Practice What You Preach Mathew 23:1-33

Have you ever had someone tell what you should be doing with your life?  Better yet, have you had someone insist that the things they say are what’s best for you?  I have on plenty occasions tell me what I should be doing with my life.  How I should raise my children, who I should spend my time with or even how I should handle my finances.  I am very open-minded, so I do hear and listen to what people have to say.  I especially listen to those that are living out what they are advising me to do.  But there are those that are so quick to tell you what you need to be doing, but are not doing it themselves.  These are the ones living like the Pharisees. 

¹Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: ²“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. ³So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. ⁴They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

 ⁵“Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; ⁶they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; ⁷they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’

 ⁸“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. ⁹And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. ¹⁰Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ. ¹¹The greatest among you will be your servant. ¹²For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

 ¹³“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

 ¹⁵“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.

 ¹⁶“Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ ¹⁷You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? ¹⁸You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’ ¹⁹You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? ²⁰Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. ²²And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.

 ²³“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. ²⁴You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

 ²⁵“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. ²⁶Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

 ²⁷“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. ²⁸In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

 ²⁹“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. ³⁰And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. ³²Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers!

 ³³“You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?

Matthew 23:1-33

Jesus makes it very clear about what he feels about the Pharisees.  He calls them Hypocrites… Blind guides… Everything they did was for man to see and to be praised for.  He called them out to their faces, saying they tithe because it was the law for them to tithe but they didn’t show mercy towards others and lacked true faith.  They did all they can to look good in front of people, but within their hearts and minds they were full of greed and hypocrisy.

When I chose this passage in the Bible to reflect on I knew it was long so I tried to take parts of it that had the most meaning, but I then realized the whole passage had a strong meaning.  I am sure you can probably think of a few people that fit in the Pharisee category.  I can think of people I know personally and even people I don’t know all that well that fit right in.  So many people think they are right and their way is the right way, even if they are not following it themselves.  And to be honest some of them are probably right, but it makes it difficult to follow the sayings of a person that is not living out what he or she is telling you what to do.  Even if it seems as if that person is living out the things he or she talks about and one day you find out that this person isn’t, it will make it so difficult in trusting that person ever again.  This is why church pastors fall so hard when they mess up.  Even the Bible says in James 3:1 “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my bothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” 

But what about us?  Can we be Pharisees?  Have you ever told someone what they should do when you know you haven’t done it or had been doing it yourself?  I know I have.  It’s not something I am proud of, but when I stopped looking at other’s faults and started looking at the things I have done wrong, I started to realize I at times have easily fell into the Pharisee category.  Their has been plenty of times I have lacked humility and put my pride forward not wanting to take the blame for my mistakes and faults.  It’s hard to admit being wrong or at fault, because I didn’t want to look bad.  If you shift blame, you can keep your spotless reputation.  If you are don’t admit you are wrong you can go through life unblemished without stain.  WRONG!  Because as soon as someone finds out, you are ruined. 

Jesus knew the hearts of the Pharisees before they even spoke.  He knew none of them wanted to admit their faults.  This is why he said, “they were like whitewashed tombs which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside were full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.”  Just as Jesus knew the hearts of the Pharisees, God knows our hearts.  He knows when are suffering from Pharisee syndrome.  He knows our motives and he knows when we are trying to please people around us instead of trying to please him.  Ultimately at the end of the day who would you want to be more pleased with you; the people around us or God?  My answer is God, but there is also a way where you can possibly please both.  That is through humility.

Jesus says “First clean the inside of the cup and the outside also will be clean.”  True cleanliness comes from within.  How would you feel if you went into the cupboard to get a cup so you could have some coffee and you chose a cup that looked clean on the outside but when you looked inside the cup it had stains and mold?  I’m sure you would not use that cup for your coffee at least without washing it first.  If we start from within with cleansing we will automatically be clean on the outside as well.  This all starts with us practicing what we preach.  It means so much more to show a person the proper way to live or to do things than to simply tell them.  Don’t just preach, be an example.  Being an example not only helps the person you are showing, but it helps you keep the inside of your cup clean which in turn makes the cup clean on the outside.

Thanks for reading

DJR

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