Sermon Talkback
November 2, 2008
Walk the Talk—Matthew 23:1-13a
Pharisaic has come to mean hypocritical
Although Jesus shows respect for the Pharisees and scribes connection to God’s law, the portrait that Jesus paints of them is a grave one. They know the law, but fail to live it. They possess knowledge, but fail to be transformed by it. They have access to the kingdom of heaven, but shut its gates. In Matthew, the Pharisees fell into 3 traps: They say but do not do (v.3); They burden others while failing to act themselves (v.4); and They act to make an impression on others (v.5).
The Talmud distinguishes 7 different kinds of Pharisees:
1. Shoulder Pharisee—wore his good deeds on his shoulder
2. Wait-a-Little Pharisee—professed the creed but always finds an excuse for not doing the right thing
3. Bruised Pharisee—avoid talking or seeing a woman in public so they close their eyes and bump into walls
4. Hump-backed Pharisee—always extremely humble
5. Ever-reckoning Pharisee—always adding up the good deeds
6. Fearing Pharisee—always trying to avoid divine punishment
7. God-fearing Pharisee—considered good who really and truly loved God
Six out of seven types of Pharisees were in their own particular way hypocritical.
Phylacteries & Fringes
Phylacteries are straps with a capsule containing scripture verses, which are worn either on the forehead or the upper arm under clothing. In Deuteronomy their purpose is to remind the wearer of the content of the scripture (Deut. 6:8; Ex. 13:16). Fringes are a later development based on Numbers 15:38-40 and Deut. 22:12. The language of making phylacteries broad and fringes long gets to the heart of Jesus’ accusation.
Moral Hypocrisy
A moral hypocrite is someone who has convinced himself that he is acting virtuously even when he does something he would condemn in others. Failure to live up to one’s professed values, especially if one is a politician, church or community leader condemns one to be a hypocrite. The universally accepted compliment for a person doing the right thing is, “He or she walks the talk.”
Christians and the church are especially open to the charge of hypocrisy, though that was not always the case—“See those Christians, how they love one another.” Today the media goes into a near frenzy when a church leader preaching sexual morality is caught in a misdeed.
Our Own Behavior
Hypocrisy is something we easily fall into often without thinking. You can say things at a party or to a close friend only to have it ring hollow when you suddenly think about what you just said. You find yourself agreeing just to be nice and then you suddenly realize as you walk off that you do not think anything of the sort.
You find yourself saying something to your teenage son or daughter and after they leave the room slightly angry and/or embarrassed. You suddenly remember doing and/or thinking the exact same thing. Do you call your child back in the room and confess? Do you remember and be more sympathetic and helpful? What do you do when you find yourself being hypocritical?