Diagnosis: Hypocrisy! – A

Luke 11:37-54 Hypocrisy blinds us to what’s really important. It can’t take its eyes off tradition. Jesus tells the Pharisees, and the religious lawyers how they focus on their outward appearance while on the inside they are full of wickedness and greed.

Father, we thank you, Lord. I’m still flying off that worship. Mm God. That is good.
And if it blessed our hearts, it wasn’t even, it wasn’t even for us. It was for you.
Lord God, I sense a smile on your face. Father, I pray that you bless the Lord.
Smile on this message. Smile on the words that Jesus has to say to us today. Strong words.
I would not want to have been in that audience back then.
But Lord may we examine our hearts to make sure that we’re not in the audience today.
That would be somehow fooling ourselves. Lord make us real. Nobody wants to be a hypocrite in this world.
Make us real. In jesus’ name. We pray and all God’s people said, amen.
Grab your bibles this morning church and turn if you would to Luke’s Gospel 11.
Luke chapter 11, we’ve been in the chapter for what seems like a couple of years.
I think today will be if God grace is our time, it will be our last study in Luke 11.
Luke 11 verses 37 to 54 large portion of scripture, but we cannot break it up why?
Because it’s about hypocrisy. Yikes. Everybody is quick to speak about hypocrisy. We don’t want to see hypocrisy.
We don’t want to be a one who is operating in hypocrisy and neither does God want us to be like that.
The message this morning is entitled diagnosis hypocrisy.
Jesus is gonna give his appraisal of the hearts of those who have gotten so far from him.
If they were ever near him at all, Jesus is going to be speaking.
The Bible tells us and speaks to us concerning God and his word and hypocrisy and truthfulness.
The Bible says in Hebrews chapter four verse 12 to 13, for the word of God is living church.
The Bible says the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword piercing even to the dividing of the soul and the spirit that is God’s word, discerns our motives in our hearts, to the joints and into the meals and into the discern of the thoughts and intents of our heart.
And there is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of whom that we must give an account.
The Lord God knows hypocrisy. The word hypocrisy means to play the part.
It means to have two faces and you’ve all seen these before.
And I don’t know if you look at the screens if you realize this or not, but we say the English word hypocrisy.
Means to have two faces or to be an actor to assume a different character or position for a stage.
But these images that you’re seeing on the screen in Greek, they’re called crete hypocrites, double faces, one smiling, one frowning.
You can be a hypocrite. You can be dying on the inside, but put on a happy face.
You can be very happy about something, but you put on the outward appearance that it’s some very grievous and burdensome situation in your life and be deceiving people.
The word is hypocrisy. Luke chapter 11 has been a chapter of accelerating education as it were and illumination.
But now examination Jesus comes and he exposes hypocrisy.
There comes a great crescendo as this chapter closes out and the stage is set and Jesus is going to address some actors and boy, is he going to pull their mask off here in a moment in these verses that here we have before us, there are basically three key players.
There is the and we’ll learn about them this morning.
There’s the lawyers and I don’t mean attorneys like we know them today. These are lawyers of the word.
These lawyers that Jesus will speak about are religious lawyers, not defending religious cases, but their job was to defend the word of God.
And then of course, there’s Jesus.
Now the Pharisees were men that were sectarians, they were separatists, they were removed from the common people of the world.
They were professional religionists, the Pharisees, they were the ones that were to be teaching people the word of God.
They were to be the representatives of God to the people. The Pharisees a mad made concoction.
Uh a tradition. It was as it were a, a long line of those who lorded what God wanted, what God taught from God, they would say to the people.
And then the lawyers are those who are the defenders of that faith.
You say, well, Jack, were they defenders of the Bible? They were defenders of the Bible.
But what happened as we shall see, they became defenders of men’s traditions more than the Bible and church.
Listen, it’s gonna be quiet in here today because what Jesus says is going to fly right up against some of us who have been walking with God the most.
Maybe you are a brand new Christian this morning or you’re not a Christian at all.
Listen, you’ve got an encouraging message today.
I do mean this because one of the greatest dangers is to become associated with the things of God and take the things of God and make them common and become professional.
I live, I’m thinking about Brian who had to leave after we prayed for him off to the airport.
That’s how quick he’s getting out of here. He’s heading off in the Marine Corps to fight for freedom.
He’s going to get shot at and my heart goes out to him.
But then I think as being a true pastor, listen, the complacency.
The danger is if Brian goes to Iraq and walks around, like he’s some sort of a tea party, he’s going to get shot.
God forbid, but he’s going to get hit if he takes it lightly as a minister of the gospel and maybe you as a Christian.
If we walk around this world taking it lightly. Ho hum. I’m a Christian. I own a bible.
I’m going to heaven. I don’t care about you whatever I tithe. I do my thing.
We can become so complacent that those who want to come to Christ, those who want to know the Lord.
Those who want to find purpose for living and know the love of God.
They’ll just keep right on the path and walk right past God because they’ll look at us who claim to know God and we might even know God, but we’ve departed from Him and we misrepresent the Lord before the eyes of those that are seeking out after God.
And we will do a gross injustice both to them, to ourselves, but ultimately to the Lord himself, hypocrisy kills and the Pharisees and the lawyers.
Jesus will be speaking to point number one in our study this morning of diagnoses hypocrisy. It’s this hypocrisy.
You may have hypocrisy growing and existing in your life.
If there’s a burning in the eyes, will you write that down? Diagnosis? If there’s a burning in the eyes.
You see what I mean by that? Well, number one, this hypocrisy cannot stop staring at tradition. Hypocrisy.
Have you ever stared hypocrisy stares at tradition. It can’t take its eyes off tradition.
Why now church understand this tradition can be beautiful if it brings to your heart and my memory and reflection and thoughts toward God.
For example, last week, we had a memorial service regarding September 11th that is becoming a tradition across America.
But God help us if we do those things and not remember, oh, we have a band or we’ve got cotton candy machine or we’ll sell tickets and forget what it was all about.
Then it becomes a tradition and we take it and we actually wind up making it something worse than what it should be as a great thing.
Tradition is not bad. It’s what man’s heart does to, to tradition that messes it up and hypocrisy cannot stop staring at tradition.
Church Christian. When you stare at something, what happens to your eyes?
If you stare, they begin to burn those of you who spend your life on the computer.
Like I do your eyes begin to burn. Eye.
Doctors tell us we have to remember to blink when we’re looking at a computer because when we stare at something, our natural mind, our auto system doesn’t blink.
We have to force ourselves to blink. Interesting.
When you begin to stare, your eyes begin to burn, your vision begins to get very, very focal and it begins to actually go bad your peripheral vision.
You can’t see what’s out there. Tradition doesn’t allow you to see what’s out there, you say?
Well, why do I need to see what’s out there? I have my tradition. That’s the problem.
Jesus said, hypocrisy is gonna make you burn in the eyes.
He says in verse 37 38 as he spoke a certain pharisee circle, the word certain means something’s up something scheming.
It wasn’t a pharisee, it was a certain one.
There was a motion or movement in action, there was a covert operation going on.
A certain pharisee asked Jesus to die in order to have supper with him.
And so he went in and sat down to eat and when the pharisee saw it, he marveled that Jesus had not first washed his hands before dinner.
He said, well, Jack, I tell my kids to go wash their hands before dinner every day.
That’s not what this pharisee is all interested about. That’s not what he’s caught up into.
You see what happens here.
He’s departing from the word of God and the pharisee is watching, watching, watching, watching for something and looking and looking and looking for something.
What to, to hear what Jesus is gonna say about the Bible, to see what Jesus is gonna teach next.
Not at all that certain pharisee is in some sort of a, a ploy, a move to watch.
Where does Jesus trip up? Let’s find, if we can trip up, let’s bust him.
Listen, you will never find Jesus busting or tripping up over the word of God ever.
He can’t violate the word of God ever. But you know what?
Quite frankly, Jesus could literally care less about is the traditions of men. We love them.
We always do it this way.
I guess if you’re comfortable fine, but don’t make it a rule.
So that’s what these guys did. It’s always been done this way. It’s got to be done this way.
It’s the way our grandfather has done it.
Our father, it’s the way it’s going to be done and my sons will do it this way.
For what reason? I don’t know, it’s just the way we do it, you say?
Well, that’s great if you’re building buildings or laying concrete and there’s a technique that’s not what we’re talking about.
We are talking about religion. We are talking about man’s attempt to reach God and to become attainable to God and Jesus speaks out against that.
You’re listening to Real life with Pastor Jack Hibbs.
You know, to hear more episodes and maybe catch up in the series. Just go to Jack Hibbs dot com.
That’s Jack Hibbs dot com. And for now, let’s get back to our teaching.
Once again, here’s pastor Jack hypocrisy cannot stop staring at tradition when the Pharisees saw this, what happened and why was he basing this as something critical the Jewish writings had created in the MNA.
That’s additional writings that the Jews had written in the MNA in Yade two verse three of the MNA.
It demands that hands must be washed. Exactly a certain way. Church.
It’s about two paragraphs of how you’ve got to wash your hands before you eat. Is it in the Bible?
No, but is it in the Jewish, Mna?
Yes, you say, well, that’s nice to wash your hands fine.
But to make it a religious requirement of fellowship and approval to God is crazy. It’s wrong and destructive.
And Jesus who came to fulfill the word of God did not have to wash his hands the way that they were hunting him down to do.
Why? Because the MNA is not the word of God. I love Bible commentaries.
It’s not the word of God. Look at your, uh, your study Bible. Does it have footnotes?
Does it have little comments at the bottom of the page? Not Bible?
Those are the producers and the editor’s notes. The Bible is the Bible. Anything else is from man? Ok.
Very important that flies in the face of our traditions though.
Verse 38 says when that pharisee saw it, he marveled, he was shocked.
The word means that his eyes popped open and his jaw fell open.
He didn’t wash his hands.
We got him now he didn’t keep the traditions of our fathers who wrote that down that you should do it.
Can’t come to church. How come you got you? You’re dressed too good.
You got a three piece suit on. You see? Well, that’s ridiculous. It’s just as ridiculous to say.
If somebody walks in here, if they have jeans on, you can’t come in here.
Listen, God knows the heart. Should we, should we be respectful to the Lord? Yep.
I have a nice shirt on. It’s brand new. You like it? It’s brand new. I tell you what.
It’s my Sunday shirt. When I was out looking for a shirt, Lisa said, what are you looking for?
I said, I’m looking for a Sunday shirt. This is a Sunday shirt.
I want to give God this shirt. It’s not for you.
See, I like the shirt that’s fine if you like it or not.
I think God likes this shirt and you say, well, you know what?
I want to give God my best too. That’s beautiful.
And so we should, if I’m gonna be invited to the, to the, I don’t know what’s in Hollywood.
What are those nutty things? Emmys, Grammys, Bamm. I don’t know what they’re called.
But you know, if you get invited to something like that, you know, you, you dress up, you look nice for who you know, are you homeless today?
And you’ve come here today. That’s awesome. Wear the best homeless t-shirt you’ve got. But come to Christ.
See, God doesn’t look to see who’s dressed the most.
God looks to see what your heart’s dressed with tradition, clouds our heart clouds our vision as we shall see in a moment.
Jesus said in another place in Matthew 15 verse two. Why do you, why do your disciples?
They came asking Jesus transgress the traditions of the elders.
Hey, Jesus, how can your disciples transgress the traditions of the elders for?
They do not wash their hands before they eat the bread?
And Jesus answered and said to them, why do you transgress the commandment of God? Because of your tradition?
I love when he talks like that. By the way, Jesus, how come your disciples don’t wash their hands?
Hey, I’m gonna ask you something.
How come you guys run around keeping your traditions and violating in the word of God straight to the point?
True. Jesus always is Mark chapter seven verse eight. Mark chapter seven verse eight.
Listen to this, apply this to tradition, tradition by the way, being requirements that men and women have to leap over and leap to and attain to and fulfill before they can be accepted for you.
Lay aside the commandment of God.
Jesus said, holding the traditions of men, the washing of pitchers and cups and many other things you do.
He said to them all, all too well, you reject the commandment of God that you may keep your traditions.
Why do you do what you do? Does your church?
Does a church require you this and require you that. Why ask them why?
Well, we’re not, we’re not allowed to ask why. How come it’s our tradition, we cannot ask, start asking.
Show me in the Bible, show me in the Bible. Why? Well, this is what we do.
Some churches don’t even read the Bible. They call themselves churches. When the Bible says, read the Bible.
Can I read the Bible? No, we’ll read the Bible. We’ll tell you what, what it says.
But the Bible says to read the Bible, how do you know we’ll tell you what it means.
You guys that’s dangerous. Isaiah chapter 29 verse 13.
There, the Bible says, therefore, the Lord said in as much as these people draw near to me with their mouths, they honor me with their lips but have removed their hearts far from me and their fear toward me is taught by the commandment of men.
Hypocrisy cannot stop staring at tradition.
Secondly, the burning of the eyes could be caused by hypocrisy because it cannot see reality.
Hypocrisy is a funny thing. It would blind you to reality. Verse 39. Then the Lord said to him.
Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup in the dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.
This is, I’m sorry, you guys. This is awesome.
The guy invites Jesus over for dinner and he’s gonna set Jesus up. Jesus knows this.
Jesus knows that the guy is already dumbfounded about Jesus not keeping the Jesus doesn’t care about the MNA who’s getting set up here anyway, Jesus is there and he says, I wanna say something you Pharisees.
You guys do a great job of washing everything on the outside.
But on the inside, you guys are full of greed and wickedness.
Greed, greed is the word to obtain things to themselves.
Wickedness is the Greek word by plotting and scheming translation. The inside of you is filthy.
No matter how beautiful you look on the outside. How, why is that true?
Because inside you are constantly plotting and scheming how you can come out on top every time Jesus tells it right to these guys and you have got to see these guys.
They are so dressed up with their religious stuff. They got rings, they got these rings everywhere.
It’s like true. Oh, yes, Jesus, we’d like to ask you a question.
He’s there. He’s in his robe. You’ve got God in his robe.
You’ve got man looking like God. And Jesus says, what are you doing?
Oh man, I’m sorry, I’d love to have been there to see this, but you don’t have to go too far because it’s very prevalent in our world today.
Reality gets skewed when hypocrisy burns the eyes. I’m a, I’m a servant of God.
Well, then serve somebody. Will you? What?
I, where’s my parking space? Listen, I was reading a friend of mine.
He wrote a book. I had a chance to speak with this guy at a men’s retreat, great, great, great guy.
Um He went with a friend of his, he was asked to speak at the Hollywood Bowl for Easter Sunrise Service.
And the, the committee for the Hollywood Bowl asked him, um, we need to know where your address is.
We need to GPS. We need to find out where there’s a, where there’s a place close enough where we can pick you up by helicopter.
He said, helicopter, I I know where the Hollywood Bowl is.
I live in Pasadena, I can make it.
And they said, well, the, the preacher last year had to have a helicopter.
I said, well, he said that’s not necessary. They said, well, ok, then where do you want us?
Where do you want the limo to pick you up at? We need your address.
He said I have a 99 Volvo. It works fine.
And they said we can’t have you come in a Volvo, you can’t come to the Hollywood Bowl to be the key speaker on the Sunday service in a Volvo.
And he said, why not?
He said, well, because the person the year before that had to have a limo.
Doctor Reverend pastor, minister servant, I need a helicopter.
Watch out hypocrisy causes your eyes to burn and skew reality.
Then the Lord said to him, now you pharisee make no mistake about a church.
Jesus is busting this guy and Pharisees in totality. It’s plural. There.
Can you imagine the silence that must have been in that room? How did this happen?
Why did this happen? I don’t know anything about them, but I know something about me and I know something about us as believers.
We need to be very careful. Church, always very careful.
Here’s the reason why we can be so in love with God, but get so sideways with things that we can walk away from the love of God and the life of God.
In revelation chapter two verse four, Jesus said, nevertheless, I have this against you because you’ve left your first love.
Hot love. The word is uh hot preeminent. Always before your face love, you’ve left your first love.
Jesus said, remember therefore from where you fall and repent and do your first works? I love that.
Isn’t this great if you forget everything else? Remember this, Jesus said, hey Christian, stay close to me.
Keep dating me. Keep flirting with me.
Keep hanging out with me, keep sending me notes, keep waking up in the morning saying love you, Jesus.
What what are we gonna do today? Watch a cloud go by or by the mercies of God.
Hallelujah, rain cloud, rain clouds came by southern California this weekend and it rained. What did you do?
My car is all dirty now or did you say? Thank you God. We’re in a drought.
Thanks for the rain. Do your first works?
Hey, when’s the, remember when you met him or met her first love? Hi. Hello. Where are you going?
I don’t know why. That’s, uh, whatever I’m going. Wherever you’re going. What?
You love their voice, you love their smell. They can even sweat and it’s, and it’s fantastic. So cute. Anything.
Oh, my hair is messed up. I’m sorry. It’s awesome. Think about it.
Jesus says be like that with me, be like that with me.
And if you’re not like that with me, get back, why?
Because the danger is hypocrisy can creep in, we can get complacent with him.
We get a skewed reality pastor and bible teacher Jack Hibbs here on Real Life radio with his message called diagnosis hypocrisy.
You know this message diagnosis hypocrisy is part of Pastor Jack’s series called The Gospel of Luke.
It’s a series on the book of Luke and the unveiling of Jesus Christ to this world.
And we’ll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio. Everybody.
Pastor Jack here and I want to encourage you to get your own copy of a brand new book.
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But by all means you need this book evidence that demands a verdict.
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It’s yours for a gift of any amount. And it’s available at our website Jack Hibbs dot com.
One more time. Jack Hibbs dot com.
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Wish for you solid and steady growth in Christ and in his word, we’ll see you next time here on Real Life Radio.