Matthew 23:13-36

From what I read on the internet, everyone hates hypocrites. And if you do a search on Google, the number one group accused of being hypocrites are Christians. Not politicians, not other religious groups. Christians. It flows so easily: Christians are nothing but a bunch of hypocrites.

But what exactly is a hypocrite? Is it the inability to achieve perfection? If a surgeon attempts life saving surgery but fails to save the life of the patient, is she a hypocrite?

Is a hypocrite a person who expects perfection from others but dismisses their need for perfection? Is a hypocrite a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, especially a person whose actions belie stated beliefs?

All of these definitions seem to be missing the point. Is it hypocrisy for a coach to expect his players to work harder, be more fit, or perform at a level he could never achieve? I want my children to make good choices because I have made so many poor choices. Am I a hypocrite? It’s true that I have lied, stolen, had impure thoughts, been critical of others. But when I talk to someone about a destructive addiction, an intentionally hurtful comment, an outright lie or deliberate exaggeration, poor work performance, or a broken promise and they respond with accusations of past failures, am I the hypocrite? Or are they?

Jesus’ final public sermon before his arrest and crucifixion was a scathing attack on the religious leaders of Israel. No longer following the true Judaism of God’s word and no longer teaching God’s message of salvation by grace through faith, they had created a system of religion that misinterpreted and twisted the scriptures.

In Matthew 5-7 Jesus showed how they had twisted the ten commandments. In Matthew 8-22 Jesus is confronted and challenged by the religious leaders as he invites his listeners to experience true salvation. Now in Matthew 23 he condemns the beliefs and lifestyles of these false spiritual leaders.

Of all the descriptions Jesus could use for these false spiritual leaders, he chose “hypocrite.” And in Matthew 23:13-36 Jesus gives six qualities which define the hypocrisy of false spiritual leaders.

1. Teaching a false salvation (13-15)
[13] “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. [15] Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.

2. Promoting a false integrity (16-22)
[16] “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ [17] You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? [18] And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ [19] You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? [20] So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. [21] And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. [22] And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.

3. Practicing an incomplete faith (23-24)
[23] “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. [24] You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!

4. Possessing a false sanctification (25-26)
[25] “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. [26] You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

5. Professing a false righteousness (27-28)
[27] “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.

6. Persecuting the true followers (29-36)
[29] “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, [30] saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ [31] Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. [32] Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. [33] You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? [34] Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, [35] so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. [36] Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

It is not hypocrisy to:

• Believe that God’s commands for living set a perfect standard that we our bound to seek and desire to attain through grace even though we will fail repeatedly throughout our lives.
• Believe that we need to spur one another on toward love and good works even though our sinful nature keeps us from always loving and always wanting God’s good.
• Fail. Failure is not proof of hypocrisy but proof of our inability to live in our own strength and not through the grace given power of the Spirit.