These hypocrites love to look religious and love to be seen as religious. They love the spotlight and relish their time in it.
[This sermon is one of a series entitled "Sermon on the Mount, Concentrating on the Beatitudes," which is being preached on Sunday mornings by Pastor Tim Senter.]
Merry Christmas everyone. I pray you received a blessing of the Lord on Christmas day. I know we did. This is certainly a joyous time of year. A time when the loving sacrifices of God float freely in the air. It is very much mingled with the secularization of the day, but God’s truth shines through more at this time of year than at any other. Many people come to church that otherwise would not. Depending upon the type of church they attend, some actually get to hear the gospel of Christ. We pray we glorified Christ this past week. God certainly blessed us in many different ways.
Today we return to our normal Sunday morning study on the Sermon on the Mount with a concentration in the Beatitudes. I would first like to encourage you to do something. First, make it a part of your normal devotional life to study certain sections of scripture intently. Secondly, if you are doing these studies in the scriptures, never forget to go back and review. It is not only helpful, but I contend it is essential. As an example, we might pick up our Bible and open to Matthew 6:5 and, in looking at our scripture today, immediately ascertain that we are still considering our earthly worship of God. However, many miss that fact and get lost in the historical aspect – the denunciation of pharisaical piety. Many people skip right over this single verse and move quickly to the Lord’s Prayer to find out what they think they need. For this reason, we will go back to the beginning of this chapter to capture the focus of Jesus’ discussion here – which has to do with practicing our righteousness. More specifically, we are to practice righteousness before God and for God, not before men and for men.
Today this scripture is given for us to learn. Today, we look at this one verse and we shall concentrate on the teachings in this verse. This is not a verse full of hope. This verse does not tell us of the great salvation of Christ. Many see this verse has having no real positive value. This is because the verse is full of negativity. Just as any other single verse in scripture has great truth for us, so too does Matthew 6:5.
I do not know how many times I have skipped right past the real meaning of something by trying to get to what I thought was important. I do this when I try to speed read, and that is why I am a slow reader. Many folks say you can train yourself to read faster, and you probably can. However, I have tried hard to speed read and never realized any real comprehension in it. Trying to look for key words or skipping over connecting words (and, the, but, etc.); none of that worked. Without reading the whole sentence, and seeing all the words, it did not make sense to me. Speed-reading never netted me much because I always had to go back and re-read what I had supposedly read. Speed reading for the sake of getting through the material never gave me the benefit of the knowledge or information in the text. It was simply dedicated to getting through the material, not comprehending it. In much the same way when we concentrate too hard on our own desires and goals, or make paramount the expectations others might have for us, we lose sight of what is right in front of us.
If we attribute this verse’s focus to standing while praying, or praying in public in general we have missed the entire purpose in our Lord’s exposition. Scripture has people praying prostrate (Num 16:22); kneeling (2 Chron 6:13); sitting (2 Sam 7:18); standing (1 Sam 1:26); and in public (Dan 6:10). All of these honored God. This is not the problem.
We also make our perspective the paramount issue when it comes to soul searching. When we point our own magnifying glass at ourselves, we quickly remove it. We do so for a number of reasons. First, it burns. Just as when the sun is caught in a magnifying glass and its rays are magnified to produce heat, even so, when we point our own magnifying glass at our heart and God’s light is caught temporarily in the glass, it burns deep into our soul. Second, we might have to do something. We might have to change. One of the great societal cries today is tolerance. Let people be who they want to be. The reason this is so popular is that people do not want to know they have done wrong. They are unwilling to face their faults, wrongs, sins, and overall prideful and self-serving attitude. These folks say, “God made me this way, He should accept me as I am.” They are naive and ignorant of the truths of God, and they are choosing to remain this way. These are the things this scripture points out – our pride filled and sinful hearts.
In his expositions on these passages in the Sermon on the Mount, Lloyd Jones notes that the entire section, verses 2-18, is an exhortation to right Christian living. It begins on a negative note as the Savior encourages us not to be pseudo-religious, but really truly Christian. We are not supposed to go about pretending to be Christians. Instead are to actually exercise these things in scripture and of Christ in our lives. We are to be “Living the Righteous Life” in Christ.[1]
Our prideful attitude is so seriously overwhelming that we even try to commune with God in that activity – self-worship. “God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican” (Lk 18:11) is a perfect example of this self-serving attitude we can have. We too approach the throne of our salvation with an attitude that is nothing but self serving just as the Pharisee in Luke 18. Whenever you think your prayer has to please others, or when it is withheld because you do not think yourself articulate enough, you are shying from communion with God because of man. You fear man more than God.
“Praying pridefully for self is sinful.” It is in no wise what prayer is supposed to be – worship and communion with God. If we pray in this way, we take sin right to God with us. There is no wonder then that we must have to have someone between God and us. Our corruption is horrid and all pervasive. It is a putrid and detestable thing before God. The sad part is most of the time we do not even see how evil we are. “We must first see our sinful pride before we can confess it, repent and be forgiven.”
We will try to break this passage down into two parts – what we do in sin, and what we gain in sin.
I. What we do in sin (Verse 5a)
When we consider what we do in sin it is relatively easy to boil it all down to “me.” In the first part of our scripture today, Jesus tells us exactly that. Bearing in mind that we are talking today about what not to do, Jesus says, “When thou prayest.” This is when YOU pray – a plural. This means all of us.
Consider this: the subject of the sentence is hypocrisy. Where you see the word “hypocrites” in this sentence, this is the subject of the entire sentence. The word is used to indicate, “those who profess to do a pious action, but do so with their eye on people when they should be concerned with God only.”[2] When you pray, therefore, in the fashion described, you are a hypocrite. The hypocrites do not pray to God, they pray so that they are seen.
The word that we see translated “seen” is not a normal word for seeing with the eyes. This word means to highlight, or to give light to a situation. It is used to describe heavenly beings giving light from their heavenly bodies. It seems more appropriate to use this word to describe how candles and torches illuminate things. We just had a candle light ceremony on Thursday where we tried, in a figurative sense to shine the light of Christ around a dark room. This is that word to shine, to give light or to bring light on a situation or thing.
One might ask about the word “men” in the sentence. After all, isn’t that the subject – that men see the person who prays? The action is praying, and praying itself is in the middle voice – it points back at itself. This seems to say men praying to and for men in the middle voice. It is also that form of word that leaves things to possibilities – the could, should, or might sense. However, the last word “men” is really an indirect object – something that sees. Men is not describing the thing that is praying, “men” see the praying. The hypocrites who pray are the subject. What you do as a hypocrite is the point of this scripture.
Some attitudes you might think are flippant. You might consider that the people who do this are doing it out of some sense that they are under some pressure. We have made the point that some Jews on their way to the synagogue may stop and publicly pray, so particularly the Pharisees may notice them. They did this because the Pharisees taught them to make their piety known, especially to the religion checkers out there. That is not necessarily the case. The scripture says the people who do this “love” to do these things.
The word-translated love is the word “phileō.” They love or have great affection for their association with the Pharisees. Just as brotherly love describes a love between two brothers, this love of public prayer is a love for the visibility – the love to shine the light, upon one’s public prayer. They adore the attention it brings to them. They stand in the synagogue to pray in order to receive recognition. They go to the most prominent places to be seen. They love the public recognition of it. They love the appearance of piety it brings upon them. They think that people see them and think, “Wow, there is someone who is devoted to God.” These hypocrites love to look religious and love to be seen as religious. They love the spotlight and relish their time in it. There is no love in them for communion with God or worshipping God. It is all about them and their religious vanity.
These folks enjoy being seen as the centerpiece of the day. The description of their standing on the street “corners” translates a word that is used nine times in the scriptures. This is the first. The others are Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; Acts 26:26; 1 Pet 2:7; Revelation 7:1 and 20:8. In eight of these passages, it is used to describe a very visible position, a very prominent position in the case of Christ. The passages in Matthew 21, Mark, Luke, Acts 4, and 1 Peter all describe the Lord Jesus as the corner stone or “head of the corner.” The scripture uses this phrase to say that the entire foundation of the church is laid upon this building block. This word is not simply used to describe a prominent place of visibility. The Lord chose this word to indicate how important these hypocrites believe they really are. They have placed themselves on a pedestal. They are very prominent in their own eyes. They are the epitome of arrogance thinking that praying is provided for the purpose of ingratiating themselves. To them it is a form of entertainment. To this person, praying is all about them, theirs, and what they want or think they are providing for other people.
So, you say, “Pastor, I don’t stand on street corners and pray though. I do not take the front pew and pray. I do not stand up in church to be seen and pray. I already don’t do these things.” My answer to you would be, “Oh, really?” People are conscious of what others think about them. For this reason, people are excited to be known as one who prays. We all want to be considered godly people. A healthy prayer life is one of the markers of being godly. For this reason, we should consider our prayers and where we pray. This initial thought that we should please men in our prayers is sin, just as any self-serving thought is sin. When we pray for prayer’s sake, or when we pray to impress our piety upon others, we sin. That prayer is for us, not to commune with and worship God.
Not only this, but it can develop into something that we love to do – praying in such a fashion that we are seen by others. This is where, as I have discussed, my wife and I have to be on a fine edge concerning our public prayer for our servers at restaurants. We are mindful of this and in fact have made an effort to have conversations with our servers, (especially since we are repeat customers for many), on varying occasions to be truly interested in them. The point ladies and gentlemen, is that when you do not consider who you are praying to, if you do consider only yourself in prayer, then you compromise your prayer.
Praying for one’s self can take on other cloaks as well. Consider praying for wealth. Many people have prayed for money and not received it, as if to say, “Why just the other day I asked the Lord for a million dollars and He didn’t give it to me. If He answers prayer, why didn’t He answer mine?” I submit to you this individual knows no more about the Lord than they would about nuclear engineering or neuro-surgery. James 4:3 is clear, we do not receive because we have the wrong motives in mind when we pray. We spend our prayers on our own pleasures when we should be spending them on the things of God. The most important thing that God can do for us is to change us into what He wants us to be – into a creature that can glorify Him. For this reason, we see verse four where James says, “know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?” If we look for, seek approval of, and bow our desires to the things of this world, we fail God and He will not answer those prayers. The worldly prayer is simply for our own benefit and has nothing to do with glorifying God.
Have you ever considered how you felt if you were called upon to pray at church? Are you concerned that you might not impress those present with your oratory? It is not them to whom you pray. You are not supposed to be concerned about yourself in the sight of others because you are supposed to pray to God in worship, and for His glory.
What should you do? Do not be as the hypocrites that pray to and for themselves. Once again, considering sin as an event that stems from our selfishness, we must work to shun the self-focus, self-concern, and false deprecation (I am not good enough to pray with them) and turn our attention outward. “Look at me,” sin says. There are whole television programs dedicated to the “me” attitude. The more outrageous you can get, the more people will notice you. The scripture says, “thou shalt not be as the hypocrites.”
Although there is no imperative in this sentence, the phrase, “thou shalt not be” is equivalent to an imperatival command. It is used over 300 times in the Old Testament as a command of God. These are very strong words being used by Jesus. He is ordering His followers (Pharisees among them) to not be like the hypocritical Pharisees. If you are a follower of Christ, you too must shun the things of the world, the attention-grabbing spotlight, desires for adulation, and the limelight in your worship and prayer. We should read Psalm 5, “For thou, Lord wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.” Custer makes the point that when we pray to bolster our own position or visibility, “God is not listening.”[3]
A public prayer, or a prayer that develops in such a fashion that it is visible, should be the result of an abundant and vibrant personal prayer life that regularly communes with God. A public prayer is not done ostentatiously for personal recognition; it is done because of other personal time with the Lord that has so softened the heart in appreciation that the prayer cannot be contained.
Nevertheless, many will not even hear what is said today. Many reading this message will simply ignore these teachings. In this way, what they do is an attempt to excuse their actions as normal, or acceptable or proper things for churchgoers to do. I submit to such individuals, the reason you are reading this message is that something is wrong with your prayer life that must change. If you do not change, if you do not consider deeply what you are praying about, you are remiss in this teaching. We have this tendency to minimize what we do not want to hear. We skip over things sometimes thinking, “I’m not a Pharisee.” Or how about this thought: “I never prayed like that.” If you believe I have to specifically say what it is you are doing wrong from the pulpit before you seek to change to do what is right, you may never become like Christ. You have to work at it too folks. This is not a one-way street. So, let’s consider what you get if you sit in the pew and pretend to listen, if you just go to church and pray with everyone in order to be “seen.”
II. What we gain in sin (Verse 5b)
What some might say in defense of this position is that they show others how to pray when they do this. They might say, “But I have a witness for Christ to others and I demonstrate reverence to God in my prayer to the people that see me.” If that is your purpose, you have accomplished it. You show people you are pious. Wonderful. You have achieved your objective. However, is that what prayer is supposed to be about? Is prayer witnessing to others to show them your piety? This scripture says if you do that, you have what you prayed for – a show for others.
Some people might invite others to pray because they give such wonderful prayers, they pray so well. Is that what prayer is for – for you to enjoy others praying around you? This is not the fault of the person praying, so much as it is the one putting off their prayer to hear another. We, as individuals, cannot interpose ourselves between anyone and God. It is not our place. We can pray for people in an intercessory fashion, but we cannot interpose ourselves in prayer. There is only one advocate for man, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 John 2:1). If someone is praying in a group, and you presume to let them pray for you, you are pushing off worship with God to someone else, supposedly for you. That is like saying, “Pastor, you study the Bible for me.” It is not my job to study the Bible for you. I study scripture to first change me, and then I give you what I learn from my studies. In this same fashion, I pray because I have a relationship with the Lord. I do not pray because it shows you how to pray. I pray about you in our times together, but I do not presume to take the place of Christ in prayer before God for you. That is blasphemy. If this is your attitude, you have your reward – no relationship with God.
Folks, you are to pray to God. I cannot be a surrogate for you in your relationship with God. It is your relationship with God, not your relationship with me to God. I have no more or less a position before God than any one of you, if you are a believer. You must pray. If you are afraid to pray to Him, you do not know the loving, caring and longsuffering God that I know. If you do not think your prayers will be enough for others to hear, that is entirely irrelevant because the prayers are not for the group to hear, they are for God to hear. If you pray and are concerned about what you say around others, you pray only for yourself and you have your reward. You have prayed for and to yourself. Let God hear you. He wants to.
Some of the best praying I have ever heard came in the form of a broken man crying his eyes out to the Lord, confessing his sins, and seeking the righteousness of Christ for his eternal soul. It came out chopped up, broken, in great hoarse sobs, and without any pomp or circumstance. The prayer came amid great heaving breaths that overtook his whole body. To man, there was no eloquence to the event, there was nothing aesthetic about it. However, I am confident that the angels were rejoicing and God was eternally pleased.
Folks, if you are looking for a pretty prayer, it is only for you and not for the Lord. You should be mindful of your sin first, and what you look like to others second – or not at all. People, in the end, will not judge your sins. The sin is yours and it needs to be removed. Sin that is pride. Worrying about what people might think of you as you pray is a sin. Sin is being concerned that you might not speak well enough for group prayer. No true believer is going to walk up to you after Wednesday night prayer service and say, “Wow, you really need to practice praying because you sounded like you didn’t know what you were doing.” If anyone ever does, they belie their true heart in prayer, which is worshipping self and not God.
Prayer, folks, needs to come from your heart. It needs to be meant. It needs to be yours. It needs to commune with and worship God. Your prayer belongs to you, comes from you, and should show, display or illuminate who you are. If you are shy about prayer, you are shying away from God. If you are shying away from God, it is normally because there is sin there. If, other than physical sickness, you are unable to pray aloud in a group, you are normally considering yourself unworthy to pray with those around you. That is selfish and personally motivated and you may as well not even be with the group that is praying. Your prayers are just as important to God as those of the most articulate person to ever speak a prayer. All you have to do is pray. Pray to God and forget all the rest. If you come to a prayer meeting, you should expect to pray.
One of the most simple and truthful prayers I have ever heard was when one of my friends said simply, “I love you God.” We should be mindful of our sinful hearts when we pray. There may be a time when we should keep our mouth shut. I know there have been times, even during prayer, when I have had wicked thoughts pass through my mind. I do my best to shut them out, but they creep in. You have those issues too, I am sure, but this should never preclude your earnest and honest prayer for and to God.
If you pray for the purpose of impressing others, you receive what you pray for – recognition of others. They will see you. Some might even judge you based upon these scriptures. Will you retaliate or will you take their comments with a measure of humility and analyze what you are doing and why you are doing it.
Do not pray to pray, pray to talk to and worship God. Pray to worship the God who loves you and sent His Son for you. You do not pray for anyone but yourself, and you pray to no one or for no one except God. This is not meant to interfere with intercessory prayer, but is meant to eliminate interposed prayer. True, you pray with others in mind, and for them in intercessory prayer. But prayer should be with a heart attitude that you earnestly want God’s will in their life concerning the prayer you offer, not that you are bringing their prayers to God for them. Even when interceding for others in prayer, it is prayer from you to God.
Next week, we will look at prayer more specifically and from a believer’s perspective. What is prayer and how should it be handled when done properly. Some of this was covered today, however most of today’s study was from a negative, or sin oriented connotation. Next week, we look at the believer’s heart in prayer.
[1] Lloyd-Jones, D Martyn, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, One-volume edition (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976). pp 289-299.
[2] Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, (Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, 1992), p140.
[3] Stewart Custer, The Gospel of the King: A Commentary on Matthew (Greenville: BJU Press, 2005), 92.
