"Any time you point your finger at another human being to condemn, any time
you expect another to hold you in high esteem and any time you assert
yourself as the superior of another, that is the Pharisee in you" -A
Methodist
Matthew Chapter 23
13 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut
the door of the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. You yourselves do not
enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. 14]
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You devour
widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Therefore you will be
punished more severely.>}
15 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You
travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have
succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.
16 "Woe to you, blind guides! You say, 'If anyone swears by the temple,
it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound
by that oath.' 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple
that makes the gold sacred? 18 You also say, 'If anyone swears by the altar,
it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by
that oath.' 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that
makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears
by it and by everything on it. 21 And anyone who swears by the temple swears
by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22 And anyone who swears by heaven
swears by God's throne and by the one who sits on it.
23 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You
give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the
more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You
should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You
blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
25 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You
clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and
self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and
dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
27 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You
are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the
inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the
same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside
you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
29 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You
build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30
And you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not
have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' 31 So you
testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who
murdered the prophets. 32 Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors
started!
The Pharisees- (Latin: pharisæ|us, -i; from Hebrew - ?????? perushim/????
parush, meaning "set apart"[1]) were at various times a political party, a
social movement, and a school of thought among Jews during the Second Temple
period under the Hasmonean dynasty (140–37 BCE) in the wake of the Maccabean
Revolt.
Conflicts between the Pharisees and the Sadducees took place in the context
of much broader and longstanding social and religious conflicts among Jews
dating back to the Babylonian captivity and exacerbated by the Roman
conquest. One conflict was class, between the wealthy and the poor, as the
Sadducees included mainly the priestly and aristocratic families[2][3]
Another conflict was cultural, between those who favored hellenization and
those who resisted it. A third was juridico-religious, between those who
emphasized the importance of the Temple against others who emphasized
Mosaic law and Jewish traditions among other teachings. fourth conflict,
specifically religious, involved different interpretations of the Bible (or
Tanakh), and how to apply the Torah to Jewish life, with the Sadducees
recognizing only the written letter of the Tanakh or Torah and rejecting
life after death, while the Pharisees held to Rabbinic interpretations
additional to the written texts. The contemporary historian Josephus in
"The Jewish struggle" indicates that the Pharisees received the backing and
goodwill of the common people, apparently in contrast to the more elite
Sadducees. Pharisees claimed prophetic or Mosaic authority for their
interpretation[4] of Jewish laws, while the Sadducees represented the
authority of the priestly privileges and prerogatives established since the
days of Solomon.
The problem of hypocrisy is one of those fundamental human traits which has
existed since the dawn of civelization Hypocrisy is the state of pretending
to have beliefs, opinions, virtues, feelings, qualities, standards or
practices that one does not actually have. Hypocrisy involves the deception
of others and is thus a kind of lie. Though only one of many sins,
hypocrisy is particularly offensive when found in the caricter of spiritual
leaders, parents, and those perceived as being professional because society
tends to hold such individuals to a higher standard.
In His ministry, Jesus Christ returned repeatedly to the woe begotten state
of the hypocrite. The offenses he enumerated in our passage are stated
plainly enough. There were those who portrayed righteousness while
indulging in all varieties of sin. There were those who prescribed work and
failed to live by that standard. There were those who liked to make a show
of themselves at the expense of those less privileged. And thusly, they
asserted spiritual authority they lacked. To be a hypocrite is therefore in
the eyes of Christ and the rest of us to be slightly below a common liar.
But backing up just a little, a minister once observed that hypocrisy is a
sin common to one extent in each and every one of us. Psychologically
speaking, there is the difference between the projected self and the actual
self, which is a generally accepted paradigm. And it can not be said to be
hypocritical to teach against a flaw one has overcome. In one popular
commercial, an individual portraying a father confessed he was a hypocrite.
He said "No, I am not a vegetarian who wears leather shoes". He said he was
in fact a recovered drug addict who was advising his wayward son to avoid
precisely that flaw. He later said that to "help your child with his
problem, you first have to get over yours." One can envision a son
accusing his father of hypocrisy in that situation and effectively shaming
that father in the process. But the father in that situation actually
needed to deal with the fact he was not a hypocrite, but an elder who had
learned wisdom from mistakes of the past.
In the past, I have argued that the "seeker sensitive" movement contemporary
to the Churches of today was proving to have been a mistake. If the Church
can not be distinguished from the rest of the world, why go to Church? And
furthermore, how can a Christian grow if they do not have the opportunity to
receive uniquely Christian teaching while in Church? I have also argued
against political involvement. The Bible teaches that human beings lack the
ability to follow the Law of Grace in Christ without knowing Christ Himself,
so why try to force Christian law on those who lack even the ability to
follow that law?
It would be better to promote the Gospel of Christ and thereby enable the
society to obey the Law of Grace and to stand ground only in those
circumstances which inhibit that Gospel or endanger the innocent, the poor,
the widows and the sick, about whom Christ was quite concerned. But
regardless of the position one takes, one's credibility is thoroughly
neutralized if one is perceived as a hypocrite. And I am afraid that the
tendency of the Church toward that particular sin will eventually be it's
undoing.
The contemporary Christian vocalist called "Carmen" once stated that "The
chief cause of atheism today is Christians, who claim Christ with their
words, but deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world
simply finds unbelievable." I fear that this entertainer and minister was
right on the target. Christians today have fallen so far into this sin that
they have made themselves the laughing stock of not only the world, but
themselves as well.
During my early days as a follower of Christ, an elder of some public
notoriety was delivering a otherwise effectual speech on proper invitations
to Church. He recommended various remedies to the objections the unchurched
tend to raise. A buffet was prescribed for those who would rather eat
breakfast, a excuse from the pastor was given for those who would otherwise
work, a cot was suggested as a sleeping accommodation for those who liked to
sleep in. At that point the congrigation was snickering. But when the idea
of issuing a pen and paper to those who objected to the hypocrisy of the
Church, thusly enabling the guest to "count all the hypocrites", the
congrigation broke into hysterical laughter. The proposed solution to "not
allow the hypocrisy of others to inhibit one's own spirituality" met with
hearty approval. While that might have been a solid piece of advice, The
arrogant disregard for the teaching of the Bible bordered on blasphemy. As
a very young Christian, it took me years to figure out why I was so
scandalized. This man was actually teaching that Christians are hypocrites
and the rest of you need to deal with it.
And nothing, absolutely nothing could be further from the intent of Jesus
Christ. From Matthew 23: 13-29, Christians are taught to avoid the
accusation of hypocrisy by not being hypocritical. And this is not to
suggest that a Christian aught not to sin, though that is also a very good
idea, it is to say that a Christian aught not to assert themselves as
something they are not. The Bible teaches that not even Christians, not one
single human soul on this earth other than Christ Himself has been without
sin. So if we come across as having a "messiahnic" self assessment, a
"holier than thou" attitude, or think of ourselves as spiritual giants, who
in the world do we think we are kidding? Such individuals are failing to
impress the world, if demographics hold true. That attitude certainly does
not impress God, who sees the attitude of the heart. It is frankly hard to
understand how such an attitude could even deceive the perpetrator
themselves.
The solution is also so very simple. All Christians need do is simply be
honest. Let the Christian be the first to confess sin. Christians are no
different than others except in one very special way. A Christian is a
sinner who has been forgiven and has accepted that free gift of forgiveness
and decided they would rather follow Christ than sin. So let us confront
the accusation of hypocrisy as Christ intended, with honesty and repentance.
Do we have a problem with lying? Admit it as a serious failing. Are we
drunken? Seek help from others with meekness and humility. Are we a
preacher who is known for stinginess? Then apologize and start giving a
little. Are we adulterous? Then walk away from it and advise against the
destructive behavior based on experience. And finally, do we wish to be
thought of as spiritual, a leader, a first class Christian? Then humble
ourselves as though we were the lowest of servants, as though we were
helpless children, as though we were not learned, as though we were owed
absolutely nothing and were concerned only for the cause of Christ. And we
aught not to simply appear as humble, we rightly ought to actually be
humble. It is humility and repentance that Christ and the world expect of
the Christian, so give it to them. God is Sovereign and He alone will
reward as reward is due. It is simply time for Christians to start being
honest and looking at themselves with sober judgment (Romans 12:3) while
openly demonstrating that this is their stance. And my friends, THAT kind
of openness and honesty is impressive both to God and man. That kind of
honesty will change our lives. And that kind of honesty will win souls. So
this trait of open honesty is that for which we must strive.
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