THE DANGER OF HYPOCRISY
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INTRO:
INTRO:
- If you remember we are walking through Jesus’ last week of earthly ministry. We started out by looking at the Triumphal entry on Palm Sunday. And what we have been doing is looking at Jesus’ encounters with the religious leaders on this last week.
- When Jesus rode in on a donkey through Mount of Olives , overlooking the City of Jerusalem….. He wept. And we looked at the reason why. Jesus was heartbroken because of the people’s rejection of who He was, the rejection of His words and the rejection of what He was about to do on the cross.
- Last week during discipleship we looked at the Gospel message. What it was , the reason why this was good news. And we looked at what motivated God to do what He did…..it was love.
- Now you think about that, it was God’s love for you and me that caused Him to send His son to die for an entire world, for a people that would reject Him.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Transition
- We left off last week looking at a parable Jesus gave , or a story that would help to illustrate a truth.
- He went on to give a parable of a man who had a vineyard. He leased it or hired people to work it with the plan of receiving the fruit that would be produced from their hired work.
- Now the man took time to return which left the hired vinedressers thinking that he won’t come back. But the owner sent servants to the vineyard on the owner’s behalf to see how things were going and to bring the fruit produced to the owner. Yet the wicked vinedressers would kill these servants.
- This would happen time and time again and eventually the owner would send his son thinking that these wicked men would recognize him and would respect him. Yet they didn’t and they killed the son as well.
- Jesus was making this story to illustrate the truth about Himself. The fact that the landowner was God and He had sent His servants , the prophets time and time again and the wicked people killed them. Jesus is the son of the Owner who has been sent to the wicked men…. And they do not receive Him well. Matter of fact in a few days, they will kill him.
-Jesus is making the point of this rejection of Him and this prideful attitude that these people had. What made these religious leaders prideful was their dependence on their own works.
- At this time there were some 600 different laws that had been implemented that the Jews were to follow. These laws were made by religious teachers adding to God’s law. So what you ended up with is a nation pursuing to make themselves right with God based on their own works, or their keeping of the 600 laws.
- Over time, their lives consisted of just keeping rules and looking like you kept the law, and looking like you were religious and Godly. So a person could fool other people and themselves because of the things they did and the way they did them and how they appeared.
Transition
- Jesus would call this being a hypocrite. A person who was living two lives. That word comes from the theatre, a person who would act or who would pretend to be someone that they are not. The people during this time would wear masks to describe a new scene or new feeling during a play. They were playing the part of many.
- this is what the word Hypocrite means. To live a double life, a life that does not match who you say you are or what you say you believe.
- Jesus’ message was a personal treat to these people and to their lives. He was exposing their false lives and their hypocrisy and their false sense of security. They thought that by all their works they were pleasing to God, yet Jesus would speak about God longing for the clean heart much more than the clean outer body.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
Transition
- today we are going to look at the danger of becoming a Hypocrite. We want to look at HOW a person can become a hypocrite and HOW a hypocrite will act.
- and we will look at Jesus describe these things as He encounters these religious leaders again. Remember that Jesus brought a disruption to the way of thinking, the way of living and the way of pleasing God. So the religious leaders rejected Jesus and wanted to get rid of Him.
- during this last week on earth, there are (4) questions that the religious leaders pose to Jesus with the attempt to catch Him or put Him at odds with the religious leaders or the Roman empire. These questions that the religious jews ask Jesus are tricks, they thought there were no right answer and whatever Jesus would say was sure to make one group of religious leaders upset or it would make the Roman empire upset.
- The first question that Jesus was asked was “By what Authority do you do these things”. That question stirred up a few weeks of looking at the Authority of God in our lives and the danger of rejecting His Authority.
- here in this section we will see the other (3) questions these religious leaders will bring. They are still attempting to catch Jesus and trap Him.
I. THE FEAR OF MAN CAUSES HYPOCRISY (V. 13-17)
a. WHO POSED THE QUESTION? (V.13)
- we see that there were some people sent to Jesus from two specific groups. We are told that the Pharisees , which were the conservatives , those who held to the word of God , and the Herodians. These were the more religious people.
- these two groups would often be at odds with each other in their interpretation of the law, yet here in this moment they are united in their one common goal…. To trap Jesus and to catch Him and get rid of Him.
- Matt. 22:15
15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. 1
Luke 20:20
20 So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.
- The religious leaders wanted to trap Jesus in His words against either the Jewish community and the law or against the Roman empire. They studied Him to see how they could catch Him.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
- The fact that Satan studies our lives…. Satan is looking for weaknesses to trap us, to bring us down. The trap can come in the forms of deception, lies, luring us with lust, luring to for us to get frustrated, luring us to get comfortable., getting us to compromise, luring us to be self confident in our works, our appearance.
- I am a good person, I am not as bad as those people. I come to church, I read my bible, I go on retreats…. And all of a sudden we can become secure in our works and our appearance. This is how hypocrisy begins.
b. The trap of fear (v.14)
- These religious leaders are coming and are about to set up Jesus with this trap in the question, but before they do that they begin to flatter Him.
“Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth”.
- They really don’t believe that Jesus teaches truth or else they would not be here asking this question.
- but in this statement we gain insight into the first problem these men had…… They cared about what other people thought.
- They say that they know that Jesus did not care about what people said, or of their opinion, but rather only cared about what God thought.
- The first danger in becoming a hypocrite is the having a fear or what people say.
The fear of man brings a snare,
But whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.
Transition
You and I can get into trouble when we start to care about what people will say about us. When that becomes the biggest influence in our lives, People can do stupid things, can say stupid things just to fit it. And we want to fit in because we are afraid of being made fun of or of missing out. The fear of people and their thoughts about us can direct our steps and our actions.
- You and I can do and say things that are not in accordance to what we believe or how we have been raised, but we will do it because everyone is doing it and we want to fit it. We can act one way during the week then act completely different on Sunday. This is being a hypocrite. Living two lives.
- This is exactly what Jesus knew about these religious leaders. That they were hypocrites, it tells us that Jesus knew this about them.
C.THE TRAP IN QUESTION (V. 15-17)
- The question was a good question. The roman empire was the reigning authority during this time, their money was what was used to pay taxes, to buy goods etc..
- The jews during this time were very bitter about having the Roman empire ruling over them and collecting taxes from them. There would be those religious fanatics who refused to pay roman tax.
- So the question if these people should pay taxes to Rome or not was a no win situation. If He said yes, then the religious people would be upset. If He said no, then they could turn Him in to the roman authorities for refusing to pay roman tax.
- Jesus answers with wisdom. He asks for a coin t be brought to him. As this is brought to Him , HE asks whose face is on it?
- These roman coins would have the face of the roman emperor on it, Caesar. So as Jesus gets confirmation that Caesar’s face is on it, he says since this money is his, give him what is his.
- This blew the people away.
II. FAILURE TO KNOW GOD’S WORD AND GOD’S POWER CAUSES HYPOCRISY(V.18-27)
- Now since the two groups before were not able to trap Jesus, we are told that the Sadducees came to ask Him another question. The question may be different but the attempt is the same, which is to trap Jesus
- Now these Sadducees were also religious leaders who were more liberal in their thinking. They did not believe in the entire old testament as God’s word, only the first 5 books, they did not believe in angels or in life after death. They did not believe in anything that would be considered supernatural. They did not believe in life after death or in a resurrection after death.
- Meaning that after you died, they believed that was it, nothing else after. Which makes it interesting the question that they ask Jesus. They ask him about what happens after the resurrection with the crazy hypothetical question. What if?
Transition
- See the law of Moses required a man to marry his brothers wife if the husband died. This was in order to provide for the family and to keep the bloodline going.
- So the crazy question is what If this woman married a husband and he died, then she married the brother and he died…. And this happened 7 times….. whose wife would she be after the woman died. Basically asking who would she be married to in heaven….
- But remember these men didn’t believe in heaven. So in this question Jesus was bound to make either the pharisees or the Sadducees upset with his answer.
- Jesus will address both the mistake in the question and they are asking
Transition
- Jesus tells them that they are mistaken because they do not know the scriptures or the power of God.
- Jesus goes on to tell us in heaven we will not marry so the question and the line of thinking was all wrong. But we will be as angels in heaven, not that we will look like them , but that we will not have a need to be married.
- Then Jesus goes on to clarify the problem with the thinking of the Sadducees. In the old testament when God appeared to Moses in the burning bush, God identified himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
- Now these men had been dead 100’s of years by the time God spoke to Moses. But God identified himself as their God….. which indicates that they are still alive….He didn’t say that He was the God of those who were alive in times past, but of these men.
- Jesus here is clarifying the errors of the Sadducees in both the resurrection and angles and He has answered their trap question without being trapped.
Transition
- But I want us to understand the principal that is here…. There is a danger of not knowing the word of God and of his power and failure to know these things will lead to becoming a hypocrite.
- If you don’t’ know what God’s word says and what it means, you won’t know how you are to live. This is why we teach the bible all the way thru, so that you can have a full understanding of what God’s word says and how it applies to your lives.
- God’s word is for every part of our lives.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
- It will correct you when you are living two lives, or when you are doing things that you should not do.
III. FAILURE TO KNOW GOD CAUSED HYPOCRISY(V.28-34)