Doing It All for Show
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
We all love a good show! I am particularly fond of theater because I love to see how they come up with creative ways to change scenes and I feel like the characters have to really be good actors and actresses to be able to perform. There aren’t creative camera angles and edits to help them if they mess up a line or don’t come in at the right time.
In fact, some of the actors and actresses of Hollywood will often go on Broadway to help refine their acting skills. Did you know that acting has been around for a long time? I mean, if you’ve ever seen the Flintstones you know what I mean!
Seriously though, the Greeks and the Romans built massive theaters for acting and entertaining the masses. These actors in Greek culture were actually called “hypocrites.” That probably sounds familiar to a word we have heard before, doesn’t it? It sounds like they were being called hypocrites, and in fact they were!
The word means to put on a show and act. Today, when we call someone a hypocrite, it is usually not a good thing. We are saying that they are two-faced or a fraud.
1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Pray
MIT: Beware of practicing good works for the reward of being seen by others (v.1)
1. Honor God in Your Giving (vv. 2-4)
1. Honor God in Your Giving (vv. 2-4)
1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Jesus points to the Pharisees and how they paraded themselves around for the people to see their righteous deeds as an example of what not to do.
There are expectations of us to not just believe on Jesus, but to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,
13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
What we learn from this verse is that we are to have a fear of God, a reverence for His holiness, that doesn’t just cause us to mentally affirm the gospel, but live it out.
Contrast this with how the Pharisees were not seeking to be seen by God and rewarded for their fear of Him and their reverence for Him. Instead they were doing the dance for men to see. They wanted the praise of man.
It is expected for us to practice righteousness and the three major pillars of Jewish holiness were to give alms, pray, and fast. If you look closely at most religions, these three pillars are present in all of them.
We give in order to love our neighbor as ourselves. We give to help people that are not as fortunate as us.
Think back to the Old Testament when God gave the children of Israel manna in the wilderness. What did God command them when they were collecting the manna?
18 But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat.
They went out in faith and shared with one another. In the New Testament the Bible tells us this.
9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
The command is clear that we are to be taking the blessings God has given us and helping others.
The question is not what we are to do in terms of giving, it is why we give. Paul explains this in 2 Corinthians when he tells us:
6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
Now, I hope that what you are seeing here is an overabundance of Bible verses that are telling us to give and help out. There is not confusion over God’s desires for us with regards to our generosity towards others. After all, all that we have is from God. He gave first so we should also give freely to others.
But we must make sure that the reason we give is not that others might see us. Jesus said it this way,
2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
The temple had offering boxes that people would put money into and some scholars believe that what Jesus is referring to by the sounding of trumpets has to do with the horn shaped trumpets on top of the collection boxes. They were kind of like those things in the mall where you put a coin in and watch it spiral down.
They had a horn on top with a wide opening that got smaller so that no one could stick their hand in their and pull out money. No making change in the offering plate folks!
Money was tossed into them and some believe that what the Pharisees would do is make sure their money went in loudly and often. That way people could be impressed with how much they gave.
It could also be that Jesus is just using a metaphor to refer to making it known what you are doing.
In contrast Jesus tells us,
3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
He says that our giving should be in secret such that one hand doesn’t even know what the other is doing. We use our hands to give. We ought to make our giving private so that we may receive our spiritual reward in heaven from our Heavenly Father.
2. Commune with God Your Praying (vv.5-6)
2. Commune with God Your Praying (vv.5-6)
The next act of piety that Jesus turns to is our communion with God. Now, I believe nothing is more of an offense to God than to pray for other people to think we are holy. This is an act that is an intimate, personal conversation with God. We should not engage in it in a fanciful way so that we are trying to impress people with our words. The Pharisees did this. Look again at vv. 5-6
5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
The Pharisees would break it down wherever there were people to hear them pray. The Bible talks about the street corners as the place where people congregate.
Listen to an example in Proverbs.
20 Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice;
21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
Wisdom is described like a woman crying out in the streets and she goes to where the people were.
Illustration
My wife and I went to Macon recently and we were checking out the food court in the Macon Mall. It is so sad to see how the mall has become a ghost town. Now, some of you remember back in the day when the Mall was huge and had two wings to it with JC Penny in the middle. People went there to shop, but even more so to see people and socialize. There was no social media and cell phones were just getting started. If you got lost in the mall and separated from your crowd or if you wanted to see somebody, you could just go upstairs in JC Penny and you could probably see them passing through.
This is the idea of wisdom. She’s in the streets and she’s where people can find her. This is also where the Pharisees went to be seen by people and pray publicly so that people could see how awesome they were. They wanted people to know they were the holy and righteous ones. Jesus called them nothing more than whitewashed tombs!
Application
Do you look at prayer as an act? Do you see it as a chore? Or, do you see prayer as what it really is: talking to God?
You see, whether we pray in private or with other people, God isn’t impressed by your oratory skills. He wants you to talk to Him like you would any other person.
That’s why Jesus said that when you pray, go into your closet and shut the door. This was the most private room in an Israelite house.
Jesus isn’t condemning public prayer. He said,
13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”
The church is to be a place of public prayer. But we also practice in private what we do in public.
Do you want to be a better prayer? Pray at home in your closet. You will pray better in public the more you pray better in private.
You can tell when someone who is praying aloud is doing it out of the overflow of their own personal prayer life verses someone who is doing it for show.
Often the prayers of the showman are shallow and repetitive verses sincere and changing.
3. In Your Fasting (vv. 16-18)
3. In Your Fasting (vv. 16-18)
Jesus added one last pillar of holiness that is expected of us by mentioning how we ought to fast.
16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Notice that in all three of these expressions of faith, the phrase “when you fast…when you pray…when you give” is used. In other words, we are expected to do these things.
Now, being honest this morning together, when is the last time you fasted? I’m not talking about for your doctor or to prepare for surgery. I’m talking about refraining from food or drink for the purpose of drawing near to God.
Most of the time when someone fasts, it is a food or drink fast and it is intended for the person to replace a meal time with getting in the Word of God and prayer. It is a way of saying to God that you are serious about hearing from Him.
There isn’t anything mystical about it, but it is a practice that is expected of us and it is incredibly beneficial for us to practice it.
This isn’t so much a message about how to fast, as much as it is in what the motivation to fast is.
Jesus said that just like giving and praying, fasting is something that does not need to be done in front of others for show. If you are asking someone to fast with you, obviously you will be letting them know that you are fasting, but if they are not participating in anything, then you should not let anyone else know what you are doing.
Fasting for show in front of people like the Pharisees did is nothing more than a good weight loss strategy. It will gain you no spiritual recognition.
We see examples of prayer and fasting all throughout the Bible. Again, it con notates a hunger and a longing for God.
The Pharisees would fast and wanted everyone to see that they were fasting. They would disfigure their faces and let everyone know what they were doing.
Jesus tells us instead that we are to essentially just act like normal and seek the Lord. By doing this, we will be blessed and rewarded by our Father in Heaven.
Conclusion
Conclude how Jesus fulfills all of these.
Jesus had a lot to say about doing things for show when it comes to your religious practices. The Pharisees had become nothing more than actors playing a part. Their hearts were not in the things they were doing.
I wonder how many people this morning, if you look at how you live out your faith, would say that you are acting. Is your walk with Christ sincere? Does it take up the first place in your life and everything else must take on a secondary role?
Do you know Christ at all? Have you trusted in Him for salvation? If you are here this morning and you are trying to impress God with your holiness and your good works, He’s not impressed. He sees your real motives and your heart.