...He will reward everyone according to what they have done (Mttw. 16:27)
John Maxwell writes that a trustworthy person's character does not stop with words when they communicate. They not only tell and explain, but they demonstrate with their actions. He writes, “Ultimately, each one of us should strive to be the message.” [1] Jesus not only taught what he believed, He demonstrated it by the way He lived His life.
When Jesus called his disciples, His offer was to come “Follow me” (Matthew 9:9). Jesus invited the disciples into a way of life. I can't imagine what it would have been like to be John, watching Jesus willingly embracing his destiny of the crucifixion with determination and passion. At the same time, remembering His words, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
John Maxwell asks, “When you speak, do you have passion?” He writes, “Passion is powerful. It supersedes mere spoken words.” He quotes Joyce McMurran who remarked, “I am convinced that your passion and purpose will always show through and make an impact no matter what you are doing.” [2]
Ultimately, it is one's passion and the way they live their lives that give them credibility with people. They communicate by who they are and the way they live their lives. John Maxwell writes, “People who live their message, who lead the way they live, who have integrity between words and action are different from others who don't.” [3]
Moses is an example of a great leader with credibility. While Moses was a terrible speaker and stuttered, people were moved to action when he spoke. John Maxwell writes, “What he lacked in speaking ability, Mosses possessed in conviction, courage, and compassion for his people.” [4]
When people speak one message and live something else, they are hypocrites. A person can have tons of knowledge and charisma in teaching, but lack substance. As John Maxwell writes, “Nobody likes a phony or a know-it-all.” [5]
Being human and living in a fallen world, none of us live perfectly what we believe and/or value. Not to mention, we are always in the process of learning and growing. Peter, for example, when Jesus told him that that night all the disciples would fall away on account of Jesus, Peter declared, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.” And Jesus told him, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times” (Matthew 26:33-34). When Peter realized he had denied Jesus three times, he wept bitterly (Matthew 26:75).
This is different than the hypocrite Jesus was confronting in Matthew. Matthew Henry's Whole Bible Commentary defines a hypocrite as “ a stage-player in religion (that is the primary signification of the word); he personates or acts the part of one that he neither is nor may be, or perhaps the he neither is nor would be.” [6]
The leaders of Jesus' day studied the gospel, but they did not honor it or live it. They used the gospel to take advantage of others. They taught traditions of men. Jesus confronted them over and over for hypocritical lives, not receiving the gospel, but they would not listen. Eventually, out of envy for the power of the gospel Jesus lived, the religious leaders handed him over for crucifixion (Matthew 27:18).
In Matthew 15:7-9 Jesus confronts them, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.'”
The disciples were shocked by Jesus' confrontation. The Pharisees were very highly regarded religious figures of the day. The disciples asked Jesus, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” (Matthew 15:12). Jesus responded, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit” (Matthew 15:13-14).
Jesus warns against hypocrisy throughout Matthew 23, which includes seven woes on the Teachers of the Law and Pharisees for hypocrisy. Woes are used in association with God's judgment (as in Matthew 11:21-22) and with God's curses (as in Luke 6:24-16). Nowhere in the Bible do we find as many woes for any given action as hypocrisy in religious leadership (there are six woes and judgments in Isaiah 5:8-30, and five in Habakkuk 2:6-20). Matthew Henry's Whole Bible Commentary notes that three woes are made to look very dreadful. He also notes, “A woe from Christ is a remediless woe.” [7]
“Leave them” Jesus says in Matthew 15:13-14, has a similar ring to “Come out of her” used in Revelation 18:4, in light of God's judgment for false religion. Their 'human rules' were creating confusion and leading people away from God. Revelation 18:4,5 say "And I heard another voice from heaven saying, 'Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities'"
Jesus warns the crowds and his disciples in Matthew 23:2-7, “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to have people call them 'Rabbi.'”
One article notes, “These men taught the Scriptures; in that they were right. Their teachings, when accurate, should be obeyed. On the other hand, their practices belied their teaching and should not be imitated.” [8]
While they spoke of God, their hearts were far from Him. They knew how to say just the right things and look good to the audience they were pleasing, but inside, they were full of pride, greed and self-indulgence. Jesus tells them, “Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your ancestors! You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?”
As the article mentioned previously notes, these were not flagrant sexual offenders, thieves, drunkards, or murderers. They were men in good standing with everyone around. The article writes,
“What was wrong with them then? The answer given in verses 4-7 is this: Their character was the exact opposite of that required of the citizens of Christ's kingdom (Matt. 18:1-35), which meant that in spite of their religious professions and stringent legal practices, they did not actually know God and had not been changed inwardly by him. They should have been humble, compassionate, loving, and forgiving, as Jesus was. But they were actually: (I) hypocritical ("they do not practice what they preach," v. 3): (2) indifferent ("they tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them," v. 4); and (3) proud ("everything they do is done for men to see," v. 5)... The Pharisees had been using their position as teachers to get praise for themselves while making it nearly impossible for those they taught actually to learn the Bible's truths and come to God, and Jesus strongly condemned them for those sins.” [9]
They were far from being the tender-hearted, humble and faithful servants God called them to be. They became the very wedge that separated the people from God. As the first woe notes, they shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in the people's faces (Matthew 23:13-14).
The other woes were related to:
- Recruiting and corrupting converts (woe 2, v. 15)
- Practicing casuistry (a form of moralism) -they made minor distinctions in the law in order to avoid the true meaning of the law or escape it (woe 3, vv. 16-22)
- Neglecting what was actually important -they made minor laws a priority while ignoring laws of justice, mercy and faithfulness (woe 4, vv. 23-24)
- Focusing on looking good rather than being real and dealing with heart issues such as their self-indulgence and greed (woe 5, vv. 25-26)
- Spiritually dead and full of wickedness (woe 6, vv. 27-28)
- Rejecting correction and refusing to repent -killing the prophets (woe 7, vv. 29-32) [10]
The false religion taught by hypocrites creates confusion and leads people away from God. It is the work of the Antichrist. Jesus says in Matthew 12:30 that “whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
The teaching of 'human traditions' that Jesus confronted in Matthew 15:1-20, includes the following characteristics according to one article:
- Inspired by men
- Demanding conformity for approval
- Diminishes the importance (and I would also add power) of God's commands
- Born of pride and hypocrisy
- Offended by exposing sinfulness
- Blinds and hardens hearts to the truth [11]
Jesus says "wisdom is proved right by her actions" (Matthew 11:19). Genuine adherence to the divine commands produces fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). Jesus says in Matthew 7:16, "You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?”
As the article mentioned above notes, obedience requires a genuine sincerity of heart. One must fear God and be willing to deal with their sin [12]. Genuine followers of Christ look much more like that described in the Beatitudes from Matthew 5:3-12 (poor in spirit, mourning, meek, hungry, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and persecuted) rather than the proud, arrogant and successful looking Pharisees and their followers.
“I am willing to be anything You want from me, You have given me new life” sings in the background.
Paul had to deal frequently with hypocrites teaching false religion. In 2 Corinthians 11:4 he tells the church, “But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion for Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.”
Paul goes on to say, “And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. For such persons are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. (2 Corinthians 11:12-15).
These false 'super-apostles,' looked good and appealed to the people. By following them, the people were not purposely and rebelliously choosing the wrong direction, but were deceived and led astray. How were they deceived? Paul told the church that they were “judging by appearances” (2 Cor. 10:7). And that “it is not those who commend themselves who are approved, but those whom the Lord commends” (2 Cor. 10:17).
False religion has the look of that which is real in outward appearances. The difference is that of the heart. In the case of false religion, the motives of the leadership is vanity, selfish ambition, greed and pride. They are hard-hearted toward God and looking to appease men for their own gain (recognition and profit). Since the people are not truly being drawn towards Christ, there is a lack of spiritual transformation of the people into Christlikeness.
There is also responsibility on the part of those who receive false teachers because they are looking to validate their own desires and wants. Paul warns in 2 Timothy 4:3, “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”
In Revelation 2:2, the Church in Ephesus is commended for refusing false teachers. Jesus states, “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.”
Jesus tells the people in Matthew 7:13-23, MSG:
“Don't look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don't fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life -to God!-is vigorous and requires total attention.
Be wary of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they are out to rip you off some way or other. Don't be impressed with charisma; look for character. Who preachers are is the main thing, not what they say. A genuine leader will never exploit your emotions or your pocketbook. These diseased trees with their bad apples are going to be chopped down and burned.
Knowing the correct password -saying, 'Master, Master,' for instance – isn't going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience -doing what my Father wills. I can see it now -at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, 'Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored project had everyone talking.' And do you know what I am going to say? 'You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don't impress me one bit. You're out of here.'”
Recently there is a video going around called “Sunday's Coming." While the video is meant to be humorous, it also carries a sense of conviction for hypocrisy. Christianity Today writes about it, "It's both brilliant satire and a mirror of our culture's way of approaching worship. Fun stuff. Revealing stuff." [13]
In the video clip, the style and form of worship and preaching actually looks similar to the church I attend. However, very much unlike where I attend church, there is a clear lack of substance. The leadership lacks character, integrity, and a tender-heart towards God. The people in the video are creating an image to appease men out of greed and vanity rather than truly serving the Lord.
What is really sad is that broken, hurting and confused people come to these places looking for hope and what they find instead is a shallow replica of the gospel designed to take advantage of them. They are entertained rather than finding the truth, having the power of God that will lead to their healing. Woe to these churches. “But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you." (Matthew 11:24).
What is also really sad is that these hypocritical leaders are also deceiving themselves that they are doing good things for God, (despite their lack of character). They look like they have their act together. They are in control, self-sufficient, and successful. Rather, Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:3, “You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.” (MSG)
John Ortberg writes that Jesus makes it clear that “There is no way for a human being to come to God that does not involve surrender. He notes that Jesus does not come to arrange the outside of our life the way we want, but rather, “He comes to rearrange the inside of our life the way God wants.” [14]
In Mark 8:34 (MSG), Jesus said, "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade for your soul?
These hypocritcal leaders have traded their soul for the approval of men. More than likely they believe that they are as great as people say they are. What Jesus most desires from them is that they would repent and turn to Him.
Jesus says in Matthew 23:37, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate.”
In the same Christianity Today Leadership Journal that contained the video clip on “Sunday's Coming” also contained an interview with Francis Chan called, “Catching Waves.” Francis Chan notes that, “The more you look at Scripture, the more you realize that nothing happens unless God is behind it. Jesus is building his church.” [15]
Francis Chan notes that he just wants to be part of what Jesus is doing. And he realizes that the fruit is up to Jesus. He says, “We can only pray, 'Please, please, please let us see your Spirit at work. May it be like a mighty wind that moves us.'” [16]
As leadership, Francis Chan knows he is really powerless to do the work of the Kingdom. He equates his role more to surfing. He says, “We think we can make waves, but in reality we're totally dependent on the Spirit.” [17]
When asked what the evidence was that a 'wave of the Spirit was happening, Francis Chan replied,
“A large gathering where everyone is singing really loud is nice, but it's not an indication that the Spirit is at work. We don't see that biblically. If that's success, then we'd be spending more money on better musicians and better worship leaders. But that's not how our elder board measures success.
In God's eyes success is people loving each other deeply, caring for one another, digging deep in each other's lives, sharing their possessions, and sharing the gospel in their communities. Are they fully devoted followers of Jesus? Is there transformation happening? Do they see themselves as part of something bigger than themselves —a body with a mission larger than the individual?” [18]
Lord, I can't think of a worse judgment than to have one's house be desolate of You. You are the source of all that we desire and treasure. I'm so glad that you don't expect your people to get everything right and have their act together all the time. Rather, you ask us to love You with all our heart, soul and mind (Matthew 10:37). I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing. Please show us how. You have given me so much, and at the same time, I deeply long for more.
“The more I seek You, the more I find you. The more I find You, the more I love You” sings in the background.
1.-5. Maxwell, John. Everyone Communicates, Few Connect. Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennesee. 2010.
6.-7. Matthew Henry's Whole Bible Commentary. Located at: http://biblecommenter.com/matthew/23-24.htm Last Accessed: 5/24/10.
8-10. Montgomery Boice, James. Seven Woes of False Religion. Located at: http://ldolphin.org/cleanpages/matthew23.html Last Accessed: 5/24/10.
11.-12. Human Traditions and Divine Commands. Located at: http://www.bibleanswer.com/matt15_tradition.htm Last Accessed: 5/24/10.
13. Shelley, Marshall. Leadership Weekly Journal, Dated: Tuesday, May 18th, 2010. Christianity Today. Located at: http://www.christianitytoday.com/lyris/leadership/archives/05-18-2010.html Last Accessed: 5/24/10
14. Ortberg, John. The Me I Want To Be: Becoming God's best version of you. Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI. 2010.
15. Chan, Francis. Catching Waves. Leadership Weekly Journal, Posted: Monday, May 17th, 2010. Christianity Today. Available at: http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/communitylife/discipleship/catchingwaves.html Last Accessed: 5/24/10.
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