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"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!"

 

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(← Click to see full-size) This is a familiar expression not only to Christians but also to the secularists who decry the hypocrisy of some who call themselves Christians. If someone tells me he won't believe in Christ because there are hypocrites in the Church, I reply – "There's always room for one more!" You see, to some extent we are all hypocrites, even Christians.

The Lord Jesus Christ repeats the phrase "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" seven times in Matthew 23:13-29 – it's called "the seven-fold woes." Also as this picture illustrates, when the Scribes and Pharisees brought to the Lord a woman caught in adultery, he put them in their place by saying – "He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone" (see John 8:1-11).

There are two kinds of hypocrites: those who sincerely believe that they're doing God a favor by their strict hyper-religiosity and those who are consciously aware that they are trying to deceive people by their hyper-religious acting. What lies behind these texts is that we so often identify with the self-righteous Scribes and Pharisees, pointing our finger at "the lowlife scum, the alcoholics, drug addicts, fornicators, homos, and social parasites" ...as all the while there are three of our fingers pointing back at us.

If the Lord meant these words to be directed only to the Scribes and Pharisees, there would be no need to record them in the Gospels. No, these words are recorded for us too, that's why they're in the Gospels. What is the remedy for this malady of the soul? See Luke 18:10-14 –

"Two men went up into the temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed to himself like this: 'God, I thank you, that I am not like the rest of men, extortioners, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get.' But the tax collector, standing far away, wouldn't even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted."

The only cure for the sins of pride, deceit, and hypocrisy is humility – "God, be merciful to me, a sinner! Lord, have mercy!"

(Get this as a separate article on our ARC-News blog at blogspot.com.)

 

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