Transcript

What Infuriates Christ

Matthew 23:13-39
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Pastor Randy Smith

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Warning in advance: Matthew chapter 23 is not a chapter for the fainthearted. It reveals the harshest and most condemning words ever recorded from the lips of Jesus Christ. In a handful of verses we hear Him say: "Woe to you" (verses 13, 14, 15, 16, 23, 25, 27 and 29), "son of hell" (verse 15), "blind guides" (verses 16 and 24), "blind men (verses 17 and 19), "fools" (verse 17) and "brood of vipers" (verse 33). These comments seem incompatible with the conception most people have of Jesus Christ (cf. Mt. 23:37).

Who were the recipients of these critical words? Immoral prostitutes? No. Corrupt tax collectors? No. Godless Gentiles? No, again. These severe words of judgment were spoken to religious people! As a matter of fact, the most religious people of Jesus' day.

So what were these religious people doing wrong? The answer is another word mentioned often throughout this section (verses 13, 14, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29). It is the word: "hypocrites." I want you to become familiar with the word as this message will be dealing with that very topic. As the title of this sermon says, spiritual hypocrisy is an action that without a doubt infuriates Jesus Christ.

Hypocrites. In the original Greek the word is hupokrites. Author and theologian Sinclair Ferguson said, "It was a word originally used of an actor. Theatrical make-up in those days took the form of a mask which the actor wore. On it would be painted the character and the mood which the actor portrayed. It might be a smiling face which hid the sad heart of the actor behind it. It might be a face of virtue which hid behind it a life of vice. In acting there can be a great discrepancy between the part which is played and the reality of the life which lies behind it." He goes on to say, "The same can be true of faith. We can profess much and possess little. Indeed there is always the temptation in Christian fellowships to pretend to be something other than what we are" (Grow in Grace, p. 133).

The recipients of these words were the Pharisees. They were the spiritual leaders in the time of Jesus Christ. They were also the classic example of hypocrisy. They pretended to be religious and convinced a whole nation, but had a heart far from the Lord.

This morning I would like to look into this stinging critique of their lives, and then allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to each of us individually if we are truly honoring the Lord or acting like spiritual phonies. Often we talk about actions that please the Lord. Today we will study an action that brings Him the greatest displeasure by examining an overview of the "eight woes" that Jesus brought to the religious leaders of His day.

Today we will cover eight distinctions of a spiritual hypocrite.

1. SPIRITUAL BLOCKADES

The first of our eight points: Hypocrites set up spiritual blockades. In other words, they make it harder for others to come to God.

The greatest difference between a true believer and a fake believer stands in his or her desire to imitate God. If God is number one in our hearts, we will think like Him and act like Him. We will love what He loves and hate what He hates. And one thing God definitely loves is when sinners repent and come to Him for salvation. Therefore we, like the angels, Luke 15:10, "[Find] joy in the presence…of God over one sinner who repents." Spiritual hypocrites do just the opposite. They care less about people coming to Christ. Moreover, they make it more difficult. This infuriates our Lord.

Verse 13, "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in."

As the Pharisees made it hard to follow Jesus, how many spiritual hypocrites have made it hard to follow Jesus in our day? How many people are totally turned off to attending church because of their belief that the place is filled with a bunch of hypocrites? Outsiders see right through this attitude and turn away in disgust. Pastors with moral or financial failures? Churchgoers who preach one thing and then practice another? Congregations that are unloving or lost or legalistic or lifeless? In my days I have come across hundreds of people turned off to church by churchgoers. I trust you have as well.

But before we blame others, maybe we need to take a look at our own lives. Have we personally made Jesus Christ attractive? Are other people turned off to Christianity or more excited about the faith because of the example we set? Parents, what example have we set for our children?

John MacArthur in Successful Christian Parenting, said, "Parents, take inventory in your own hearts. Do you thirst for God as the deer pants after the water? Or is your own life sending your children a message of hypocrisy and spiritual indifference? Is our own commitment to Christ what you hope to see in your children's lives? Is your obedience to His Word the same kind of submission you long to see from your own kids? These are crucial question each parent must face if we really want to be successful parents and good role models for our children. Parents who are lax in these areas virtually guarantee that their sons and daughters will fail spiritually" (p. 23-24).

Now I am not saying we can frustrate the sovereignty of God in salvation, nor am I saying people have excuses for not following Christ, but these words from our Lord are clear. We must never set up spiritual blockages to the kingdom. Such people are hypocrites because they claim to love God, but by their choices they make it difficult for other people to love God. Such actions infuriate Christ.

2. SPIRITUAL PERFORMANCE

Second, hypocrites identify themselves by their spiritual performance.

Verse 14, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation."

Although it is questionable as to whether this verse belongs here, I want to cover it because the same words are mentioned by Jesus elsewhere in Mark and Luke (Mk. 12:40; Lk. 20:47).

As Jesus said in verse 5, "[Hypocrites] do all their deeds to be noticed by men."

Last week we learned they "broadened their phylacteries" and "lengthened the tassels of their garments" (Mt. 23:5). This week we see that they offered "long [public] prayers" (Mt. 23:14). We know from chapter 6 that they, "Sound[ed] the trumpet" when they gave money and "[prayed] to be seen by men" and put on a gloomy face" when they fasted (Mt. 6:2, 15, 16).

The goal in all of this is to draw attention to oneself; to get people to admire you for being very pious. Some want to be praised for their wealth, some for their intelligence, some for their looks, some for their kids and in this case, some for their spirituality. Last week we called it being a "spiritual show-off."

This flavor of hypocrisy infuriates Christ as well because it is taking spiritual disciplines intended to honor Him and then using them to seek honor for oneself. The goal of a true believer is to desire one's life to resound to the glory of God. When attention is given to us, we should act not as a sponge, but rather a mirror that deflects all praise back to our Creator. Spiritual hypocrites claim they want this, but in reality they want all the glory for themselves. And they will use religious actions to get it!

3. SPIRITUAL CORRUPTION

Third, Jesus is infuriated with spiritual corruption.

Look at verse 15, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves."

No doubt that God called the Israelites to be His special people. But the goal in His choosing them was to take His name to the Gentiles. Remember Jonah was rebuked by God for not having this mindset. God's intention for the Jews was to be a light to the world (Gen. 22:18; Isa. 54:2-3; 56:3-8; 60:1-3; Jer. 39:15-18; Joel 2:28-32; Mal. 1:11). Though history declares that the Israelites did poorly in this area, it also reveals some effort to win converts during the First Century.

The problem was that these Pharisees went through great efforts to make converts, but the converts they were producing were not people brought into the family of God, but rather as Jesus says, people that became "twice as much a son of hell as [themselves]." All these Pharisees did was to produce more people like themselves that became even worse than themselves. Under God's name, they made people more corrupt.

We need to ask ourselves if we are guilty of the same tendency. Do we first have a passion to win people to Christ? And second, once people are won to Christ will they become more like Christ because of our influence? The Pharisees led people away from Jesus. How are we individually leading people to become more Christlike?

Since we are part of a body, each one of us will affect the other body parts. What do people see as our priorities when we communicate to others? Are people inspired to attend and serve and pray because of our example? Do others see a life abiding in Christ? Do we exude a zeal and passion and love for God and people? There are a lot of exciting things going on around here, and I have seen it with my own eyes - many of your actions have inspired others. Hypocrites take the church in the opposite direction.

The Pharisees were corrupting God's people. That is hypocrisy because God's true people will want God's best for God's other people. And that thought will influence every decision they make. Will my actions help or hinder the Godward direction of church?

4. SPIRITUAL DISHONESTY

Moving on. Number four, hypocrites are engaged in spiritual dishonesty.

Satan is the "father of lies" (Jn. 8:44). God is a God of truth (Rev. 3:7). Therefore God's children should be committed to the truth. And one of the most common ways we violate this principle is imitating not God but Satan when we are dishonest.

Sometimes telling the truth comes at a cost. An honest story may not win as much excitement. It may bring discipline for a wrongdoing we have committed. It may hurt someone though we know it is something they need to hear. It may mean a commitment to a promise. We do not enjoy lying yet we do not want to tell the truth, so we circumvent ways around the truth. As the kids say, "I had my shoelaces crossed!" Or oaths that accent our desire to be truthful that we never intend to keep: "Cross my fingers hope to die, stick a needle in my eye." The Pharisees played the same game though they used means that appeared more spiritual and sophisticated.

Jesus exposes their system starting in verse 16: "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.' You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.' You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering? Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it. And whoever swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it. And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it" (Mt. 23:16-22).

While maintaining their spiritual appearance, they devised a convenient system that permitted them to break their word. Jesus exposes the folly of such a system by reminding them that everything is ultimately connected to God. Hence to swear by anything is the same as swearing by God.

Hypocrites need to make oaths because they cannot be trusted. As Jesus said in chapter 5, our reputation of honesty should precede us whereby saying a simple "yes" or "no" should be sufficient (Mt. 5:36). We should not need to swear on a stack of Bibles to support each of our promises. God's people act like the God of truth. We practice truthfulness. We keep our word. Anything less as seen here is spiritual hypocrisy and that infuriates Christ.

5. SPIRITUAL IMBALANCE

The fifth woe is found in verse 23. I am calling this form of hypocrisy "spiritual imbalance." Hypocrites love to focus on the little things while they neglect the major things.

Here are some examples: By God's grace Todd Scottson and his crew did a wonderful job with the soccer clinic last week. Roughly 150 kids heard the Gospel. Imagine if someone approached Todd, ignoring all the good, having never lifting a finger (cf. Mt. 23:4) to help and then rebuked him for not getting the soccer balls we passed out for five cents cheaper somewhere else? Or a person who leaves a church because of disagreement over a minor doctrinal issue or because someone offended her or because the color of the wallpaper in the ladies room? Or the guy who finds nit-picky faults with everyone else but has a marriage on the brink of divorce?

Such people show themselves to be hypocrites because they ignore the heart of the faith and reduce it down to simple manageable rules of minutiae that call for no sacrifice. They do these few things and believe they have fulfilled their spiritual obligations. Then they impose these rules upon others.

Here is how the Pharisees did it, verses 23 and 24: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!" (Mt. 23:23-24).

They would go out of their way to give 10% of their garden herbs, but neglect what really mattered the most, things like justice and mercy and faithfulness (see Micah 6:8). Why? Because they are hypocrites. They want the appearance of being super-spiritual without any of the effort. Believe me, it is much easier to hand over a few tiny mint leaves than (in our case) sit by someone's hospital bed or publicly share Christ or stay committed to the church. As Jesus said, such practice is to "strain out a gnat and swallow a camel" (Mt. 23:24).

6. SPIRITUAL NEGLECT

The sixth form of hypocrisy I am calling, "spiritual neglect."

I can remember when we lived in the Chicago suburbs that there were several very affluent neighborhoods in our region. For so many people, living in these communities was a token of prestige, a sign that they were successful in life. The stories were legion as to how many folks got in over their heads and needed to foreclose on their homes. Other stories circulated how the outside of their home looked great, but inside they were unable to afford food and mattress frames. It was all about exterior appearance.

This also described the Pharisees spiritual life. Because the Pharisees were so obsessed with impressing others, they paid great attention to looking spiritual on the outside, but took little concern to care for the inside. As 1 Samuel 16:7 says, "God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." True spirituality seeks to please God with a clean heart. Spiritual hypocrites seek to impress man with the exterior forms of religion.

Verses 25 and 26 show what Jesus thinks about such actions: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also."

All that matters, beloved, is God's evaluation of us. God looks at the heart. And when God sees your heart, what does He see? Is it a heart of spiritual neglect, or is it a heart after His own heart? As it is said of the godly woman in Proverbs 31: "Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised" (Pr. 31:30). I pray that we will desire what God desires. True believers are consumed with the inside. Hypocrites just care to impress people with the spiritual externals.

7. SPIRITUAL DEADNESS

Number seven, hypocrites are spiritually dead.

Verses 27 and 28, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."

Since touching a corpse or bone or grave made someone spiritually unclean (Num. 19:16), it was common the month before the Passover to whitewash these gravestones to make them more noticeable.

Again, this accusation is similar to the last one. The Pharisees were like these whitewashed tombs. They took great pains to look wonderful on the outside, but were filled with death and decay on the inside. And what an indictment this was on these spiritual leaders as nothing was more spiritually unclean than the inside of a tomb.

8. SPIRITUAL BLAME SHIFTING

And finally, a hypocrite is an expert in blame shifting. Hypocrites go out of their way to avoid be exposed for the fakes that they are. Oftentimes they set up an elaborate scheme to prevent their charade from being detected.

Today we see it in hypocrites who stand on the brink of exposure and then suddenly leave the church because it is full of cliques or they are "unable to connect" or their conscience is calling them elsewhere or some other flimsy reason. When the light shines on them, their spiritual problems are always someone else's fault. And to make themselves look better they are always putting someone else or the church down.

God sent the Jews several prophets. They declared God's word. Yet God's word was not welcomed, and the messengers were rejected. Jesus describes it in verses 34-36 how Israel killed the prophets sent to her.

But the Pharisees, true to their hypocrisy, verse 29, "built the tombs of the prophets" and said, verse 30, "If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets." Jesus called them out because it was nothing but a façade - claiming they would honor God's prophets, when they were making plans to kill Him, the greatest of all God's prophets (Mt. 12:14; 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; 21:38-39, 46; 22:15). Verse 31 and following, "So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?" (Mt. 23:31-33).

These things have been written for our instruction. May we all learn from the error of the Pharisees as to what defines a hypocrite and how much Christ detests the hypocrite. Therefore may we honor God by seeking to desire the salvation and spiritual growth of others, imitate God in all His actions, prioritize the weightier matters of the Christian faith, cultivate a heart that may be unseen by others, but is precious in the sight of God, and desire all praise we receive to be reflected to God. Christian imposters, spiritual hypocrites, have caused great harm to the church. May we live out what we proclaim and aim to be an example of those things to others.

The puritan Matthew Henry once said, "If men's religion prevails not to conquer and cure the wickedness of their hearts, it shall not always serve for a cloak. The day is coming when hypocrites will be stripped of their fig-leaves."