Jump Start # 1904

Matthew 23:28 “So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

Our verse comes from the scathing rebuke that Jesus lowers on the heartless Pharisees. There are a series of “woe to you” warnings leveled at those who refused to recognize who Jesus was. Name calling is how some see this and this is how some love to preach. Blast the other guy from the pulpit and call names especially in an manner in which they are not present and do not have a platform to respond. Many misuse and misunderstand what was going on here. Jesus had been with these people for a period of time. These are not His first words to them. They had opportunity to see, question and to have faith like others. They refused. These words were spoken in the temple where many of them were. This isn’t the first time that the Lord has spoken to them. They questioned Him about divorce. The Lord answered. They challenged Him with the adulterous woman who was dragged from the bed of sin and cast at Jesus’ feet in the temple. He turned it on them. Their stubborn unbelief was magnified.

Our verse today illustrates the wrong emphasis that many are involved in. It is about appearance. Look good to others, while nothing changes on the inside. More concerned about how others see you than how God sees you. To do this well, some cover-up real problems. Others deny reality. Image is important.

A classic example of this is King David. After Bathsheba sent word that she was pregnant, he knew that others would know. His servants had sent for her. She was alone with him in the palace. Rather than admit that he messed up, was weak, made a huge mistake, David turned to cover-up. His wicked plans involved having everyone think that the baby was Uriah’s, Bathsheba’s husband. Get him home from the war. Let him go home. Everyone will just think that the baby is his. Cover-up. Image. Appearance. As our verse today states, “outwardly appear righteous to men, but…” It’s the but that shows what’s really going on. David’s evil plans included getting Uriah drunk. It included, eventually, having Uriah killed in battle. The withdrawing of troops, especially in the heat of battle, is not something that David did. He did this time. He did to keep his appearance up.

The appearance of righteousness comes in many colors. Some never miss a church service. They are quiet, cause no trouble and never come on the radar of the shepherds of the church. They “appear” to be a good member. But down the road, a mistake is made. They get careless and they are caught. They are the preacher who has an affair. They are the deacon who has been embezzling. They are the member who has hid a drinking problem. They are the couple who suddenly file for divorce. No one knew. No one suspected. Everything seemed fine. And, that’s the way it is when one puts more emphasis upon appearance than the heart. No trouble. No scandal. No issues. The perfect marriage. The perfect family. And all it was the entire time was a show. There was nothing on the inside. Their actions were not faith driven. They were more concerned about what friends would say. They used band-aides on serious spiritual diseases. Rather than being honest, seeking help and understanding that they were not unlike others, they wanted to keep the appearance up.

Pride will do this. We hate to admit that we need help and that we have made mistakes. Rather than being honest like the penitent prodigal, we cover things up. We deny. We believe the lie ourselves. When image is chosen over heart, we get further away from God and the very help that God gives up, through our fellowship with one another, is never utilized.

Fear will do this as well. We fear what people will say. We fear the judgmental tongue and the pointing fingers. We fear that no one will accept us or like us. So we hide. We put up a false image. Often, our fears are just in our minds. I’ve seen many times, a church coming to forgive, love and help those who have made mistakes. Fear will lead us to be more concerned about others than God.

The past will do this as well. We may have had a bad experience with others in the past. We may have seen or heard what others said and did to those who tried to be honest with their sins. We’ve seen the rocks in their hands. We’ve seen the cold spirit of the prodigal’s older brother. All of that has led us to hide any failures in our lives. We sugar coat things and paint a picture that is not real or true.

There are two main problems with those who are so concerned about image.

First, they present a church that is fake and artificial. It’s like plastic flowers. From a distance they look nice. Plastic flowers do not have the feel nor the fragrance of real flowers. They are fake. Hiding our failures, for the sake of image, presents a church that looks good, but it is not. Such was one of the churches in Revelation. They had a reputation of being alive, but they were dead. It was all image. They were doing the right things, but they were a mess on the inside. It’s hard for people to connect in such a church. It’s hard for outsiders to ever feel welcomed in such a church. Everyone seems perfect. That’s the image. That’s the talk. When someone feels less than perfect, they soon realize that they don’t fit in. That artificial image hurts more than it helps. It keeps people away. It ruins any good that ought to have been done.

Second, when we are concerned about image, our hearts remain sinful, dark and distant from God. It is the heart that is honest and will repent that God forgives. God is more interested in that contrite heart than our sacrifices. We get these two backwards. Keep the image up, but never change on the inside. God wants us to be honest.

Remember the Lord’s parable about the two men who went to pray? The second man prayed, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” Jesus said that man went home justified. He went home just. He went home forgiven. He didn’t hide. He didn’t care if others heard him, saw him, or even what they thought about him. It was he and God. He wanted a clean heart. He sought the Lord. The first man’s prayer was all about image. Look what I have done. Look what I have not done. Look how good I am. Brag, brag, brag. Stop blowing your horn and pull the curtain back from your heart. Your pride is killing you, man!

When we can stand in the shadows of the second man, praying honestly for forgiveness and even naming our sins to God, we will stop trying to impress one another. We are all the same. We all need the same thing. At best, we are forgiven sinners. At worst, we are saints who struggle.

Had King David had a heart like that, Uriah would have lived. Had the Pharisees had a heart like that, they would have become believers. Had Sardis had a heart like this, they would not have died as a church. Had you and I have a heart like this, we won’t worry about “going forward,” telling the eldership that we need help, or falling to our knees and asking God to forgive us.

Image is what Hollywood is all about. People who live a lifetime pretending. Realty is what many of them cannot deal with. This is why drugs, divorce and death races through the artificial lives that they are living. Being honest with God and with yourself is where all of this changes.

God, be merciful to me, the sinner! Something we all should pray!

Roger