An Audience Of One Series

I have entitled our message this morning, “An Audience of One,” based on a song by Christian music artist Big Daddy Weave. Allow me to share some of the lyrics of this song: “I come on my knees, to lay down before You; bringing all that I am, longing only to know You. Seeking Your face, and not only Your hand; I find You embracing me, just as I am.” “To my audience of One; You are Father and You are Son. As Your Spirit flows free, let it find within me, a heart that beats to praise You. And now just to know You more, has become my great reward. To see Your kingdom come, and Your will be done; I only desire to be Yours, Lord.” This morning, we are going to learn how when we pray to the Lord, and even give, that it is to be done entirely for Him and not as a public display for others. Every act of worship is to be seen only by an audience of One.

Our Works Are for God’s Eyes (vv. 1-4)

1 Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.

When I read these words, I am reminded of a quote from the movie “Wonder Woman 1984.” Max Lord was boasting of how he had given a sizable donation to the Smithsonian Institute; and that’s when Diana, known as Wonder Woman, told him this: “I have found that true benefactors avoid the limelight to allow the focus to be on the museum.” For our purpose as Christians, let me restate this: “True benefactors of the kingdom avoid the limelight to allow the focus to be on God.” This is so the receiver of the gift will give praise to the Lord, rather than giving praise to the person who gave.

Jesus said, “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men” (v. 1). Some translations read, “Take heed that ye do not your righteousness.”(1) The word “righteousness” has nothing to do with all other righteous acts as we might envision them, such as prayer and fasting. This word only applied to the giving of alms. “To withhold from the poor what [was needed was] to deal unrighteously. Hence . . . the Jews very much placed their justifying righteousness before God in the performance of [alms].”(2) God desires that we give to the poor (James 1:27, 2:17). But, contrary to what the Jews believed, our works are not what makes us righteous before God (Ephesians 2:8-9); they are to be an overflow of the salvation and righteousness that we already have in Christ.

In verse 2, Jesus said, “When you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets” (v. 2). Some say this refers to the collection box for money. “There was a trumpet shaped metal cone that funneled into the collection box and narrowed at the opening into the box. This prevented people from sticking their hands into the box to steal money. Additionally, one could throw their coins into the cone in such a way as to create a loud clanging [sound] so everyone around knew that they were putting a lot of money into the collection box.”(3)

Others “say that there was actually a trumpet that would be blown to indicate that it was time for the poor in the community to come to the temple to receive financial aid.”(4) “Perhaps some givers had deliberately timed their giving with the trumpets in order to be ‘caught’ giving to the needy and praised by others for their generosity.”(5) But I think the best way to interpret what Jesus was saying goes back to the old expression, “Don’t toot your own horn.”

Jesus said not to blow your own horn as the “hypocrites” do. The word “hypocrite” is a Greek word that means “actor in a play” and “one who impersonates another.”(6) Commentator A. T. Robertson says it means “to pretend,” “to feign,” “to conceal one’s true motives,” and “to wear a mask.” “This is the hardest word that Jesus has for any class of people, and He employs it for these pious pretenders who pose as perfect.”(7) So, to whom was He referring? Well, in Matthew 23:13, Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men.” Jesus mentioned the Scribes and Pharisees. They were the hypocrites! Now, the opposite of a hypocrite is being oneself, being real, and being sincere; what we like to call “authenticity.” So, in these verses, Jesus was talking about coming before God in sincerity.