This is a post related to our ongoing series in the book of Matthew.
If you ask someone on the street why they're not interested in church, you'll often hear some version of this: "Church people say one thing, but their lives are another." Perhaps they don't see anything different in Christians, so why bother showing up to their things? At best, we don't matter. At worst, we're outright hypocrites. We say we care about the poor, but do we? We say everyone is welcome, but are they?
Hypocrisy is saying one thing whilst living another. It's not authentically living out what you believe.
If hypocrisy from Christians has annoyed, frustrated, or even prevented you from following God, Jesus is right there with you. He's more angry about it than you are, and He's full of condemnation for hypocrites. When Jesus says "woe" to you, as He does to these religious leaders in Matthew 23, He's sentencing you to doom. Just like in the story of the wedding feast: all are invited, but to be at His party, you must wear His clothes. You must adopt His way of life.
The Problem We All Share
But here's the challenge: who here is completely pure? We all have little hypocrites living in our hearts. They hide in the crevices, the shadows, the places where we don't want to shine a light.
Hypocrisy is a lack of internal honesty. When we live this way, we're forced to wear a mask. We can't be our true selves—we have to create some false version of ourselves. Not who we really are.
Here's a surprise: we might readily think that our badness keeps us away from God, but what is Jesus addressing in Matthew 23? Our goodness. Or perhaps more accurately: our "goodness."
Did you know that probably the biggest hindrance to living as God calls us to in His kingdom isn't your badness, but your goodness? The issue isn't that we're terrible people—it's that we think we're actually rather good. And if we're good in this area, surely we can cut corners in another. We treat the kingdom of God like a fad diet with cheat days. But the kingdom of God isn't a diet—it's a way of life.
Imagine treating being a spouse like that: six out of seven days I'm a pretty good partner, so that means I can cheat on this person one day and be fine. It's just one day, right? This isn't only horrible for the individual—it's horrible for others in their lives.
For all our hypocrisy, for all our inauthentic living, Jesus calls us out. He points out the mask. But it doesn't end there. He takes the mask off and enables us to live as we really are, with authenticity. Without Jesus, we're stuck in our masks. With Him, we're freed to be something more.
Two Ways to Miss God's Kingdom
There are two ways to miss out on God and His kingdom:
1. Not Surrendering to Jesus' Rules "You must be careful to do everything they tell you" (Matthew 23:3)
2. Adding More Rules "But do not do what they do, for they do not practise what they preach" (Matthew 23:3)
Most people understand that their badness keeps them from God's kingdom. What's more difficult to grasp is that your "goodness" can keep you away from God as much as your badness—perhaps even more so!
This hypocrisy isn't only horrible for the individual; it's horrible for others: "You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people's faces" (Matthew 23:13).
The Masks We Wear
Performative Faith
Jesus addresses several manifestations of hypocrisy. One major issue is making a big outward show of what you believe to impress others.
The Pharisees wore phylacteries—boxes containing Scripture verses worn on the forehead and arm. Instead of normal-sized ones, they wore oversized versions! Fashion has always been a way to signal to others how important you are.
They wanted to be seen in important places, letting people know how effective their ministry or life was. They didn't just want respect—they demanded it. If they didn't receive what they thought they deserved, they became upset. "That person didn't say hello to me!" "I didn't like the tone of their voice!"
This is all manipulation to extract respect from others.
Religious versions include:
Wanting to "serve" but only on your terms
Wanting to "give and be generous" but in ways that serve you first
Chasing after visible areas to serve
Changing your speaking voice to sound more important
Flying theological knowledge like a plane banner so everyone sees it
Secular versions include:
The logo on your tote bag signalling your values
Your political position/party/candidate as identity marker
Conspicuous consumption—buying things so everyone knows how great you are
Every single one of us is afflicted with performative faith. Jesus curses it.
What's the antidote? Humility. The way of the kingdom is paved with humility. Humility means surrendering yourself to another—God's way above our own. "For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted" (Matthew 23:12).
Manipulative Words
In verses 16-22, Jesus curses those who use words to manipulate others. The religious leaders would swear by God or by aspects of the temple, and depending on what they swore by, they'd either keep their promise or not.
"I'll do this, I swear by the altar" (so maybe I will, maybe I won't). "I'll do this, I swear by the temple" (I'm more likely to do it).
It's ridiculous! If you're going to do something and say you will, then do it. There's no difference between the temple and the One who dwells in it. You can't dodge your promises with simple tricks. Really, all of this is about how we can manipulate to get what we want.
The best religious example: you don't want to do something, but instead of saying no, you say "I'll pray about that."
Do you pray about needing to eat? Needing to drink? No, you do it because it's part of being alive. Same with your spiritual life. There are things you do to stay alive.
Another example is how we view commitment. We're commitment-phobic in the West, swimming in a sea of toxic individualism. When we commit to being part of a community: is it an option or an actual commitment? When we commit to being part of a church in Manchester, is it "in so far as it serves my own needs," or is it about something bigger than yourself?
Secular versions abound:
Using business jargon to avoid owning up to mistakes
The very basic "yes means yes, no means no"—few of us are consistent with this
Avoiding honesty in conversations, which stirs up conflict rather than resolving it
The antidote to this hypocrisy: "All you need to say is simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one" (Matthew 5:37).
Stingy Hearts Disguised as Generosity
If you're part of God's kingdom, you recognise that all of your life is God's—not just the easy parts. Money is one of those things. To give a portion of your money to God is a small way to recognise His kingship over your life.
Jesus attacks people who appear generous in small things but overlook what it means to be generous in bigger areas. In Aramaic, the words "gnat" and "camel" sound similar. It's like saying: you care about the tea on Sunday, but what about your time during the week?
These people make a big show over small, piddling matters—that's what happens with hypocrisy. We end up caring about small, minuscule things so we don't have to live in ways that cost us something. Jesus wants to free us to live for big things—and big things not for us, but for others!
There is no generosity without sacrifice. To be generous in anything—not just money—requires sacrifice. Anything worth something costs something. A hypocrite can't live generously because they refuse to sacrifice.
That word "tithe" means tenth. To tithe means to give a tenth. The baseline of giving in God's kingdom is 10% of what you have.
This is primarily about money. How are you using the pay packet God has given you to further His church's mission in "justice, mercy and faithfulness"? There are many good things to give to, but giving to God's mission is a unique privilege. The mercy of God is a particular thing—being forgiven, loved, and accepted by God. There's no other institution that offers this—just the church!
Jesus isn't saying tithing doesn't matter. His problem is fixating on small things that don't really affect us as an excuse to overlook more important things that do.
Perhaps you hear "10%" and think it's insanely high. Think of the widow's mite—someone without much money giving a small total amount, but for her, it was sacrificial. What's a sacrificial amount for you? It might be that 10% is too low for what God has given you.
Do you pray that you can give more money to the church? Or is your posture that the church should be happy to receive any money from you at all?
This is primarily about money, but not only money. Think of the same principle with our time. Is our time our own? Or do we recognise that Jesus is King over all time? Where we have passions or gifts to offer others, are we hoarding these to ourselves? Understanding what it means to live in God's beautiful harmony with each other helps us grasp true generosity.
Inside Out, Not Outside In
In verses 25-28, there's a crucial summation: Hypocrites focus on the outside, thinking it will change the inside. But transformation comes from the inside and works its way to the outside.
Every other religion says: if you clean the outside, the inside will be clean. If you go to church, if you give money, if you do this—you become good. If you follow this programme and try hard enough, you become good.
Because we can't help but worship, even non-religious things are like this. Have you talked with someone who recently discovered CrossFit? Or veganism? Or some fad diet? They become evangelists! It's not that working out is bad or veganism is bad—it's how people often treat it. Even the term "clean eating"—where does that come from?
We can't do good to be good. No amount of good on the outside will make us good on the inside. The only hope for an internal transformation—an authentic transformation—is God Himself working in us and changing us from how we are to who we need to be.
The thing Jesus cares about above everything else? The heart. The heart is who you really are—your true self, the core of your being. This is what Jesus cares about. And this is what Jesus—and only Jesus—can change.
To avoid Jesus is to focus on the outside in hopes of the inside changing. Christianity teaches something different from every worldview, philosophy, and religion. God Himself changes us inside so that we can live differently outside.
"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it" (Proverbs 4:23).
Everything you do flows from your heart. From the inside to the outside, not vice versa. If this is true, it means it's really important to start with the big things instead of the small things. It also means that by ourselves, we don't really have hope! Who can change their own heart?
In verse 37, Jesus says: "How often I have longed to gather your children together." Jesus' longing is to gather those who have bad hearts together to transform them into something better.
Hypocrite or Imperfect Christian?
Let me make an important distinction: there's a difference between a hypocrite and an imperfect Christian.
A hypocrite says: "I am planning to sin and that's fine." An imperfect Christian says: "I will probably sin, but that's not fine."
By the way, the only kind of Christian is an imperfect Christian. The difference between the two? Repentance.Repentance is being confronted with where we're off God's path and asking Him to realign us with Him.
A hypocrite doesn't repent. An imperfect Christian does.
This hypocrisy, the Bible also calls idolatry. A common metaphor for living in the way Jesus attacks is adultery—being married to someone and cheating on them.
If we've surrendered to God and live in these ways, it's like being happy to cheat on God. To have affairs behind His back. To text others whilst He's in the room. But here's the thing: He knows all of you—everything! (Scary, I know!) He knows it all, and still, with these words today, invites you to live in a new way. Knowing our cheating hearts, He still asks us to be part of His family. Not so we'd stay as cheaters, but so we'd grow out of it as He works in our hearts.
The Hope for Change
The way Jesus takes our adulterous, cheating hearts to Himself is through Himself. He takes those stuck in performative faith, who can't help but use manipulative words, who are bent on serving themselves instead of others, always looking for ways to bypass the only One who can change us—it's to these people (us!) that Jesus becomes a servant. A servant! The King becomes a servant so we can know His transformative power.
"The greatest amongst you will be your servant." Jesus doesn't just talk the talk; He walks the walk. The hope for our bad hearts is His goodness, not ours. The hope for our internal change lies in something external—not our works, not our generosity, not whatever else, but in Jesus Himself! The more of Him in our hearts, the more of Him in our lives.
If everything we do flows from our heart, then what we need is a good heart. And that's precisely what Jesus loves to give.
Don't let your badness stop you from coming to Him. Those who cheat on God by disregarding His rules for His kingdom—we can be remade.
Don't let your goodness stop you from coming to Him. Those who cheat on God by making more rules for His kingdom—we can be remade.
In Christ, we are forgiven and made new. If this is you, let's live like who you are!
As a church in Manchester, we're learning together what it means to be imperfect Christians—recovering hypocrites who are being transformed from the inside out. Understanding how to read the Bible and let God's Word shape our hearts is essential to this transformation.
Jesus' mission is to gather you as you are—good, bad, in-between—and transform you into something better. Not just for your good as you live mask-free and authentically, but for the good of this world, so that others would be free as well.