There’s a chapter in
Matthew that talks about hypocrisy among leaders. Here, Jesus is admonishing
his disciples, he started by saying: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees
sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But
do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up
heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they
themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Matthew 23:1-4 (NIV)
Then Jesus continued, “Woe
to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of
the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will
you let those enter who are trying to.
“Woe to you, teachers of
the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a
single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a
child of hell as you are.
“Woe to you, blind
guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone
who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ You blind fools!
Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also
say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by
the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ You blind men! Which is greater:
the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? Therefore, anyone who swears
by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And anyone who swears by the
temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And anyone who swears by
heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.
“Woe to you, teachers of
the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint,
dill and cumin. 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. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a
camel.
“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. Blind Pharisee!
First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be
clean.
“Woe to you, teachers of
the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which
looks beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the
dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to
people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
“Woe to you, teachers of
the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and
decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days
of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood
of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are the
descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Go ahead, then, and complete
what your ancestors started!
“You snakes! You brood
of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? Therefore I am sending
you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify;
others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. And so
upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from
the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you
murdered between the temple and the altar. Truly I tell you, all this will come
on this generation. Matthew 23:13-36 (NIV)
Very strong words coming
out from Jesus, a condemnation on the hypocrisy of those in power! This is
quite a warning to all leaders, especially those leading Christian communities.
It is so easy to be blinded by position and trampling upon others.
There are leaders who
think that they are doing the right thing and they insist they are, but upon
deeper examination true motives are put into light. We can never hide from God
and we can never forever hide from people.
As leaders we cannot
demand others something we are unwilling to do ourselves. Might as well have
self-assessment and reflect deeply how we are living our Christian life. People
follow if we lead by example.
by aats
