Removing the Masks
The following is an adapted excerpt from Kingdom Life: Studies in the Sermon on the Mount.
“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet
before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and
in the streets, that they may be praised by others” (v. 2)
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites.
For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at
the street corners, that they may be seen by others” (v. 5).
“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the
hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that
their fasting may be seen by others” (v. 16).
Matthew 6
In these simple examples, Christ makes it clear that we are to avoid hypocrisy (a desire to please man) and pursue sincerity (a desire to please God). What kind of impact would such an approach to religious life have upon the church? Martyn Lloyd-Jones provides a thoughtful answer:
If we were to all practice this, it would be revolutionary. . . .
What a difference it would make to church life, and the life of
every individual. Think of all the pretense and sham, and all
that is unworthy in us all. If only we realized that God is look-
ing at all, and is aware of it all, and is recording it all! That is
the teaching of the Scriptures, and that is its method of preach-
ing holiness—not offering people some marvelous experience
which solves all problems. No, it is just realizing that we are
always there in the presence of God. For the man who starts
with a true realization of that is soon to be seen flying to Christ
and His cross and pleading to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
In these verses (vv. 2, 5, 16), Christ uses the word hypocrite three times. In ancient times, an actor in a Greek drama was known as a hypokrites, a compound word derived from hypo (under) and krites (judge). The hypokrites would use multiple masks to portray different characters, but the audience never saw his actual face. Moreover, these masks depicted various emotions without necessarily reflecting the actor’s true emotional state. We can easily see how the term hypokrites quickly moved from the theater into common parlance, where it was used to describe someone who pretends to be what he is not—one who literally hides behind a mask.
The hypocrite will desist from drunkenness, deceit, theft, idolatry, immorality, and a host of other sins while secretly holding tight to the sin of hypocrisy. The reason is simple: Hypocrisy is rooted in pride, which births an insatiable desire for praise and esteem. How do we deal with a sin so deeply embedded in the heart?
1. We must remind ourselves daily that God knows our hearts. “The Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought” (1 Chron. 28:9). This verse demands careful attention. God knows not only every thought but also the motive behind every thought.
2. We must remember daily that God judges our hearts. “God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Eccl. 12:14). When a pond is drained, we discover all sorts of debris at the bottom. That is what our hearts are like. One day, all our innermost secrets will be exposed.
3. We must humble ourselves daily before God (James 4:10). We do so by unmasking our hypocrisy and seeing it for what it truly is—hideous. Our God is a transcendently excellent Being. It is the height of impudence to crave man’s esteem while neglecting God’s glory. This longing for self-exaltation has been called “devilish blasphemy” because at its root is the desire to raise oneself above God, who is enthroned in the highest heaven (Isa. 14:13–14).
The question is not whether hypocrisy exists within us—it does, even as believers. The question is whether it reigns freely within us. Do we grieve over it, repent of it, and fight against it? Do we bring it to the cross and there behold our precious Savior bearing our many sins, specifically our sin of hypocrisy? Do we long to remove the masks?
Meet the author:
J. Stephen Yuille
Dr. Stephen Yuille is a Content Director and Editor at Reformation Heritage Books and a Professor of Church History and Spiritual Formation at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He has over thirty years of ministry experience and is currently the preaching pastor at Fairview Covenant Church in Granbury, Texas. He has published an extensive list of academic articles and books in Puritan studies. He has also published several popular works in biblical studies.