Are We Playing the Hypocrite?

Matthew 6:5-8

Jesus moves the conversation from giving to a second spiritual discipline, prayer (6:5-14). Prayer in its simplest and most basic sense is a conversation with God. Prayer is a child of God talking to his heavenly Father and listening to his Father by his Word illumined by the Spirit.

My friend Don Whitney helps us grasp the magnitude of this blessing called prayer when he writes,

God not only has spoken clearly and powerfully to us through Christ and the Scriptures, he also has a Very Large Ear continuously open to us. He will hear every prayer of His children, even when our prayers are weaker than a snowflake. That’s why, of all the Spiritual Disciplines, prayer is second only to the intake of God’s Word in importance. Despite the penultimate importance of prayer, however, statistical surveys and experience seem to agree that a large percentage of professing Christians spend little time in sustained prayer. While they may offer a sentence of prayer here and there throughout their day, they rarely spend more than a very few minutes—if that—alone in conversation with God. It’s very easy to make people feel guilty about failure in prayer. . . . But we must come to grips with the fact that to be like Jesus we must pray. (Whitney and Packer, Spiritual Disciplines, 80)

To help us become more like Jesus when we pray, our Master gives us some basic guidelines and principles.

Jesus expects prayer to be a regular habit for the life of his disciples. Verse 5 begins, “Whenever you pray.” The English Standard Version (ESV) says, “And when you pray.” The idea is that you and I will pray. Jesus follows the statement with a now familiar warning: “You must not be like the hypocrites” (v. 2). Don’t pretend to be what you are not. Don’t put on a show. Hypocrites love to flaunt their false spirituality; “they love to pray in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people.” They pine for the praise of people. This is the reward they seek, and Jesus says this is the reward they receive.

Hypocrites are not sincere when they pray. They pray for show. Two questions can help us evaluate ourselves when we pray so that we know if we are being hypocrites. First, do you pray longer in public than you do in private? Verse 7 will also speak to this action. Second, do you pray differently in public than you do in private?

Neither the Bible nor Jesus condemns public prayer. It is practiced throughout the Bible and commanded as a vital component of corporate worship. Doing it as a mere formality or ritual is what Jesus soundly condemned. Further, public and corporate prayer cannot substitute for private and individual prayer. Here is the pattern commended to us by our Lord. First, when you pray, find a private place. “Go into your private room” and “shut your door.” Second, seek out the Father who is in heaven. There is no need to make a show in your prayer closet. “Pray to your [heavenly] Father who is in secret.” This is a private affair between us and our Father in heaven. Notice the repetition of the word “secret” in verses 4, 6 (twice), and 18 (twice). Our Savior is trying to help us understand that who we are in private is who we truly are. Who are you when only God is watching? What are you like when only God is watching? These are searching questions for the soul.

Jesus concludes verse 6 as he did verse 4 on giving: “And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” The hypocrite prays for the approval of a human audience. The true disciple prays for the approval of a heavenly audience. The approval and pleasure of his Father is all he needs; it is all he wants.

Jesus continues his teaching on prayer with strong words of condemnation for senseless, mindless, rote incantation and recitations that are more akin to paganism. Quarles summarizes well our Lord’s approach to prayer and says,

Although Jesus was devoted to prayer (Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16; 11:1), His prayers were not memorized recitations given at the whim of the clock. His prayers were intensely personal, often spontaneous, and an expression of His deep communion with His Father. (Sermon, 179)

Therefore, Jesus says, “When you pray, don’t babble” [ESV, “heap up empty phrases,” NKJV, “use vain repetitions”] “like the Gentiles.” Don’t pray like a pagan and speak nonsense over and over. Many words do not equal either sincere prayer or a guarantee you will be heard. God cannot be manipulated by hounding him with your silly and empty repetitions. “Don’t be like them” because your heavenly Father is not like these pagan idols who are no gods at all. He is an omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient Father who “knows the things you need before you ask him.” He is aware of your needs, and he is attentive to them. Isaiah 65:24 beautifully complements our Lord’s promise in verse 8: “Even before they call, I [the Lord] will answer them, while they are still speaking, I will hear.” Talk to God, then like a child would talk to a loving parent. Talk to him like a perfect heavenly Father who loves you with a perfect, heavenly love and concern. He is there. He is ready. He is willing. And he is able!

Matthew 6:16-18

Fasting is a spiritual discipline that we seldom talk about and one that few practice—I must confess to falling into this camp. However, the Bible addresses the subject in numerous places. Fasting consists of abstaining from eating, drinking, or even sexual activity for the purposes of prayer, spiritual devotion, mourning, grief, and repentance. Fasting can be corporate or individual (cf. Jonah 3). The Old Testament specifically required “self-denial” or fasting for the nation of Israel on the Day of Atonement (Lev 23:27, 29, 32) (Quarles, Sermon, 224).

The Old Testament prophets strongly condemned hypocrisy in fasting (Isa 58:1-12; Jer 36:9; Joel 2:12-17). Quarles is precisely correct when he writes, “Jesus’ teaching regarding fasting is thus in the spirit of the Old Testament prophets” (ibid., 226). Jesus will address fasting in a similar way to how he addresses giving and prayer. There is a clear literary parallel: “So whenever you give” (v. 2); “Whenever you pray” (v. 5); and “Whenever you fast” (v. 16). His instructions are also similar.

Jesus begins with the premise that we will fast. He warns us not to be gloomy like the hypocrites when we do. The word “gloomy” could be translated “sad faced” (GNT). Jesus tells us what these sad-faced actors actually do. “They make their faces unattractive so that their fasting is obvious to people.” They fast to make a show for men. Their interest is in the approval of men, not the approval of God. Jesus once again reminds us that they succeed in what they are after. “Truly [Gk amen] I tell you, they have their reward.” The deceptive and dishonest nature of the hypocrites’ fasts may not be perceived by men, but God sees it clearly. He sees beyond the action to the heart. He knows well why they are doing what they do. The temporary and fleeting praise of men is theirs. The eternal and enduring pleasure of the heavenly Father is not. What a fool the hypocrite actually plays!

Once again the Lord Jesus reminds us that our ultimate audience in the practice of spiritual disciplines is God, not man. He should be the focus of our attention and affections. So when you fast, “put oil on your head and wash your face.” This is a first-century way of saying to act normal. The Middle Eastern climate is hot and extremely dry, which makes one’s skin dry. So Jesus says to lubricate and soothe your scalp and skin as you would normally do. The same is true with your face. Wash it. Why? Verse 18 provides the answer: “So that your fasting isn’t obvious to others but to your Father who is in secret.” God is invisible; he is Spirit (John 4:24). You may not see him, but he certainly sees you. In fact, we should never forget that he sees everything and his opinion matters most. And here is the Lord’s promise to us all: “Your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” The Father in heaven who sees the silent gift, the private prayer, and the unnoticed fast will bless you with eschatological and heavenly reward. His reward might come later, but it will be so much better.

We should kick to the sidelines silly talk about “your best life now.” When you are in a relationship with Jesus as his faithful disciple, you have a great life now. However, when you join him in heaven with your heavenly Father, it will be even better. He will reward you. You can count on it!

The practice of spiritual disciplines should not play before the audience of the many. They should play before the audience of the one, our heavenly Father. He sees every action and knows every motivation. He, and he alone, is the one we should concern ourselves with. He is the one we should seek to please. This was certainly the way of Jesus as he made his way to the cross for the salvation of hypocritical sinners like me and you. He clearly understood that all that matters in life is that we please God. May our heavenly Father, in grace and mercy, help us learn the way of Jesus. It is the difference between pleasing men and pleasing God.