THE H WORD
MATTHEW 23:27-28
#hypocrisy
INTRODUCTION… The H Word
Liar, imposter, charlatan, phoney, deceiver, faker, imposter, storyteller, fraud, dissembler, double-dealer, pretender, bluffer, fabricator, fibber, fabulist. We are going to talk about a word today that has all of those words as a synonym. We are going to talk about a word today that makes us very uncomfortable. It is not a nice word. It is not a curse word per se, but if you say it to someone I don’t think you can ever say it with a nice tone or a pleasant manner or make them your friend after you use it about them. It is an attacking word. It is an offensive word.
The word is not exclusively a religious word, but the dictionary does attach “virtue” and “religion” to its first definition and so this word is almost always associated with religious people and for some they think it applies to all religious people. This word is in the Bible and is used once (1x) in the Old Testament and seventeen (17x) in the New Testament. 72% (13/18) of the uses are in the Gospel of Matthew which is where we will be at today. And in the Gospel of Matthew, a large majority of the uses of this term occur in chapter 23 which is the chapter we will focus on today. So… if you want to turn in your Bibles to Matthew 23, we will get there in a moment.
This word doesn’t ever seem to be used in a positive light in the Bible. For example, in Psalm 26, King David writes that he doesn’t even hang out with “those” kind of people. His opinion of them is that they are terrible and he would never associate with them.
READ PSALM 26:4 (ESV)
I do not sit with men of falsehood, nor do I consort with [you know who]
Jesus says in Matthew 6:5 that we must not be like this when it comes to prayer and then repeats that command later in the chapter when it comes to fasting and then again in that chapter when it comes to giving to the poor. He calls someone who judges another person falsely by this characterization in chapter 7. Perhaps it is in Matthew 15 that it is most shocking when Jesus not only defines this word, but quotes Scripture to describe the people to whom He is talking:
READ MATTHEW 15:7-9 (ESV)
[“You hypocrites!] Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: 8 “‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me; 9 in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
TRANSITION
Let’s read from Matthew 23 today and name this terrible word once and for all.
READ MATTHEW 23:27-28 (ESV)
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
Hypocrisy is the “H” word we are digging into today that is not used a whole lot in the Bible, but when it is used it is pretty sharp and noticeable. I was doing my regular Bible reading this past week and was reading in Matthew 23 and the H word stuck out to me. It was the word the Holy Spirit pointed out to me. The word we are focusing on happens in verse 27 and then again in verse 28: hypocrites, hypocrisy.
* This word is uncomfortable and feels full of judgmental feelings and negative emotions and is never good when connected with any person.
* The dictionary defines “hypocrite” as “a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion.”
* King David uses the word falsehood as a substitute for hypocrisy and says he doesn’t even eat with hypocrites which is saying a lot considering he is a terrible father, murderer, and an adulterer.
* Jesus commands us against hypocrisy when praying, fasting, and giving to the poor.
* Jesus defines hypocrisy as saying one thing, but your heart believes another.
TRANSITION
What do we find in these verses in Matthew 23?
THE SERIOUSNESS OF JESUS’ WORDS: WOE
Jesus begins these verses with the word “woe.” This is not the only time in this passage He does this. Matthew 23 repeats this word seven times. Seven times Jesus says to the scribes and the Pharisees… “Woe!” In the Bible, “woe” is a word of holy sorrow.
In the Old Testament in Proverbs 23:29 “woe” is associated with “sorrow” and “strife” and “complaining” and “wounds” and “tears.” In Ecclesiastes, “woe” is associated with “helplessness” (4:10). In Isaiah, “woe” is associated with the hand of God being against someone (3:11, 5:20-22, 6:5) in judgment because of sin. This is a significant word.
In the New Testament in the Gospels, Jesus uses this word to warn people about tempting others to sin (Luke 17:1) and the results of sin (Luke 22:22). Jude uses the word to point out the seriousness of staying in our sin (1:11). In Revelation, “woe” is used over and over to warn of impending doom (8:13, 12:12). This is a significant word.
This is a significant word and those listening to Jesus were meant to sit up and take notice when Jesus uses it. This is a word that expresses grief and pain and sorrow and judgment and expectations and anger and is a call to attention all rolled into one. It is a simple small word, but is significant. The same is true for us. We see the word “woe” and we are to sit up and take notice when Jesus uses it. We are to pay attention. We are to engage our mind and hearts and attention and listen.
TRANSITION
We not only find that the first word of this passage is meant as a signal for us to sit up and take notice, but the people to whom Jesus is speaking is significant. Jesus is speaking to the religious ones of His day.
THE SERIOUSNESS OF JESUS’ WORDS: THE RELIGIOUS ONES
It is not a mistake that all of the “woes” and all of the warnings in chapter 23 are for the “scribes and the Pharisees.” The scribes were those people who knew the Law of the Old Testament and interpreted the Scriptures for God’s people. What they said was what it meant. Think of them as a religious lawyer that taught others how to be good religious people and were the only ones permitted to make copies of the Scriptures. The Pharisees were those religious political leaders that enforced what the scribes decreed about the Bible. The Pharisees believed that they could match God’s standards by keeping all the rules and taught others to do the same.
I take from this that Jesus is addressing those who took God seriously. Jesus is speaking to those who believed in God and read the Scriptures and made some effort to follow what they knew to be true. Jesus is teaching the religious ones. These are the people who frequented the Temple and did good works (23:1-12) and share about their faith (23:13-15) and taught others how to have a relationship with God (23:16-22) and showed how to tithe (23:23-24) and taught people how to be holy and pure (23:25-26) and appear to be the most religious in their community (23:29-36).
For us, the audience to whom Jesus is speaking is important. It is important because I hope that all of us here this morning take God seriously. We believe in God and read the Scriptures and make some effort to follow what we know to be true. We are the people who frequent church and Bible study and do good works and share about our faith and share with others how to have a relationship with God and tithe and strive to be holy and pure. We are the religious ones.
* Jesus is talking to us!
* Jesus is talking to the weekly church-goer and daily Bible reader.
* Jesus is talking to the one who wears a cross around their neck and wears Christian t-shirts.
* Jesus is talking to the one who posts Bible verses on social media.
* Jesus is talking to those who go to Sunday School and D-Groups and take God seriously.
We are the religious ones.
Jesus is talking to us about our hypocrisy. Are we a liar, imposter, charlatan, phoney, deceiver, faker, imposter, storyteller, fraud, dissembler, double-dealer, pretender, bluffer, fabricator, fibber, fabulist when it comes to our faith?
Religious people should be on the lookout for hypocrisy. This includes even the apostles in the Bible. No one is exempt from the temptation and sin of hypocrisy. Remember, Jesus is talking to the religious ones! The Apostle Paul describes a situation he had with the Apostle Peter in Galatians 2. In the passage, Paul calls Peter “Cephas” so don’t be confused…
READ GALATIANS 2:11-14 (ESV)
“But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. 13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
This passage records what happened to the Apostle Peter while he was in a town called Antioch. In the early church, Antioch was one of the first congregations to overcome its Jewish background because it was full of mostly Gentile believers. Gentile just means non-Jewish. In Antioch, the two groups had fellowship with each other and they ate meals together and were unified. When Peter came to Antioch to teach and preach, he joined right in with the united group. He ate with Gentiles in the same way he ate with his fellow Jews. Soon, however, some men from the Jerusalem church arrived in Antioch and these men would have considered it a sin to eat with a Gentile. They were wrong, but they were influential. When these men arrived in Antioch, the Apostle Peter donned his mask, changed his behavior on the spot, and pretended to believe something he did not. He stopped doing what he knew was right. He began to be a hypocrite and the Apostle Paul called him out on it.
Hypocrisy can come to anyone at any time and rear its ugly head. Hypocrisy also seems like it is contagious and can spread to other people if we are not careful. We should not miss that Paul says in verse 13 that other Jews fell in line with the hypocrisy and even Paul’s companion Barnabas fell into the hypocrisy and said one thing and did another.
TRANSITION
In order for us to grasp what Jesus is saying about this contagious sin, He uses a metaphor in Mathew 23. Just like in the previous verses in Matthew 23, He uses a metaphor about washing dishes (Matthew 23:25-26), Jesus uses a metaphor about tombs to drive home the truth about hypocrisy.
RE-READ MATTHEW 23:27-28 (ESV)
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
THE SERIOUSNESS OF JESUS’ WORDS: THE METAPHOR
In Jesus’ day, during the month of Adar, which for us is the February-March timeframe, it was customary for people in all towns and villages to white-wash graves and tombs and grave-sites with lime to make them stand out. This was done firstly as a way to honor the dead and take care of burial places. It was a point of pride that a burial place or a monument was nice and cared for and showed love for those who passed. It was actually done because after the month of Adar was Passover when many travelled and no one wanted to stumble over a grave accidentally and become ceremonially unclean while travelling to Passover. This would prevent someone from attending and being part of Passover. Travelers would notice the freshly painted tombs and avoid those areas.
Jesus uses the metaphor of the white-washed tombs to explain hypocrisy. We should take note that the tomb is full of “dead people’s bones and all uncleanness” (verse 27). The tombs are full of those nasty things no matter what the outside looks like. To Jesus, hypocrisy is looking nice and holy and good on the outside, but on the inside being filled with unclean lawlessness. The word that Jesus uses in verse 28 that means “lawlessness” means contempt for lawful things, iniquity, and morally wicked.
Jesus says that hypocrisy is looking one way on the outside and making every effort to look good and holy and perfect and put-together, but on the inside we are evil and unrighteous and sinful and coming-apart-at-the-seams. For Jesus, hypocrisy is pretending you have it all together with God on the outside, when you aren’t even trying on the inside. For Jesus, hypocrisy is wearing your church-mask on Sunday and living how you want Monday-Saturday. For Jesus, hypocrisy is pretending we don’t sin and we make every effort to look good on the outside, but on the inside none of what we project is true.
HYPOCRISY EXAMPLES… tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Hypocrite
What are some relatable hypocrisy examples we might have seen on TV or in movies?
* Hypocrisy is in the movie “The Shawshank Redemption” (1994) when Warden Norton in is a man who claims to be a man of God, but is incredibly corrupt and will resort to murdering his prisoners to get what he wants and cheats on all of his taxes.
* Hypocrisy is in the movie “Legally Blonde” (2001) when the head of a fitness company is on trial for her husband's murder. She has a solid alibi, but to reveal it would still destroy her: at the time of the murder she was out getting liposuction.
* Hypocrisy is “The Hunger Games” (2012) books and movies when the Capitol condemns the violence of the rebels, while conveniently overlooking how Districts 12 and 13 were destroyed by them and how the other Districts have been dominated and forced to send their children to be slaughtered for generations.
We see hypocrisy in life and we see hypocrisy in the Bible and we see hypocrisy in our entertainment. We know it when we see it and we know it is bad. We know hypocrisy is a bad character trait for anyone, but we usually do not see it in ourselves. We know in our hearts that hypocrisy makes relationships uneven and hostile and should be avoided.
TRANSITION
When I think about hypocrisy, I think about my conscience sometimes when I preach. When I think about hypocrisy, I think about telling my kids to be better drivers when I get a speeding ticket and wreck every so often. When I think about hypocrisy, I think about the ways I fail and how I expect others not to fail in those ways. When I think about hypocrisy, I feel like some hypocrisy in Christianity is unavoidable because Jesus is perfect and we are not so because of His nature we all are automatically hypocrites… and then I realize that is an excuse that doesn’t make much sense. When I think of hypocrisy, I immediately want to know how to I avoid being labeled with the H word.
APPLICATION
CONTENT… ncregister.com/blog/pope-francis-5-ways-to-avoid-being-a-hypocrite [adapted]
How can we avoid being hypocrites? How can we live out our faith more sincerely? How can we project the tension of the saved-brokenness in which every Christian lives properly to other people? What does it look like to live in honesty with those around us? We should want sincerity in faith, truth in love, and for our faith on our outsides to match the faith on our insides.
What does that look like?
#1 Acknowledge our Faults: Hypocrites often have fingers pointed at everyone else. The first step against hypocrisy is to admit that we have a problem. Anyone and everyone who can’t learn to acknowledge and confess faults become hypocrites. Anyone and everyone. We must admit to ourselves and to some others who may need to hear that we sin. It feels easier to put on a show or to wear a mask and to appear put-together when we are not. For those people who matter to us, acknowledge our faults and issues.
* Hiding sin grows hypocrisy.
* Confession kills hypocrisy.
#2 Pray with Tears: Anyone and everyone who prays draws closer to God. God is truth. God is light. God allows and enables us by His Spirit to see ourselves as we truly are and brushes away the false and shows what is hidden in the dark. It is through prayer that we recognize the need to change and to be honest with ourselves and others. Prayer moves us to confession and gives us courage to remove the false mask. This is impossible for the hypocrite because they always feel the need to maintain a façade of competence and self-sufficiency.
* Pride grows hypocrisy.
* Vulnerability kills hypocrisy.
#3 Avoid Excessive Rules: This one hurts me in the feels because I am a rule-follower by nature. Rules are my comfort zone. When we fall into hypocrisy, we often put an excessive emphasis on rules we follow or our unwritten rules of life that everyone else should know to follow. This is not to say that rules are bad… because they aren’t!... but it is possible to love rules in a grace-less demanding judgmental manner which is harmful to ourselves and others. This creates the need for exterior action without the accompanying inner truth. Our inside and outsides must match.
* Excessive rules grow hypocrisy.
* Rules in the proper place kills hypocrisy.
#4 Learn the Language of Truth: One sure-fire way to avoid hypocrisy is to speak the truth in all situations to ourselves and with other people. This requires some self-awareness which some of us do not have. This requires gaining some emotional intelligence which some of us do not have. Hypocrites have no problem pointing out the faults and issues of others, but when it comes to self-analysis, we are usually lacking in any awareness. Hypocrisy comes from a false heart and a false sense of self and a desire to deceive others.
* Lies grow hypocrisy.
* Truth kills hypocrisy.
SUMMARY
Listen! Christianity holds a high standard for us all and if we are honest with ourselves, we don’t meet it most of the time. The truth is we are all hypocrites to some degree if we take our faith in Christ seriously. We desire to avoid sin and yet we continue to sin. I happen to believe that hypocrisy has degrees on a scale. It is the willful and purposeful and intentionally hurtful hypocrisy that Jesus addresses and that we are talking about today. You and I must strive to surrender our inconsistent behavior to Jesus to transform it. To transform us.
Transformation may start with a prayer like this: Jesus, I give you all within me that is lie and all that fights against the good in me. I surrender my hypocrisy to you and ask you to transform it in order that I would be more like you. May I show grace to others.
PRAYER
Jesus, I give you all within me that is lie and all that fights against the good in me. I surrender my hypocrisy to you and ask you to transform it in order that I would be more like you. May I show grace to others.
INVITATION
One of the best things about Jesus is that He is never a hypocrite. Jesus is Who He says He is the same on the inside and on the outside. Jesus claimed to be holy. Jesus claimed to love us. Jesus claimed to be our Savior. Jesus claimed to be hard on sin and grace-filled for sinners. Jesus proved all of that with His death on the cross and the offer of salvation based on His own blood which is given freely to anyone who believes.
* Jesus came and did what God promised He would do.
* Jesus came did what was consistent with His character.
* Jesus still does through the Holy Spirit what He lived out.
Please trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior because He is Who He says He is and He does what He promises He will do. There is no changing or duplicity or fakeness in Jesus. Jesus came that you might be forgiven and made the way Himself for that to happen. Choose Jesus today!
