Tag Archives: hypocrites

LUKE’S GOSPEL…NO PLACE FOR HYPOCRITES – 53

Bible Study, ,

LUKE’S GOSPEL…NO PLACE FOR HYPOCRITES – 53

“While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭20‬:‭45‬-‭47‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus had nothing but mercy for sinners but nothing but judgment for hypocrites.

According to Jesus, what is a hypocrite?

“According to Jesus, a hypocrite is a “play-actor” (derived from the Greek hypokrites) who wears a mask, pretending to be righteous to gain human recognition while their heart remains distant from God. Key behaviors include practicing religious duties publicly to be seen, enforcing strict rules on others that they do not follow themselves, and judging others’ minor sins while ignoring their own greater faults.

Key Characteristics of Hypocrites According to Jesus:

  • “Whitewashed Tombs”: Outwardly appearing righteous, but inwardly full of lawlessness, filth, and spiritual death (Matthew 23:27-28).
  • “Blind Guides”: They focus on trivial traditions while neglecting justice, mercy, and faithfulness.
  • “Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing”: Appearing harmless or righteous but having selfish or destructive motives.
  • The “Log” and the “Speck”: Focusing on the small faults (specks) of others while ignoring massive personal flaws (logs). 

Jesus reserved his strongest condemnation for religious the leaders (Pharisees and Scribes) who used piety to manipulate others and boost their own reputation.” (Sourced from Google AI, quoting from gotquestions.org)

There is no record of any altercation between Jesus and “sinners”…yet the gospels are full of accounts of clashes between the Him and the religious leaders. They actively sought or created opportunities to trap Him in His words or deeds, to force Him to speak or act against Moses, from whom they claimed their authority. They challenged His authority to interpret Moses on a higher and more spiritual level than they claimed to understand. They hated the mercy He showed to sinners while they ruthlessly applied the law without mercy.

Jesus came from the Father to correct the misrepresentations about the Father that His people had gathered over the centuries, and to exemplify and fulfil God’s law which mirrored the true character He revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai.

“Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭33‬:‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭34‬:‭5‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Holy love…this is God’s true nature in perfect balance. The Pharisees tried to protect and represent God’s holiness by heartlessly pursuing strict observance of the law…which they themselves failed to mirror…while neglecting to show His love which was His covenant faithfulness, His “chesed”, to His covenant people. Their ruthless nitpicking, especially their attacks on Jesus and His disciples, clearly exposed their own failure to understand the true nature of the God they claimed to serve.

For Jesus, the law meant the expression of the full nature of God in His requirements and in His never-ending mercy towards His erring people. To the Pharisees, the law was the strict standard by which to measure and find fault with people so that their superior outward behaviour could cover the rottenness of their own hearts.

Jesus saw right through them. He preferred the company of those who knew themselves and related to Him without facade or pretence. They received mercy while the Pharisees deserved judgment.

To be continued…

A WALK THROUGH THE LORD’S PRAYER – 1a

Prayer, ,

I think that most nations or cultural groups within a nation have some overriding issue, characteristic, or consideration  that controls their lives or that occupies their attention. Take Israel in Jesus’ day, for example…

Israel was a religious nation, with their leaders being representatives of their religious system, but with pagan influences because of its occupation by Rome, a pagan nation. 

How did this play out in their daily lives? The temple and temple worship, together with its rituals and sacrifices, played a central role in the beliefs and behaviour of its leaders and which filtered down to the ordinary people. 

The Jews were traditionally God’s covenant people. They had a history of rebellion and disobedience to the covenant which bound them to the God who had rescued them from Egyptian slavery and had led and settled them in their own Promised Land. However, they failed to honour the terms of His covenant. 

After centuries of conflict between themselves and their God, their religion had become one of rule and ritual with little heart, exemplified by their rulers, the scribes and Pharisees. The people were expected to follow their leaders slavishly and, when they didn’t, they were “cancelled” in the eyes of their superiors. 

Jesus came to restore to them the reality of the God who loved them, who was a Father to them, and who wanted a relationship with them as His sons and daughters. He hated the hypocrisy of their leaders who taught one thing but did the opposite. He set out to correct their belief system by teaching and modelling the truth of a Father/Son relationship. 

Jesus’ first task was to teach His disciples about the way His kingdom would operate on earth. He had to dispel the false beliefs that had crept into the minds and lifestyles of His people through the control of their religious teachers and leaders.

Matthew’s version of “the Sermon on the Mount”, recorded in Matthew 5 to 7, is a sample of the way Jesus taught His disciples to live as God’s family under His rule. He had to correct “Halakah” –  the way to behave based on the Talmud which regulated the lives of the people. 

“In simple terms, the Talmud is the central and authoritative text of Rabbinic Judaism, a vast collection of Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, and lore that serves as a guide for Jewish life. It is composed of the Mishnah, a codification of oral laws, and the Gemara, which is a commentary and elaboration on the Mishnah and the rabbis’ discussions about it.” (Source: Google)

For the ordinary Jew, life had become burdensome and almost impossible to live under the religious system their leaders imposed on them.  

Jesus offered them His alternative, His yoke, …., a life of rest and freedom from suffocating rules by trusting Him and following His way….

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭28‬-‭30‬ ‭NIV‬‬

…in place of the heavy religious and heartless yoke of the Pharisees. 

How would Jesus, the Son of God, initiator and representative of a new covenant in which prayer was to be the centre of their experience of God, set the record straight? 

Through the mystery and miracle of prayer, personally interacting with their Heavenly Father, they would get to know Him. They would throw off the burdensome, man-made laws imposed on them. They would learn to partner with Him in the administration of His heavenly rule which Jesus had come to restore. 

The first step was to correct the wrong practices of Pharisees and pagans. 

The Pharisees loved to be noticed, their obedience to the law acknowledged and praised. They were the model for the ordinary people and revelled in the attention they received. 

So, Jesus warned…

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus used the terms ”Pharisees” and “hypocrites” interchangeably because that was what they were… play actors who wore masks to hide their true identity. 

“That’s not the way to receive your Father’s reward,” said Jesus. Man’s reward is empty and worthless… God always rewards those who pray with the right attitude and motive…

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11‬:‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

So, according to Jesus, God rewards the sincere prayer of His children, directed in faith to Him, obviously by answering us, but it’s much more than that…

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Fruit! Union with Jesus bears fruit. What kind of fruit? 

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The character of Jesus produced by the Holy Spirit, becomes woven into our lives as we gaze at Him…

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭3‬:‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

 …which is exactly God’s purpose…

“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭29‬ ‭NIV‬‬

So, if we pray only to impress people, that’s all the reward we will get!

To be continued…

PRAYING GOD’S WAY – 21

Prayer,

THE “DO’S AND DON’TS” OF PRAYER

As much as there are do’s and don’ts on every level of life that help or hinder us, so too with prayer. Jesus made it clear to His disciples that do’s and don’ts are of great importance when we approach the Father. If we ignore the don’ts, we ignore the wrong attitudes that hinder our prayers. If we do the do’s, we enhance our prayer lives by praying God’s way.

The first ‘don’t’ is one we easily miss because we are dominated by our self-consciousness.

‭Matthew 6:5 NLT‬
[5] “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get….”

This ‘don’t’ is especially applicable when we pray in a group. We like the affirmation of those who admire our use of words. So, we plan our words while others are praying! Conversely, we listen to others pray and bemoan the fact that we can’t pray as ‘beautifully’ as someone else! All the while, we forget that prayer is about conversing with God, not speaking to people.

Our self-consciousness (and pride) are always there to intrude in what should be an intimate time with the Father. If recognition is our subconscious motive when we pray, our prayers may bounce off the ceiling. They don’t impress God.

The second ‘don’t’ is equally a trap into which we easily fall, closely tied to our desire to impress. Words!

‭Matthew 6:7 NLT‬
[7] “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again…“

Oh, how we babble! To babble means to mutter, repeating the same words or, often, in our case, giving God lengthy explanations, instructions, advice, and requests. We subconsciously treat God exactly as the ‘Gentiles’ treat their pagan gods, either hard of hearing or, worse, lacking in understanding, when we babble!

Jesus said that prayer is NOT about people or words. He gave us two ways to counteract our don’ts by changing our doing.

We can neutralise our self-awareness by praying in secret. Then our words won’t matter. Jesus specifically said that the Father ‘sees’, not ‘hears’, our secret prayers. We express our intention when we pray in secret. We want the Father, not people, to hear us so, we go aside and pray alone.

Babbling means that words spew out of our mouths like water from a fountain. God is not impressed by our carefully chosen and many words. He listens to the heart. He knows us. He knows our needs before we ask Him. He doesn’t need our words to explain or instruct.

That’s the reason for transparency when we pray because prayer is about intimacy, and intimacy and honesty go together.

God has given us a simple way to overcome our babbling. He told us just to say “Amen” to His promises.

‭2 Peter 1:4 NLT‬
[4] “And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.”

‭2 Corinthians 1:20 NLT‬
[20] “For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.”

A simple “Amen” to whatever promise God gives us in time of need will cut off the flow of babbling and quieten our hearts to have confidence in His intention.

Instead of babbling, let’s listen. God has a word of reassurance… that He knows and He has a plan in everything for our good and His glory.

Read these matchless words of James Montgomery (1818). Perhaps, we can catch a glimpse of the enormity of true prayer that needs not words but heart to reach the heart of God.

“Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire,
Uttered or unexpressed,
The motion of a hidden fire
That trembles in the breast.

Prayer is the burden of a sigh,
The falling of a tear,
The upward glancing of an eye
When none but God is near.

Prayer is the simplest form of speech
That infant lips can try;
Prayer, the sublimest strains that reach
The Majesty on high.

Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath,
The Christian’s native air;
His watchword at the gates of death,
He enters heav’n with prayer

Prayer is the contrite sinner’s voice
Returning from his ways,
While angels in their songs rejoice
And cry, “Behold! He prays!”

Nor prayer is made on earth alone
The Holy Spirit pleads,
And Jesus at the Father’s throne
For sinners intercedes.

O thou by whom we come to God,
The Life, the Truth, the Way,
The path of prayer thyself hast trod
Lord, teach us how to pray.”

Source: Musixmatch

JESUS’ TEACHING ON PRAYER

Christian Life, ,

JESUS’ TEACHING ON PRAYER

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites….And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans….this then is how you should pray.” Matthew 6:5,7,8.

Although Jesus gives specific teaching on prayer, the whole of the Sermon on the Mount is interwoven with principles which apply to our prayer lives e.g., unforgiveness blocks our fellowship with God, as does a critical and judgmental spirit, broken relationships with people, greed, worry etc. and even our attitude to Jesus’ teachings. Since most of us learn to pray by listening to and copying other people, we need a complete mind shift about prayer.

In Matthew 6:5-8 Jesus clears the ground by using the illustration of two classes of people who had become role models for the ordinary people; religious people (whom He called “hypocrites”) and pagans (nationals or Gentiles).

Hypocrites (play actors) were people with more than one face, playing an assumed character to an audience. People who are praying to an audience are more aware of the people around them than of God. The antidote to people-awareness is solitude. Get away from people so that you can focus on God.

Gentiles were idol worshippers. Their problem was to get their gods to hear them. (e.g., Elijah and the prophets of Baal). Since their gods were deaf and dumb and without understanding, they had to use many words in their prayers.  Jesus called it “babbling” from the Greek word “to stutter”. We also easily fall into the trap of thinking that we must explain or repeat ourselves as though God were either deaf or retarded. Prayer is not about words. Prayer is about awareness.

Because we have the wrong idea about prayer, we think that the purpose for prayer is to make God aware of our needs. Words and needs are connected. We must use the right words to make sure God understands our needs. This concept of prayer is erroneous for two reasons. It ignores the fact the God is our Father, and it forgets that God knows our needs before we ask Him

In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus teaches us how to view our needs. He said, “Take no thought…” This does not mean worry. It means do not allow thoughts to consume your mind to the exclusion of everything else. Your basic human needs are to be the concern of your Father, not yours.  You are of greater value than birds and flowers.  Let God fulfil His role as a true Father without your taking that from Him.

You are to have a different spirit from the Gentiles whose whole life is taken up with meeting their own needs. God’s way for us is to take care of the needs of others.  Then He will take care of our needs.

The first step in understanding what prayer is, is to recognise that prayer is not about words or needs but about becoming aware of God and moving into the environment of our Father’s knowledge and care of us. We should never approach our God in the same manner as the hypocrites or pagans who use their gods to suit their own ends. W come to our God one His terms as the great sovereign of the universe and we as His subjects.

JESUS AND PRAYER

Christian Life, ,

JESUS AND PRAYER

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 “This, then, is how you should pray: Matthew 6:5-9

Prayer was another subject to which Jesus gave a fair amount of attention. Why was prayer much more important to Him than it often is to us? Prayer was His lifeline to the Father. It was important that His disciples understood that prayer was the way that human sons and daughters communicated with their unseen heavenly Father.

Prayer as the Bible presents it, does not exist outside of this relationship. People may “pray” to their gods, but it is nothing more than babbling to something that does not exist. The God of the Bible is the only one who responds to prayer. Oh, some may call it coincidence but when people pray, coincidence happens. When they don’t, it doesn’t!

You who answer prayer, to you all people will come (Psa. 65:2).

Jesus took time to teach His disciples about prayer and He often prayed in their presence. For Him, motive and attitude was as important as the prayers themselves. In His first teaching session with them, according to Matthew, He set the scene by warning them about wrong attitudes and motives.

There were two groups of people whose example Jesus’s discipleswere not to follow, the hypocrites and the pagans, for very good reasons. Who were these people?

  1. The hypocrites

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. (Matt. 6: 5)

The first group were the “hypocrites.” The word “hypocrite” originates from classical Greek where the word was used of an actor who wore a mask to impersonate a character in a play. “Hypocrites” came to mean those who pretended to be who they were not. Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites on more than one occasion, revealing who the hypocrites were of whom He spoke here. These men exposed the falseness of their own hearts by their contradictory behaviour, doing the “right thing” but ignoring the spirit of Torah.

It was a common practice to pray standing in the synagogue with arms upraised towards God. Jesus did not condemn their posture since the Bible advocates different postures in prayer, including standing before the Lord. He drew attention to their motive – they wanted to be seen so that they could be admired by their onlookers. They chose the most visible and public places for prayer so that they would be noticed and admired for their piety and, of course, for their long prayers. Jesus was adamant that they were not the model to follow. Why?

The reward they wanted was not from God but from people. They wanted accolades so that they could be admired and applauded with no thought of seeking God’s approval and God’s answers. Prayer had become ritualistic repetition, mere religious exercises with no sense of need for God. Jesus assured His disciples that, if this was all the reward they sought, it was the only reward they would get.

Prayer is not about impressing people. It’s not even about impressing God. Prayer is about seeking the face of God out of weakness and need. God responds readily to those who pray for the right reasons.

The ordinary people were surrounded by self-seeking, approval “addicts” whose prayer model was reprehensible – despicable, inexcusable, and unacceptable – but His disciples were not to follow their example. Better to seek solitude and commune with God in secret where there are no watching eyes and listening ears than to pray in public, so that prayer can be sincere and real.

  • The pagans

And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. (Matt. 6: 7)

The second group were the “pagans”. Who were the pagans? Jesus mentioned pagans on at least four occasions in Matthew’s gospel.

  1. Pagans only relate to those who relate to them (Matt. 5:45-47).
  2. Pagans mutter empty repetitive prayers (Matt. 6: 6-8).
  3. Pagans run after material things (Matt. 6: 31-33).
  4. Pagans refuse to respond to the process of reconciliation (Matt. 18: 15-17).

In Bible times, people who worshipped false gods were regarded as pagans. They were despised, not only for their idolatry but also because of what they did.

For you have spent enough time in the past doing what the pagans choose to do – living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. (1 Peter 4: 3)

Jesus warned His disciples not to allow their prayers to degenerate into “babbling”. Another word for “babble” is to “mutter”. Why did pagans mutter? They muttered because they wanted to be heard. Empty repetition was the hallmark of pagan “prayer”. They had no assurance that their gods ever heard them. The cry of the priests of Baal from morning until noon when Elijah challenged them to a contest on Mount Carmel was, “O Baal, answer us!” 91 Kings 18: 26). Elijah’s short prayer, by contrast, was answered immediately! (1 Kings 18: 36-38).

How easy it is to “babble” when we commune with a God we cannot see and hear! God is spirit. Our communion with Him takes place in the spirit, with or without words. We must keep in mind that God hears our hearts, not our words. We need to practise God-awareness which takes us beyond ourselves and our concerns into the realm where God is sovereign and knows and works far beyond our thoughts and understanding.

God-awareness will save us from putting our circumstances before God, and from being need-and-word orientated rather than God-conscious. Our Father knows our needs before we ask Him. When we concentrate on needs and words rather than on God and who He is, our prayers degenerate into “panic” praying or giving Him information or advice. This is not prayer. This is paganism – speaking to gods who must be informed or persuaded because they do not exist.

Prayer is essentially the interaction between a loving Father and His submissive and obedient child. It is the communion of heart with heart.

Scripture is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.