything in creation, for whose sake he sent prophets, and gave the law, and wrought those innumerable good works, and for whose sake he gave up his only begotten Son.” The Gospel of Matthew, Homily
