SUBANG JAYA CHURCH SUNDAY SERMON SERIES January to March 2026
How To Be A Hypocrite - Reflections Upon Jesus' Sermon In Matthew 23
by Yeow Chin Kiong
Near the end of the Israelites' 40-year wilderness wanderings under Moses' leadership, he commanded them to observe a religious event right after they,- but not he,- entered the Promise Land. Upon beginning their conquest of Canaan, the 12 tribes were to break into two groups of 6 tribes each, one climbing Mount Gerizim in Samaria and the other ascending Mount Ebal to the north, wìth the town of Shechem lying in thr valley between the two mountains (Deuteronomy 11:29-30; 27:11-26; Joshua 8:30-35). From Mount Ebal would be read the curses of the Law of Moses and from Mount Gerizim the Law's blessings, the people saying "Amen" upon hearing the curses and blessings read, signifying that they were covenanted to be faithful to God's commandments thereafter. Thereby, the Israelites were sworn to the Divine condition that obedience to God's commandments would result in blessings upon them while disobedience would invite curses.
Blessing and curses are polar opposites,- both being the Divinely-ordained consequence of our conduct while in the flesh. Like the prophets before Him (Deuteronomy 11
:26-28; 28:1-68), our Lord Jesus used the language of blessings and curses in His public preaching and teaching. As can be expected, we would rather hear about the blessings (or "favor") to be acquired for doing the Father's will, as Jesus declared at the beginning of His earliest public sermon,- the "Sermon On The Mount" (Matthew 5:1 to 7:29). Indeed, the 8 (or 9) "Beatitudes" (meaning "blessings") of Matthew 5:2-12 are until today considered praiseworthy as moral guidelines even by non-Christians.
However, many,- including Christians,- are blissfully unaware that Jesus also declared a whole series of "woes" (implying "curses") in His public preaching. Our Lord's harsh and detailed sermon is contained in Matthew 23:1-39, a prelude to His Olivet Discourse about God's judgment over Jerusalem in 70 AD and the second coming of Jesus and the world's end at a time known only to the Father (Matthew chapters 24 and 25). Glaringly, this was His final public sermon and the target of His criticism were the "religious" people of His day whom He called "hypocrites." While our Lord specifically criticised the scribes and Pharisees of His day, the common fault He addressed was their hypocrisy,- a sin common, even rampant, among people of every age. Hypocrisy is pretending to be who we are not and to believe what we don't.
The scriptures are a mirror to help us see who we really are,- warts and all,- and so help us change for the better in order to be blessed (James 1:22-25). Hence, reading Matthew 23, we today ougbt to reflect upon our shortcomings and repent of them, teaching others to do the same. After all, during our Lord's day and today, everyone wants to be blessed and not cursed!
HOW TO BE A HYPOCRITE - REFLECTIONS UPON JESUS' SERMON IN MATTHEW 23
1. Introduction To Matthew 23
2. Teach God's word but do not practise them (Matt 23:1-4)
3. Exalt yourself (Matt 23:5-12)
4. Make God hard or impossible for others (Matt 23:13-15)
5. Find ways not to keep your word (Matt 23:16-22)
6. Focus on God's commands which you keep, not those which you break or do not keep (Matt 23:23-24)
7. Pretend to be righteous when you are not (Matt.23:25-28)
8. Criticize people of the past for their sins while practising them (Matt 23:29-33)
9. Reject God's messengers who were sent for your eternal benefit (Matt 23:34-39)
10. Difficulties arising from Matthew 23