What excites you, what do you get passionate about? There are some things that really get our pulse racing and our blood pumping. More than half the world right now is pumped up about the world cup. We think we have some energetic hockey fans, but wow, there are some real excited soccer fans!
Last week we looked at the one who is worthy of our passions, our excitement, our delight. The incredible creative God of the universe who made everything and breathed life into us is worthy of our praise. Listen to the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 96 (1-9), and then in Revelation 4:11.
This God is worthy of our utmost for his highest. And so often we fail, we falter, we fumble in our worship, our excitement, our passion for this incredible giver of life. Our talk becomes consumed and filled with talk of who scored the winning goal in the Stanley cup, our lives revolve around when the next match is going to be and the wonder of wonders, the creator of all, is set aside. But I’m here today, I didn’t set God aside! I gave up seeing the match between Serbia and Ghana! Well, most of it!
Well, maybe it isn’t the Ghana and Serbia game, maybe it is fishing or a game of golf, or perhaps a shopping trip in the city. There are many Christians today who’s faith is more duty than delight, or appearance rather than authentic. Or it is almost like we are doing God a favor by being at church, by giving him our worship, our attention –our time.
Jesus, in the Sermon on the mount, calls us to authentic faith –a deep growing life centered on God, built on God, focused on God and defined by God. And that is an interesting idea –is your life defined by God? Or something else?
There were a group of people in Jesus’ time who defined their lives by their appearance of following God –and I stress the word appearance. They made a big show about their religiosity. They would not only come to church and miss the game between Ghana and Serbia, they would tell you they were giving up watching the game between Ghana and Serbia. They would make a big point of letting everyone know how much they were sacrificing by being at church and giving up seeing the game!
These people were called Pharisees. Jesus, earlier in chapter 5, had made a rather bold statement, verse 20. Although we can see Jesus was actually not saying anything nice about them, I can well imagine the rising noses of these men as they stood their thinking indeed how special they were, how righteous they were. They took great pride in their appearance of being holy and righteous. Yes, unless you are more righteous than us, we who are righteous, you won’t get into the kingdom of heaven.
Then, in a few short moments, Jesus turns to them and almost with his had raised, finger pointed, gives these words, “6:1-3” Three times Jesus uses this word hypocrite, I think while either pointing or looking steadfastly at the Pharisees who were surely standing there. In fact of the 18 or so times this word is used in the NT, Jesus uses it every time against those who had the shell of performance but their hearts had no passion for God. They had no “OH!”
The word hypocrite is quite interesting. It comes to us from Greek drama and means play acting. In Greek drama the actor would wear a mask –often one of two –the happy and the sad, to show their emotion. It was easy to hide behind the mask –just say the words, ones true emotion or facial expression would be hidden.
The word is an amalgam of the Greek prefix hypo-, meaning "under", and the verb "krinein", meaning "to sift or decide". Thus the original meaning implied a deficiency in the ability to sift or decide. This deficiency, as it pertains to one's own beliefs and feelings, informs the word's contemporary meaning.
Whereas hypokrisis applied to any sort of public performance (including the art of rhetoric), hypokrites was a technical term for a stage actor and was not considered an appropriate role for a public figure. In Athens in the 4th Century BC, successful actor before taking up politics, as a hypokrites whose skill at impersonating characters on stage made him an untrustworthy politician. This negative view of the hypokrites, perhaps combined with the Roman disdain for actors, later shaded into the originally neutral hypokrisis. It is this later sense of hypokrisis as "play-acting", i.e. the assumption of a counterfeit persona, that gives the modern word hypocrisy its negative connotation. By the time of Jesus this word hypocrisy came to mean false piety. (From Wikipedia)
When Jesus uses the word hypocrite he was talking about someone that was held in disdain, ridicule, seen as untrustworthy. Imagine, here Jesus talks about those held in highest regard (at least in their own minds) and says they are impersonators, counterfeits, play acting –they wear a mask of righteousness but inside there is nothing. Hypocrites where ones who put on a show, what you saw was not what was really going on underneath. They had a false piety, they showed up to be seen, but their heart was not in it. They were empty of a true heart for the Father. Later on Jesus would get very specific about what he meant by hypocrites –those who were whitewashed tombs! (Matthew 23:27)
These men were passionate –passionate about letting people know how passionate they were! They were much more interested in appearance rather than substance. Jesus points out three areas that they were well known for and took pride in with regards to their righteousness. Giving money, prayer and fasting. Each of these three areas that were supposed to be areas of devotion and worship they made into more of a spectacle. For giving they would announce they were going to the temple to give –they would be meticulous in making sure they tithed to the penny and everyone knew it. In regards to prayer they would literally stand on the street corners and pray great loud prayers for everyone to hear. And when they fasted they would look gaunt, sallow, and down.
They would go to church and say, “see, I am here, look what I am giving up for God –how religious I am.” Yes they sought to live the law, yes they were followers of the law, yes they did abide by the commandments –they were righteous in their actions, but not in their hearts!
The guys, these Pharisees got their hearts pumping about looking spiritual –they were passionate about looking passionate. It was on the surface –just a façade. Jesus comes along and says, hey, stop –wait a second –be very careful here! Don’t just have your good works, don’t do your righteous acts just to be seen! If you do you will have no reward from your father in heaven. Why? Because he does not receive the glory –you do!
Look back to verse 16 of chapter 5. This is really a key verse in understanding the contrast of what Jesus is talking about here. When we live as salt and light, e live such lives that what? Our good deeds shine before men and they praise who? Our Father in heaven. These men were not living that others would see their good works and give glory to the father they were living such lives that men would see their “good works” and give glory to them!
Rather than God receiving the highest praise –they got it themselves. They lost sight of the passion for the Father and took pride in the performance of their acts. Their delight in the Father had been replaced in a duty of ritual and the relationship was absent. They were hollow tombs, empty shells, masks, hypocrites.
Jesus says don’t confuse the mask with the heart. God is interested in the heart, in your spirit, not in the performance. He says, look to the Father –look to what the father see, look to what the father wants –not man, not the self, not the world –the Father.
Listen to the number of times Jesus talks about the Father-
4-your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you
6-go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father who is unseen, then your father who sees what you do in secret will reward you
8-do not be like the babbling pagans for your father knows what you need before you ask
9-when you pray, pray like this, Our Father…
14 -15 (read)
18-when you fast (my paraphrase here) look normal and your Father who is unseen will reward you
24-You cannot serve God (the Father) and money
In this short section of scripture, Jesus mentions the Father 12 times.
It is this inner passion, this inner seeking of the connection and relationship with the Father that marks an authentic follower of Jesus. And through this relationship, through this God the Father seeks to make our lives –our whole lives, real inside and out, to make us into something more than we are –to make us into His children, his image.
It is almost as if Jesus is saying, don’t settle for this false image, this play-acting. Don’t settle for the approval of man and the temporary, fleeting applause. Don’t settle for less than God the Father has promised –LIFE! Relationship and connection with Him that comes through the intimate connection. It is the passion that brings glory to God and shines before men that they will see and give praise to the Father in heaven.
The kingdom of God is more, much more than empty ritual, it is a deep relationship with the eternal God. The kingdom of God is much, so much more than performance for the eyes of others, it is a passion for the creator of life who fills us with His life everlasting. The kingdom of God is more, much more than the fleeting approval of man –it is the heart pumping, energy giving, indwelling of the spirit of God who sees what is done in secret, who knows what we need before we ask, who forgives our sins, and gives us our daily bread, who leads us and protects us and delivers us and rewards us.
This God, our God who is Lord and worthy of our praise, our passion, our life and our devotion. This God our God who delights in our delight of Him, this God, our God who is worthy of our “OH!” and our wonder. Do not settle for the shell, do not be satisfied with the façade, do not settle for the empty approval of men –but strive for, long for, delight in, have passion for the one most worthy, most satisfying, most… Well, the absolute most!
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