“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation” (Matthew 23:14).
We already discussed the first part of this verse (devouring widow’s houses) to see how they took advantage of others. Now we are going to consider the second part: “For a pretense you make long prayers.” When something is done “for a pretense,” it is done for a show. It is all about what other people see.
When it comes to offering prayers (or many other things they may have done), if they were to do it in sincerity it would have been fine. However, they were not doing this for God, but for themselves. This was the same attitude that led them to “broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments” (Matthew 23:5). Jesus said, “They do all their deeds to be noticed by men” (Matthew 23:5). It was not about what was pleasing to God, it was about the appearance of doing things to be pleasing to God.
We must learn from the sin of the Pharisees and guard against doing things for show rather than in sincerity. Consider the following areas:
- Prayer – In addition to the verse at the beginning of this lesson (Matthew 23:14), Jesus also addressed this in the Sermon on the Mount: “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:5-8). We are not to make long prayers for the sake of length, pray as some kind of publicity stunt, or use vain repetitions. Instead, we are to pray with sincerity.
- Good works – In the Sermon on the Mount, just before the discussion on prayer, Jesus said, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:1-4). It is good to engage in these types of works; but it must be done with the right motives, not to receive the praise of men.
- Bible study – Studying the Bible is good and necessary. Paul told Timothy, “Be diligent [study, KJV] to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). We must learn how to handle the word of God in order to be approved by Him, not merely to be approved by men or to earn a degree that makes us “qualified” to preach.
- Worship – Jesus said, “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). Worship is not for our own entertainment or self-indulgence. We are not to lead or participate in worship in order to impress others with our “spirituality.” Instead, we must worship with a sincere desire to honor and glorify God as He deserves.
In the end, all that matters is that we please God. Paul wrote to the brethren in Colossae, “So that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10). Regardless of how things appear to others, we need to be sure we “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.”
So who are the real Pharisees today? They are not the ones who practice their faith in order to please God. Instead, they are those who try to appear religious in order to be noticed by men.
