Matthew 6:32 (ASV)

Passage

For after all these things do the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

Nearby Context

Matthew 6:30 But if God doth 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?

Matthew 6:31 Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

Matthew 6:32 For after all these things do the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Matthew 6:34 Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "after", "things", "gentiles", "seek", "heavenly", "father", "knoweth", and "need". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "after" and "things", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 31's "Be not therefore anxious saying What shall..." into verse 33's "But seek ye first his kingdom and...", so "after" and "things" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "after" and "things" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.