Frederick had learned something that most people never really admit: we are all hypocrites to some degree. This is the first time that the Lord Jesus used the word “hypocrite” or “hypocrisy” during His ministry, but it will definitely not be the last. As we shall see, there are whole chapters dealing with the hypocrisy of the Jews. “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.” “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” Matthew 23 was directed towards the Pharisees, but to whom was Jesus speaking when He preached this Sermon on the Mount? This was primarily to His disciples. The reason that the Sermon on the Mount is so hard to preach, and so hard for us to hear, is because the sins exposed are our own – not those of other people like the scribes and Pharisees. It is the Lord Jesus who says to us that we are prone to hypocrisy.
The word “hypocrite” is the transliteration of a relatively common Greek word. It is found in the Old Testament, but it is more common in the New. I think that it is interesting that Job used the word more than any other Old Testament writer. It’s interesting because he was a man under attack from his “friends.” They could easily see the mote in Job’s eye, but they couldn’t see the beams in their own. They were quite willing to dab the mote from Job, but they were blinded by whole logs of their own. “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged.” I also think that it’s interesting that it is the Lord Jesus who speaks of hypocrisy more than any other. Is that because neither Moses, nor Paul, cared about this sin? No! I think that they cared very deeply. The reason that most of the condemnation of hypocrisy comes from the Saviour is due to the nature of both Christ and this sin. Hypocrisy is usually a secret sin, but Christ Jesus, as the Son of God, is omniscient. There is no such thing as a secret sin in the sight of God.
As I say, “hypocrite” is the transliteration of an ordinary Greek word. A transliteration is just the opposite of a translation. Here is an example of a translation: “ouranos” (oo-ran-os) is properly translated “heaven.” If you didn’t know the translation, you’d never guess that “ouranos” (oo-ran-os) is “heaven.” On the other hand an example of a transliteration is “baptism.” The Greek word “baptizo” ought be translated “immerse” but it has been transliterated instead. And “hupokrites” (hoop-ok-ree-tace’) has been transliterated into English as “hypocrite.” If “hupokrites” (hoop-ok-ree-tace’) was translated, we would read “actor.” “You actors, first cast out the beam out of thine own ye, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.” An actor is someone who isn’t what he seems to be. Hypocrisy is the act of being someone that you aren’t. It is doing something for one apparent reason, but that is not really the reason that you are doing it. It is wearing some sort of mask, either real or otherwise. And by the way, the word “mote” speaks of “a dry piece of chaff” – a particle of dust if you like. The hypocrites to which Jesus refers have dirt in their eyes the size of logs in comparison to the dust that they think that see in the eyes of others.
Having defined an hypocrite as an actor, what does the Lord say about his nature?
As I have said, the Lord Jesus has a lot to say about hypocrites – these verses are just the beginning. And also, as I have implied, once we get the beams out of our eyes, not only will we see that everyone else around us have beams in their eyes, but they all bear the characteristics of hypocrites. And remember that “with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged.” I am not pointing my finger at anyone this afternoon, because I have three others pointing back at me.
First of all, the Lord Jesus says that the hypocrite has more talk than walk. He says in Matthew 23, “Do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders’ but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.” The hypocrite’s motto is: “Don’t do as I do; do as I say.” He sees and is willing to remove cataract in the other guy’s eye, but he is blind to his own blindness. He condemns the sin of others, but he masks his own. He says that he loves the Lord and the Word of God, but his obedience is abundantly deficient. He speaks highly of the church, but his attendance is sporadic. Or his attendance is perfect, as he criticizes those who aren’t so faithful, but he doesn’t support the church in tithes and prayers. He urges people to pray for his prodigal relative, but he is just as prodigal in other ways. An hypocrite pretends to be what he never intends to be.
In Matthew 23 Christ says that when the hypocrite behaves righteously, it is only to be seen of others. “All their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.” The hypocrite loves to sing solos before the church, but while sitting in the congregation he can’t be bothered to even hum the tune. He makes motions and seconds in the business meeting, but the rest of the time he doesn’t support the church or its work. He relishes the opportunity to lead in public prayer, but he has a minimal private prayer-life at home. I have read that in a London art Gallery there is a wonderful painting of a man deep in prayer. At least that is what the subject appears to be doing from a distance. But once someone goes up to take a closer look, it’s actually a man squeezing lemons into a bowl. Hypocrites appear to do right, but when they do it, it is only to please or promote themselves. “Here let me help you with that speck in your eye.” That scripture in chapter 23 points out that the hypocrite loves titles such as “rabbi”, “reverend” and even a simple “sir.”
Another characteristic of the hypocrite is that his religion depends on proper time and place. When he is out of town on Sunday, he sleeps-in rather than attend some unfamiliar church. But of course he has as his excuse. He’d rather not corrupt his pure doctrine by attending a church which may not be a strict as his own. Perhaps when he gets out of bed on week days, he faithfully reads his Bible and prays. But as soon as he is at work, he is a terrible, grumpy old grouch. And he knows that the work which he does is not as good as it should be. Then he has the audacity to complain to everyone that he isn’t being paid the salary which he really deserves. “Considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?”
Obviously, hypocrites are hard towards others, but lenient towards themselves. They call you cheap, but they are frugal; and you are picky, while they are discerning. They call others cruel, but they are just. You are unfaithful, while they are a little inconsistent, only because they are so tired or over-worked. As others have said, an hypocrite is someone who preaches by the yard and practices by the inch. He prays on his knees on Sunday, but he preys on his clients during the rest of the week.
Actually, hypocrites are a very neglectful group. Their eye beams make them blind, and yet they don’t bother to deal with it. “They make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.” While dealing with appearances they neglect the heart. “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”
And you know something else – hypocrites like to talk about hypocrisy. Here is a man who refuses to attend the Lord’s church because of all the hypocrites there. Of course he is right. I have already said that, and it is to our shame. But nine times out of ten, or perhaps ninety-nine times out of a hundred, the man who says that is a hundred times more hypocritical than his accused. In his rebellion and negligence of God’s House, he tries to mask, but actually unmasks, his true heart. It is not the hypocrites who are keeping him out of church, its one of a hundred other things. 90% of the time that man doesn’t attend church, because he is harboring sins of his own. He feels guilty every time he sits under the preaching of God’s Word, and he’s looking for an excuse to avoid it. So he puts on the mask of a critic – he pretends to be an expert when he’s nothing more than an hypocrite. Hypocrisy is one of the favorite subjects of the hypocrite.
And because of this, we begin to worry about the soul of this woeful creature. An hypocrite might be either a child of God or a child of Hell. He might be a bawling, brawling babe in Christ, trying to appear like a mature saint and servant. Or he might be a child of the Devil trying to appear like a babe in Christ. And this is a part of his great neglect. He may see the mote in his neighbor’s eye, but he doesn’t see the beam in his own. He tells his neighbor that he ought to repent before God, but he himself doesn’t live in repentance. He, like the scribes and Pharisees, may not even be aware that he is only acting the part of a Christian. He may have more faith in his knowledge of God, his superficial spirituality, his relative sinlessness, but he has never humbled himself before God or placed his dependence upon Christ Jesus.
In Luke 12 our Saviour gives us a very stern warning.
“When there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” Notice that once again, this is a warning and exhortation presented primarily to His disciples. It’s not that others weren’t there or that they didn’t need to hear it, but it is that we need to hear it. And why should we beware? Not only because of our propensity for hypocrisy, but because….. “There is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.” If I had pitcher of arsenic in water, & I said beware of leaven of this poison, you needn’t be too concerned. As long as it is in my pitcher, and up here on this podium, then you are in no danger. It is when that poison has been placed in your food or in your glass that you need to be concerned. Beware the leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy, because it may turn you into a Pharisee too.
And beware because leaven, when in the lump of dough, cannot be distinguished from the rest of the ingredients. Hypocrisy has the uncanny ability to appear not to be dangerous, but actually very, very good. Hy-pocrisy has high standards. The best actors are the ones who win the Academy Awards. Usually, the best actors are good hypocrites. The wealthy, high-brow, hypocrite-filled church often has a great facade, tall steeple and beautiful marble columns. But the church with humble, broken sinners, doesn’t usually impress the community quite so much.
Beware of the leaven of hypocrisy because it spreads more quickly than the ebola virus. Hypocrites breed hypocrites. And hypocrites often enjoy out-hypocriting each other – challenging one another in their hypocrisies.
“Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy,” because it puffs up the infected material. Mother wants to make some special dough for some cinnamon rolls. She prepares all the ingredients and mixes in some yeast culture, a type of leaven. The oven has already been warmed, and into it goes the leaven-filled dough. As it goes, in the bowl is half full, but when it comes out the dough is spilling over the side. That dough is now bigger and lighter than it was before. Hypocrisy breeds pride and an holier-than-thou attitude about others – it puffs up its host. “Beware of the leaven of hypocrisy.”
Beware of it, because whether or not you like the smell and taste of it, the Lord Jesus says that it stinks. Whether or not I approve of your hypocrisy, or even my own, doesn’t matter. What should concern us are the Lord Jesus’ point-blank denunciations. Hypocrisy is a form of deception, of lying, of falsehood and dishonesty. And the liar should be cast into the fire which cannot be quenched – Revelation 21:8. The only honest hypocrite is a professional actor. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy.”