hypocrites
I just need one starring role
“Are you kidding? Do you think I’d go to church there? I wouldn’t set one foot inside that place! That bunch is nothing but a pack of hypocrites!”
Have you ever heard anything like this? Have you ever said anything like this? A commonly observed flaw in Christian behavior, with varying degrees of accuracy, is that it is “hypocritical.” Three times in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus makes observations about the behavior of “hypocrites.” And his comments are not flattering. They’re along the lines of what not to do!
I’m about to do something which is not exactly authoritative, and that is, to define a Biblical word in an English translation of the Bible. But here’s what the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary says about “hypocrite”: number 1, “a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion,” and number 2, “a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings.” I assume this is no surprise.
When Jesus disapproves of the hypocrites, is he thinking of our current-day idea of the word? That would almost make things easier.
If Jesus is saying that we need to practice what we preach, then, as challenging as that may be at times, it still seems to be something we can get a handle on. It seems like we can notice whether or not we’re doing it — to an extent. And if we can’t, there’s usually somebody else who’s willing to point out where our words and deeds don’t quite match up! Some of us are blessed with more than one such person! Actually, that’s why it’s impossible to live the Christian life in isolation: we need the community of faith.
I started thinking about the word “hypocrite” when I noticed the translation in the Anchor Bible. [W. F. Albright and C. S. Mann, Matthew (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971), 73, 74, 78.]
In all three places where most English versions read “the hypocrites,” it reads “the overscrupulous.” That puts a different spin on the entire passage. It sounds like what Jesus has in mind aren’t so much frauds — they aren’t so much phonies — but rather, those who want to “demonstrate their spiritual superiority.”
Our word “hypocrite” comes from the Greek ύποκριτης (hupokritēs). It originally meant “interpreter” (as in interpreter of dreams) or “one who explains.” Later, it took on the meaning of “actor,” like one who performs in a play.
It’s this definition of “actor” that was the commonly understood meaning of the word for centuries. So there wasn’t necessarily a derogatory sense associated with being a hypocrite. It wasn’t always an insult. It appears that it’s only well after the New Testament era that “hypocrite” takes on the metaphorical sense. That is, of people pretending to be something other than what they are, of not practicing what they preach. So Jesus is saying, “whenever you give alms”… ”whenever you pray”… ”whenever you fast”… don’t be actors. Don’t play a role.
After each time Jesus warns against behaving like the hypocrites, he adds this: “Truly I tell you, they have received their reward” (vv. 2, 5, 16). They’ve received their reward. What reward is that?
What reward do actors receive? Or at least, what reward do actors hope to receive? Actually, Jesus tells us: “so that they may be praised by others” (v. 2). Actors, and performers in general, want to be applauded; they don’t want to be booed. Anyone who’s been on stage, be it for a school play or doing the halftime show at the Super Bowl, can tell you that.
If that’s all you want your life to add up to — the acclaim given to actors, to hypocrites — that’s fine. But Jesus suggests something much better. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal” (vv. 19–20).
A life that only has the symbolic fifteen minutes of fame, in the end, isn’t much of a life. Jesus concludes, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (v. 21). So where is our treasure? Where is our heart?
If love for God isn’t our motivation, then our treasure is meager indeed. So let’s not be hypocrites; let’s not be actors — even if you find yourself saying, “You love me, you really love me!”
