A Study of Matthew: Putting Up a Front
A Study of Matthew • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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We have been looking at the first sermon the Bible records Jesus preaching. It’s in the book of Matthew, starting in chapter 5. This sermon actually goes on through chapter 7. One of the major themes of this sermon is what it means to be righteous. The biggest thing we have learned is that real righteousness is internal rather than external.
What do we mean by that?
You can be the best behaved person in the world. You never make fun of others or say inappropriate things in public. You give to the poor. You volunteer at a homeless shelter. You are in church every time the doors are open. BUT—you can be doing those things for all the wrong reasons.
“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.
“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 religious leaders were the masters at acting holy. They kept every law, in their own minds, but they were still wrong. WHY?
Those religious leaders loved the attention they got. They loved how everyone thought of them as being morally and spiritually superior. They made sure that EVERYBODY saw them doing acts of charity. They made sure EVERYBODY heard them pray very religious and impressive sounding prayers.
But they were hypocrites. They claimed to be pointing people toward God, but they really just wanted everybody to worship them.
What does Jesus say about helping others?
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Make your giving about meeting the need, not getting attention for yourself.
“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.
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.
“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.
Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
When you pray, don’t try to impress others. If that is what your prayer is really about, impressing the audience, then that is the only thing you will get out of the prayer, because you weren’t really asking God for anything.
Jesus also spoke to those who just say a bunch of memorized words and call that a prayer. “Now I lay me down to sleep” is great for helping small children learn to pray, but prayer is supposed to be a genuine conversation with God, from the heart. How does Jesus tell us to pray?
Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
It’s a prayer that reflects the kingdom values. It acknowledges God’s greatness and holiness. It’s a prayer of submission—your will be done. It doesn’t demand special favors, but simply asks God to provide what we need. It acknowledges our shortcomings and weakness. Forgive us our debts. Lead us not into temptation. Deliver us from evil. It acknowledges our responsibility as kingdom citizens—as much as we want God to forgive us, we also are expected to forgive our debtors—the people who have wronged us.
Jesus reinforces that responsibility when he says that, if we don’t forgive others, God won’t forgive us either.
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,
but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
“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.
But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
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.
What is fasting? Why do people fast?
Medical reasons
don’t eat for so many hours before having surgery
losing weight
Spiritual reasons
praying for something really important, and you want to show God how serious you are about this prayer
an exercise to focus your attention on God instead of your body
What did Jesus say about the hypocrites when they fasted?
They put on a big show. EVERYONE knew that they were fasting.
Jesus talks about fasting like he did about prayer. Pray to talk to God. Fast to get closer to God and discipline yourself. Do it privately, because it’s supposed to be about God.
The point of what Jesus is teaching is this: you can act all righteous, and you can make lots of people believe that you’re this great person who has it all together. But God sees your heart. He knows what you’re thinking. He sees what you’re saying and doing when nobody else is around. And, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how popular you are or how wonderful folks think you are, if your heart is not right with God.
Growing up, I was the “Good Kid”. Grownups would tell their kids, “You should be more like David.” Teachers loved me. And for the longest time, what mattered to me was having everybody like me. Then, at around your age, I realized that I cared more about what people thought about me than what God thought about me. And the thing is, it doesn’t matter how good I act, if my heart is not right with God.
Being a Christian is not about how good you act. It is about being a follower of Jesus. And
