Six Characteristics of a Hypocrite
Mark 12:38-40
And in his teaching, he [Jesus'] said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation."
Believe one way behave another, a common description of a hypocrite. But I would caution in this application of our judgement. You and I know there are things that we all believe, and we all fall short of, when it comes to our actions. The hypocrisy Jesus is pointing out is different. A hypocrite, by his application, is someone who pretends to be someone who he is not. This is intentional deception employed to gain power, wealth, and authority in the name of God. A religious hypocrite will pretend to love God and pretend to be spiritual by practicing their many virtues and rituals publicly. They wear their religion like a mask. Their faith is superficial.
I think we should really pay close attention to this teaching. Jesus takes time to teach on it just days away from his arrest, trial, and execution at the hands of these Scribes. Let's look deeper into these few verses.
The first thing that we need to know is that Jesus is a teacher. Mark literally begins this story by telling us that. Jesus is always teaching. Everything he says and does teaches. He taught about the kingdom, and prayer. When he came into towns and villages he taught about evangelism. And when he faced the religious hypocrites, he taught how to love God and love others. He is fully God and fully man, and he teaches from his divine insight. When Jesus teaches something, it is always significant and life changing, and we're only going to pick up on that wisdom if we love him and follow him. If instead we are focused on "places of honor at feasts" and looking to the education centers of men to draw us closer to Christ, we will be disappointed. We might even discover that our faith has been taught out of us by these institutions.
What is he teaching?
Beware!
Beware of these teachers of the religious law.
These teachers of religious law were the scribes and Pharisees.
Matthew 23:2
"The teachers of the law and the Pharisees have the authority to tell you what the law of Moses says."
They're the seminarians. The academies of human knowledge and understanding.
When you see a sign that says, "Beware of...", what do you do?
I look around. My eyes and ears perk up. My mind sharpens and I ready myself to take action if necessary. That's the right response to Jesus when he says "beware". Pay attention. Stop. Look. Listen.
When I'm walking around a landscape design clients yard looking to catalog the things I need to know in order to make a plan, and I see the signs of family dog, I immediately get quiet, listening for the pooch who is possibly hiding around the corner of the house. I move slower, more thoughtfully, with a plan formulating in my mind as to what I'll do when the dog comes running at me.
Am I overthinking this? Paranoid? Am I a crackpot worrying about the unknown future?
No. I'm operating on experience and the knowledge that many do not manage their pets in a safe and secure manner when they invite a person into their home. Often times they haven't bothered to clean up the dog poo that's everywhere. I'm usually trekking through weeks of left behind dog poo. And someone in the house wasn't told about me wandering around in the backyard. And of course, the family pit-bull is all worked up because, even though I'm outside, he knows I'm wandering around in his space. So, the clueless person opens the back door to let him out.
It's happened too many times. So, I'm not a fool. I'm not a conspiracy theorist. I know to BEWARE. Because being aware is smart. Being alert is wise. Time after time Jesus stops the disciples and tells them to THINK! That's what he's saying when he says, "beware". And what Jesus does is he teaches us about six characteristics that make up a hypocritical religious person.
First they are ostentatious. They use their appearance to brag about how great they are. He talks about their flowing robes and finery. He's talking about their pride.
Second he talks about their love for reputation and recognition. They even put themselves above the authority of the Holy Scriptures. If you were to look up in the Talmud: Sanhedrin 88 you will find it says, "It is more punishable to act against the words of a scribe than the words of Scripture." If you're being aware, and you're like me, you immediately see a correlation with what is taught about the so-called Holy See, the Roman See. The word See comes from the Latin sedes, meaning “seat,” which refers to the episcopal chair occupied by a Roman bishop. So here we have another seat that is being occupied by a priest who is being given deference and respect simply by virtue of that seat. Not at all unlike the seat of Moses that Jesus mentions. He's not afforded this privilege by virtue of his conscience and respect for God's word. He's given this honor by virtue of the place of honor. The place itself is placed above the authority of God's grace. Jesus is saying, beware of the spiritual leader who demands titles and places of honor. They're hypocrites, shallow, and self-interested.
Third they love being separated from the common person. They love making themselves distinct from others.
"And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues…"
There is nothing inherently special or wrong about these seats of honor. Like money, it's the love of these things that is wrong. And there are many such things that reflect this hypocrisy. For instance, special reserved pews, or rows of seats set aside in prominent positions for prominent people. Special robes for special patrons. Special anything has a special significance that can become especially hypocritical if it's a matter of pride.
Forth, like distinction, there are those who love exaltations. They love the seats at "the head table at banquets." They love the influence and notoriety. Remember, Jesus’ disciples struggled with this as well. Remember back in Mark 9 when Jesus catches them murmuring among themselves about who will sit on Jesus' left or right. This is a very common tendency among ALL people. And remember Jesus taught them the law of love, the law that you should humble yourself and serve others. Do not seek recognition and exaltation.
Fifth, they are lovers of wealth. They would literally sell their own mothers if it meant they'd earn more of these previous characteristics. They'll cheat widows to gain wealth, and they'll hide their greed behind their religion. The reason they did this was because they were greedy and lovers of money (Luke 16:14). They created schemes to charge outrageous fees for their services. They put a price on religious ceremonies and are basically charging fees for the word of God. These are some downright evil people. This is why in Luke 11; Jesus describes these guys as “full of greed and wickedness”. In today's scripture focus Jesus says they did all this stuff shamelessly. The word shamelessly here is translated as "to totally consume". They literally devoured these widows' life's savings, stole their possessions and forced them into shame and bankruptcy. There has to be a special hot spot in hell for these people.
Sixth, they loved for people to see them the way they want to be seen. They see themselves as social influencers, and they want others to see them in that way. They want to be seen as very very close to God. They want the clicks and impressions. And boy did they try to monetize that influence. To them it was all about spiritual appearances. Making long showy prayers in public spaces. Making a huge production out of their fasting, and purity rituals. Jesus especially despises these hypocrites, he says, because of this, they will be more severely punished, "These will receive greater condemnation".
Why do you think that is?
Why do these hypocrites get special attention in the judgment of God?
Simply answer:
They are taking the Lord’s name in vain. Their religious structures and practices are vanity. They're making themselves gods.
Conclusion:
No one is asking religious leaders to be perfect. At least I'm not. All that I think Jesus wants from the religious community and especially from its leaders is, genuine faith. A genuine love for God. And a genuine commitment to serving Christ humbly.
1 Peter 1:7-9
"So that your genuine faith, which is more valuable than gold that perishes when tested by fire, may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus, the Messiah, is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him. And even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."
Amen!