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Mat_6:18. Τῷ ἐν τῷ κρυφαίῳ ] sc. ὄντι , i.e. who is present where we are hidden from human eye. He who fasts is ἐν τῷ κρυφαίῳ everywhere, when he is present as anointed and washed, for in this state of his person no one will be able to recognise him as fasting. In accordance with this, we are bound to reject the explanation of Fritzsche, who supplies νηστεύειν (“eo quod clam inediam in te suscipias”), which, however, is far-fetched, and introduces a superfluous meaning, besides being inconsistent with Mat_6:6.
ἀποδώσι σοι ] not the fasting by itself, but the sincerely penitent and humble frame of mind, which seeks to express itself in that devout fasting which is free from everything like pretence and ostentation; there is therefore no satisfactory reason for expunging Mat_6:16-18 (as also Mat_6:1-6) from the Sermon on the Mount (Wittichen, Idee des Menschen, p. 100).