Come Meet the Hypocrites

Background to passage: this is the 12th message in the series in Matthew from the clashes between Jesus and the religious elite. Beginning at the triumphal entry all the way through his concluding denunciation of all they practice, his disdain could not be more clear for the way they live.

Probably many of the Pharisees had left the crowds, so the message was as much to the crowds as the them hypocrites themselves.

Matthew 23:1–7 ESV

1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, 3 so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. 4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. 5 They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, 6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues 7 and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.

Opening illustration: On Family Feud, they always introduce the family. Then as the show goes on and people give their answers, Steve Harvey gets to know them a little and “my fabulous cousin Frank,” maybe ain’t so fabulous, so the cracks and jokes flow. It’s a TV show, right?

Main thought: view this morning as an introduction to the hypocrisy of the religious elite, Jesus’s condemnation their main problems, and our warning not to follow in their steps.

1) Don’t Practice What They Preach (v. 2-3)

Matthew 23:2–3 ESV

2 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, 3 so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.

1) Don’t Practice What They Preach (v. 2-3)

Explanation: this is the core of what most of us think about when we think of hypocrisy. This may be the most off-putting of the concepts that surround organized faith at any level, even unorganized religious standards that people may hold. Jesus affirmed their teaching responsibility, possibly even encouraging people to obey what they say in as much as it truly lines up with Moses’s law. His warning to them, to us is not to live how they lived, practice what they practice, because it was different than what Moses taught.

Matthew 6:12 ESV

12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Matthew 6:14 ESV

14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,

Illustration: David and Nathan: “You are the man.” John preached on the Sermon on the Mount this week. It speaks about hypocrisy specifically on many topics and behaviors, but the night that it was most obvious was the night that he spent walking through the Lord’s Prayer. He could have preached a whole message on v. 12 & 14, but he just had a chain.

Application: to teach one thing and do another is the warning to us. For brevity’s sake, how about you? Does your life line up with the doctrine you hold to? We see big name professional or prominent Christians uncovered in a scandal, and the world laughs, but how many of us continually practice what we know is not in accord with the teachings of Jesus and the NT? Anger? Lust? Divorce? Retaliation? Hatred? Selfishness? Greed? Worry? Judgmentalism? Those are just a few of the ones in the Sermon on the Mount.

2) Set Unreachable Standards (v. 4)

Matthew 23:4 ESV

4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.

2) Set Unreachable Standards (v. 4)

Explanation: Pharisaical tradition was born from the desire not to break the law of God. These very religious people “the set apart ones” made extra rules and laws to keep from crossing the line to sin. Later they codified these laws and began to make them obligatory upon all. Technically their standards were made to be attained by a few, but crushed most under the weight of their additional burden. They believed they could keep them all.

The other warning is after they made high standards, they did not help anyone to bear the burden. It’s almost like they were assuring failure in others.

Argumentation:

Illustration: Pastor Frankie talking about how he wouldn’t even mow the yard in anything other than khakis so his neighbors could see Jesus and not his legs. The pastor at the Pentecostal church near my house in Tifton was asking about who did the garden near the church because they were tilling on a Sunday afternoon. The guy from Maine who didn’t want his daughter dating a boy in the youth group who just got two big tattoos...

Application: Setting standards that you can reach and others can’t helps you enjoy being better at Christianity than someone else. You can hold court in your mind and judge them incompetent or inferior, and you may express that in words, attitude, or keep it to yourself.

There is nothing wrong with convictions that you may have that are strict, nor freedoms that you may have that don’t violate express teaching of scripture that other might not share. Nothing wrong with practices that help you pursue God best, but we can’t impose every one of those on all believers.

Of course the other overt warning in this passage is adding burdens without helping. We are a community of those seeking to follow Jesus. His Sermon on the Mount was aimed for impossible, so that the spirit of the law would render you convinced of your helplessness to overcome sin with personal righteousness, and be desperate for Christ! We all fall! We all need help! Do people in our fellowships, our churches see us as a help in the battle, rather than the ones who look down in judgment?

3) Want All the Glory (v. 5-7)

Matthew 23:5–7 ESV

5 They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, 6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues 7 and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.

3) Want All the Glory (v. 5-7)

Explanation: Jesus says that they want the praise of men. They want their goodness to be seen and revered. They want to have prominence in the eyes of others for their spirituality. They aren’t satisfied with the approval of God alone. They want glory for themselves.

Three examples: 1) wear lots of Jesus shirts and stickers on their water bottles. Or they could wear Sunday best or take pride in casual jeans and a t-shirt. 2) In church they really loved to be seen in the special seats or places. This could also be seen as a tireless servant (it’s not about what you do or not do, but about what you crave). They seek recognition or influence or power in church. 3) They like the titles. They like for you to address them as… In the South we do it out of reverence, politeness, and respect, but the point is not us giving, but them receiving. Anyone ever corrected you?

Matthew 6:1–2 ESV

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.

Matthew 6:5 ESV

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.

Matthew 6:16 ESV

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.

Illustration: I went to preach one time at a mostly black church with traditions much different than ours. Immediately when I arrived, I was recognized as the guest preacher. The deacons with matching suits escorted us everywhere. Never touched a door. Escorted to the seats for the ministers only on the platform. Given white gloves to help with an offering. Wow...I could get used to this.

Application: And the religious elite did. They liked the special treatment. They sought the praise of men for their righteousness. Do you pray extra-spiritual prayers to impress? Why do you wear what you wear to church or to the beach? Are you satisfied if no one ever thanked you for all that you do here? Really?

Closing illustration: Story of author’s wife and kids laughing while he gets angry, but then later (sometime) he realizes maybe he should see another picture of himself.

What about you? If you begin to see a little bit of Pharisaical pride, judgmentalism, hypocrisy, would you be willing to acknowledge it, and repent from it?

If you don’t know Christ, that’s the first step.

Recap