Hypocrisy 101

We all know what a hypocrite is, we just might have a hard time agreeing who the hypocrites are. Matthew 23:27 finds Jesus saying, “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.”

This group had mastered the art of the “good person.” In our context, they would have worn just the right modest clothes (sustainably produced from a Christian manufacturer), they would have attended just the right prayer meetings (with the most holy of congregants but not a clique), they would have been publicly generous (and people would know it), and they would be very ready to speak on current theological issues. Outwardly, this group would be unassailable, models of virtue, and pillars of their community. But filled with death inside.

Jesus doesn’t rebuke the Pharisees for their good deeds, he rebukes them because good deeds became their god. When our insistence on non-secular music supersedes a heart that seeks righteousness, we have become Pharisees. When our public affiliations are more important than showing love to the outsider, we have become Pharisees. When what we appear to be externally is more important than who Jesus is calling us to become, we have become Pharisees. The good news is that we’re freed from the need to paint on a holy exterior. We are the recipients of Christ's righteousness through the work of Jesus' birth, life, death, and resurrection.

Where is God inviting you to live in that freedom?


Matthew 23:27