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“Hypocrite” Part 2

23 Apr

Dear God, I had a weird kind of thing happen yesterday that I think was orchestrated by you. First, someone “liked” one of my prayer journals from last summer called “Hypocrite.” I went back and read it because I had forgotten about it. It was a good reminder.

THEN, the Bible Project Podcast did an episode this week called “What did Hypocrite Mean to Jesus?” It blew my mind, and it made my prayer journal from last summer appear to be so ignorant and uneducated. It humbled me, but in a good way (maybe being humbled is always good). So what did they say that changed my mind? Well, they redefined hypocrite for me, and it changed my perspective on Jesus’s use of the word.

I looked up the definition of hypocrite on Merriam-Webster and found this:

1: a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion

2: a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings

Typically, we use the second definition, but the guys on Bible Project said the first one is what Jesus meant when he used it. It is not the “do as I say, not as I do” definition, but the definition where they hypocrite intentionally displays righteous acts for the honor that people will give them. They made several points, but a couple that stuck were:

  • The person who does good deeds for the praise of people will get that reward, but not the reward from you, while the person who does the good deeds purely out of love and obedience for you will get the reward from you.
  • Only you are able to judge the level of hypocrisy in me.

I said “level” there because there is always some level of wanting recognition from others in me. When I sit down and do these prayers on a public blog, I am here with you and not thinking about others. These are part of my worship. At the same time, I check the stats from time to time to see how many people view the site. I like affirmations when someone likes what I’ve written. I set this up to inspire people to spend their own time with you, journaling and praying. That motive is pure. But it does feed the hypocrite in me as well. But I would imagine this is a struggle that any author, preacher, singer, etc. has. And only you can judge my heart.

Father, help me to be completely here with you. Help me to point to you for all of the glory exhibited through my life. Help me to do more privately to worship you than I do publicly. And forgive me for my hypocrisy. I am sorry for my vanity and how it claims and craves glory for myself. Oh, and thank you for overlooking my ignorance. My prayer about Jesus and hypocrisy from last summer was seemingly fundamentally flawed. I am sorry for that as well. But I thank you for understanding my limitedness, my foolishness, and my true desire to just learn more and worship you.

I pray all of this through Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 23, 2024 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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“Hypocrite”

21 Jun

Note on April 22, 2024: I originally wrote this prayer in the summer of 2023. This evening, I was listening to the Bible Project Podcast, and in the midst of their series on the Sermon on the Mount, they had a whole episode dedicated to the Word “hypocrite.” They redefined it for me, and I found that I have apparently either been misinformed or misunderstood the definition of the word the translators used to convey Jesus’s message. Apparently, a more accurate definition would be someone who is doing the things they say they (and you) should do, but they are only doing them for show. So it’s not what I thought, which is the old “do as I say, not as I do” definition, but it’s actually something that only God can tell if we are doing it or not. Only God can see our hearts and motives as we do what we do and say what we say. So this is another example of how my interpretation of scripture can be influenced by misunderstandings and my own lack of education. With that said, her is the prayer I prayed with the wrong definition in mind.

Dear God, I noticed that the New Testament reading for today for the Catholic church had the word “hypocrite” a couple of times. Both times, it was Jesus talking. I decided to take the New Living Translation and find out how many times the word is used in the Bible. As it turns out, it came up 21 times. Three times in the Old Testament (one in Psalms and two in Isaiah) and then 18 in the New Testament (13 in Matthew, one in Mark, two in Luke, one in Acts and one in 1 Timothy). So Matthew really seems to have zeroed in on this word and Jesus’s use of it. Therefore, I thought I would look at the instances when Matthew quotes Jesus as using it, courtesy of Bible Gateway.

  1. Matthew 6:2 When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
  2. Matthew 6:5 Teaching about Prayer and Fasting“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
  3. Matthew 6:16 “And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
  4. Matthew 7:5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
  5. Matthew 15:7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
  6. Matthew 22:18 But Jesus knew their evil motives. “You hypocrites!” he said. “Why are you trying to trap me? In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
  7. Matthew 23:13 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
  8. Matthew 23:15 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are! In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
  9. Matthew 23:23 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
  10. Matthew 23:25 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
  11. Matthew 23:27 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
  12. Matthew 23:29 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed, and you decorate the monuments of the godly people your ancestors destroyed. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
  13. Matthew 24:51 and he will cut the servant to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

Jesus seemed to have very little tolerance for hypocrites. Perhaps this is something I should be careful about as I move through this life. Are there areas where I am hypocritical?

I guess hypocrisy is something that requires self-awareness because I know of very few people who are able to see their own hypocrisy in real time. Even now, as I try to search my heart, I try to think of areas where I might be hypocritical, but I can’t think of any. Am I a hypocrite? Almost certainly. Can I identify how? Apparently not.

I think hypocrisy starts with a spirit of judging others. Maybe that’s where I should start. Do I judge others and how do I judge others? If I am judging them for this thing or that, then the odds are probably good that I have some work to do on myself in that area–oh, and I need to stop the judging.

Father, there are six instances in Matthew 23 that includes the phrases “What sorry awaits you…” and “Hypocrites!” I recognize that this is partially Jesus getting the Pharisees riled up so they will crucify him. It’s also getting his last words in with them while he can. But the message is still true. If it is true with me, please reveal it to me. Holy Spirit, please reveal it to me. Jesus, please forgive me.

I pray all of this in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 21, 2023 in 1 Timothy, Acts, Isaiah, Luke, Mark, Matthew, Psalms

 

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