Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

Allow me to introduce to you a friend of mine. No, you cannot see him. But in the next few minutes, you’ll get to know him a little. My friend happens to be a church administrator, but don’t hold that against him. He’s just as much a hypocrite as you and I are, but there’s something to say about the unique “occupational hazards” that this leader in the church faces. When you have a great many people looking up to you as a spiritual head, then it can only be a matter of time before your hat feels a little too small and you’re overcome with self-pride. It’s an easy mistake.

My friend has most likely studied the Word of God very thoroughly before, but at this point the stresses of day-to-day administration have tempted him to stray from that crystal-clear fountain of Gospel truth in favor of the mirages of convenience and legalism. Keeping order among people who are so bitterly opposed to each other seems to be his only work, and what suffers is his God-given task of leading men to Jesus Christ. Thus, unfortunately, my friend relies heavily on the force of his own personality and his unique claims to spiritual authority in order to get done what he believes needs to get done. Personally, I think he has placed on himself an impossible standard and expectation, and yet at the same time, he ignores the only Divine means to fulfill that goal, and so relies completely on himself instead. Based on the sinful human nature that we all have, I would venture to say that my friend’s scenario would be similar to how you and I would act if we were placed in the same situation.

Jesus spoke of my nameless, ancient friend, let’s call him the Pharisee, in the Holy Gospel while He was speaking to His disciples and the crowds who followed Him. And when Jesus tells you to do something, it’s usually safe to assume we have the tendency to do the very opposite. He told them to pay attention to the words that people like my friend spoke because those words were written by Moses, meaning that the scribes and Pharisees read the Bible out loud in the synagogue. This group of church administrators, including my friend, had a holy job to perform, even though they often fell to the temptations of administration and themselves ignored the very words they were preaching. They sat on Moses’ seat, which meant they were officially the mouthpiece of God, teaching from a seated position, like they often did in those days; it doesn’t matter whether they were rightfully placed in that office or they took it by sinful means. My friend sits in the seat, whether he truly belongs there or not, but he still has that seat’s responsibility to perform.

Now, I have asked parents, I suppose teachers too, (since I’m going to be needing this advice now!) when was the last time you said to your children, “Do as I say, not as I do?” Usually, you say it when you’re trying to restore a little order to the ensuing chaos, and as you choke back their accusation of being a hypocrite, you hang on to the last shred of authority you can muster to get some form of obedience. But Jesus says it clearly: the Word of God is the ultimate and the only authority, even when a hypocrite speaks it. However, all of us, young or old, tend to watch the actions rather than heed the words.

And the crowds who heard Jesus were the same way. They saw guys like my friend the Pharisee and boy, were they impressed. The Pharisees read the words of Moses in the Bible that say, “Tie these words around your forehead,” and they took it literally. They made phylacteries, which were little “lock boxes” with Scripture verses inside, and with long straps to fasten them to your head and down your arm. Not too tight, though. The tassels on their synagogue shawls were so long that they flung it over their shoulder while the common people oohed and aahed. Think of it as really showy “prayer wear.” The contradiction between what they did and what they said was plain as day, and Jesus pointed it out.

Like my friend, you also face these same temptations, although Satan likes to tailor them to your specific vocation. You crave less talk and more action. People who may not know any better incessantly chant that the church’s emphasis should be on deeds rather than creeds when those two should actually work together. Either you have done something in public for show or you’ve given undivided attention to another who did. You may have accused someone in front of others, pointing out a sin you’ve often committed yourself with no one watching. Perhaps you prayed in public a prayer that should have been private, in order to make a scene or gain a little credibility. Your ears perk up more when there’s something in God’s Word about something for you to do, or when there’s a commitment for you to make. That’s the Law, by the way. It’s the reason why works-righteousness is so popular in churches: it’s what people like you and I want to hear! It’s a great club to use to remind others that they aren’t as “holy” as you are. But when the Gospel is said, when you hear of forgiveness, of what God does all for you, it’s not important. It’s all talk, and you’ve heard it all before, and you’ll put up with a little bit of it so long as you can get on as soon as possible with the doing. And then you’re back to the Law.

There’s only one way out of this web of temptation in which you are caught. You must repent. That doesn’t mean say one little prayer or repeat a confession of sins and then you’re done. It means stop your practice of relying on yourself and give up on your way. Repent of your tendency to fall into the trap like my friend did. Stop making a show to others and start hearing the Word of God rather than the opinions of men. Even when an imperfect man preaches it, it is still the perfect doctrine that gives you true life. What makes it imperfect is when something false is added or when anything essential is taken away from it. And watch out for the devil’s back door, which is someone who is really nice and a good moral example but then they use those credentials to teach something false. God does not give them that privilege, and no one, not even a majority vote, can cast our Lord’s command aside.

Instead, flee for refuge to your only hope, and the source of your hope is the Gospel words that you hear. Crave forgiveness, because it’s all you’ve got. Jesus has done it all. His actions, not yours are the only ones that count, because they perfectly matched His Words. His blood has already been shed to back up the promises. It is His greatest desire to rescue you. He wants not necessarily to improve your life and relationships here on earth, but rather to usher you into eternal life and strengthen the relationship that He began with you at your baptism. And the promise of this costly forgiveness, the forgiveness that was achieved for you at the holy Cross of Calvary, this promise is for you, even if you are like my friend. All it takes is to believe it, and even that, God the Holy Spirit does for you.

My friend the Pharisee did not escape the harsh lashing of Jesus’ judgment, but you can. Your Lord enables you today to give up on your hypocritical ways, and allow Him, who is the greatest of all, to be your humble servant. That’s what submitting to Him as Lord is all about. As you humble yourself in honest confession of all your sins, He will exalt you with His forgiveness and renewal. Instead of superficial things like phylacteries or church politics, you’ll tie on the Word of God to your heart, and partake of the Lord’s gifts—and that is really the true reason why the Lord brought you here.

In the Name of the Father and of the ✝ Son and of the Holy Spirit.