Daily Choice: Hypocrisy Or Intimacy?

Scripture

37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. 38And now, look, your house is abandoned and desolate. 39For I tell you this, you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’” Matthew 23:37-39

Observation

Jesus is letting these religious leaders have it with both barrels. They are hypocrites, the Greek wording here is for actors who wear masks and put on a show. They are putting on a show instead of showing people the way to salvation. They make a mockery of God while craving the attention of the stage. The religious leaders see The Messiah as competition to their power and their fan base instead of the answer to all of their prayers. Jesus doesn’t mince any words but then, after this confrontation, the narrative takes an unexpected and seemingly unconnected turn. Jesus reveals the real reason for His fierce conversation- He loves them! Compassion was the motivation for His confrontation. He sees what they could be. If they had just made time to take off the masks and humble themselves they would immediately see Jesus for who He is.  He wasn’t not their enemy, He was their Everything.  Earlier Jesus had said, “all you who are weary and heavy laden. I look at you. I see you.”(Mt. 11:28) Remember, it says that when he saw the people, he was moved with compassion, because he saw them as sheep without a shepherd. (Mt. 9:36) Pastor Alistair Abegg says it this way, “The picture of a hen with her chicks is from the Old Testament. The bird—especially ospreys or eagles—if you see them in their natural habitat with the little ones underneath them, and the storm comes, and the hailstones come, and they spread their wings, and underneath they are protected. He says, “That’s what I came to do. That’s why I called you as I did. But you wouldn’t come.”

Application

17th century Scottish preacher, Andrew Gray, in a sermon entitled, "The Great Danger of Hypocrisy” passionately urged his congregation in Glasgow to go deeper into intimate communion and union with Christ. Like Jesus with the Pharisees Pastor Gray didn’t pull any punches. He preached, “It is because it is easier to have a facade of outward godliness than to have an inner holiness in the heart. It is also easier to cling to the promises of God than to obey every command of Jesus.” The preacher called these hypocritical Christians “painted Christians” who are without spiritual life. They are “twice dead”, an expression taken from Jude 12, as they are not only dead in their natural state, but also dead in the life they once seemed to have in the early days of their “conversion”.  It would be easy to read about the hypocrisy of the religious leaders and think, “Yeah, those guys were awful! Why couldn’t they see Jesus just wanted to be with them?  Why did they attack the very one who came to save them? I’d never do that.”  The truth is that the hypocrisy of Christians continues to be at the top of the list for reasons people don’t want to have anything to do with Jesus. How can this be?  How is it that the ones who knew the Scripture better than anyone else were the very ones leading the charge to crucify Him? There’s a distinct difference between head knowledge and heart transformation. This is why Jesus uses the intimate language at the end of Matthew 23. He’s not asking us to check a box on our religious to-do list. Jesus is asking us to make time to be with Him. We live in a FOMO Culture – We chase the next big moment. Festivals, viral trends, celebrity pastors. But spiritual movements start with intimate moments with Jesus.  They take time, tears, and truth. All the great moves of God in this country started with brokenness and prayer, not hype. Many are still missing the Messiah because we are looking for fireworks instead of fruit. We are looking for the show on the big stage instead of what Jesus is showing us in our prayer closet. Leonard Ravenhill once said, “The only reason we don’t have revival is because we are willing to live without it.”  He also said, “God doesn’t answer prayer.  He answers desperate prayer.”  So, the best guard for my heart against hypocrisy with Jesus is intimacy with Jesus.

Prayer

Jesus, I repent for the hypocrisy of saying that I follow You while trying to get people to follow me. Forgive me for the times I have been busy doing religious things for You while skipping my time alone with You. As much as I’d like to think I could never turn on you the way the Pharisees did, the truth is that knowledge puffs up my pride and deceives me into thinking I’m more important than I am.  I’m amazed at how You graciously and generously pursue time with me. Intimacy with You cannot be an option or an add-on.  You are my everything and apart from You I am nothing. Thank You for calling me back under Your covering wings today. It’s here I will stay.