The Pharisees Confront Jesus: What Does It Mean To Be A Hypocrite? An Issue Of The Heart Series

A lot of the scriptures that we look at, I feel like we get to understand another piece of the puzzle about who Jesus really is. It’s like we dive into a moment in history and we get to look over the shoulder of Jesus and see what he does, and why he does it, and we’re amazed. We want to live like that. I feel lucky, blessed to be here, at this moment, almost following Jesus around, listening to him. Even though I’m a hypocrite at times.

Behind closed doors, we’ve done things that don’t match who we say we are. We’ve treated people poorly when we’ve claimed to be Christian. We’ve done bad things and then hid it, covered it up, and that’s a shame. It really is. Because I want to be like Jesus. I want my life to mirror his, and I want my death to matter like his did. I see Jesus and what he does. I see how I live. And it doesn’t match. But there is this hope, in knowing Jesus, that I can live like Him somehow. That’s a beautiful mystery… that it’s not out of reach. It’s possible to really live like Jesus in this world.

Today we look at a moment when the religious leaders of Israel came to question Jesus. The pharisees were the religious leaders of Israel, men who devoted their lives to God, and sought to enforce the torah, the old testament law of Moses, and help teach it to the people, and guide the people to live according to God’s ways.

The Pharisees today are often regarded as hypocrites, mean, nasty, people who killed Jesus, and it’s true that they plotted against Jesus. But in general these were not bad people. These were religious leaders trying to help the people live according to God’s ways.

But, just like any position of authority or importance, corruption begins to spread, and pretty soon pride begins to seep in, and selfish desires take over, and eventually, many of the religious leaders became oppressive and cruel and dangerous. And this had happened in Jesus time. Many of the Pharisees were honorable and really did love God. But many of them had become focused on self, and pride, and their importance and their position, and as a result, the entry of Jesus onto the scene was not welcomed. They were jealous of Jesus and how he influenced the people. So the Pharisees come to see if they can cause trouble for Jesus.

It says in Mark 7:1-5, “The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus 2 and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)

5 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”

So here we have the setup for this situation, Jesus is gathered with his disciples. His disciples are eating without washing their hands. The Pharisees ask why his disciples aren’t following the traditions of the elders.

Here is how Jesus responds…

6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These people honor me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me.

7 They worship me in vain;

their teachings are merely human rules.’

What is a hypocrite? A hypocrite is someone who doesn’t actually live what they say they believe. They say that they love God but they don’t really live for God. They tell people not to swear, not to lie, not to steal, but they do those things when others aren’t looking.

We are all hypocrites from time to time. I think one of the greatest battles in Christianity is fighting the battle to slowly see our lifestyle begin to line up with what we say we believe. And over time it looks closer and closer to who we say we are. Eventually, hopefully we can say, I’m really living what I believe.

Jesus calls them hypocrites. Then he quotes a particular portion of the old testament. Jesus is quoting there from Isaiah 29:13, “The Lord says:

“These people come near to me with their mouth

and honor me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me.

Their worship of me

is based on merely human rules they have been taught”