Hypocrite (5273) (hupokrisis from from hupó = under, indicating secrecy + krino = to judge) describes one who acts pretentiously, a counterfeit, a man who assumes and speaks or acts under a feigned character. A hypocrite is someone who pretends to be something he or she is not.
Will Durant - The actor – who is always a male – is not disdained as in Rome, but is much honored; he is exempt from military service, and is allowed safe passage through the lines in time of war. He is called hypocrites, but this word means answerer – i.e., to the chorus; only later will the actor’s role as an impersonator lead to the use of the word as meaning hypocrite. (The Story of Civilization II, The Life of Greece, by Will Durant, page 380)
Related Resource:
See study on the related word Hypocrisy (5272) = Hupokrisis
Who Is a Hypocrite? by I. Howard Marshall - BSAC 159:634 (Apr 2002)
The 1828 Webster's English dictionary says a hypocrite is "One who feigns to be what he is not; one who has the form of godliness without the power (cf 2Ti 3:5-note), or who assumes an appearance of piety and virtue, when he is destitute of true religion (cf Jas 1:27-note for definition of "true religion").
Hupokrites - 17x in 17v - Hupokrites is a "favorite" of Jesus in Matthew!
Matthew 6:2 "So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
5 "When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
16 "Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
Matthew 7:5 "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
Matthew 15:7 "You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you:
Matthew 22:18 But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, "Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites?
Matthew 23:13 "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
15 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.
25 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.
27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.
29 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,
William Barclay - The word hypocrite occurs here again and again. Originally the Greek word hupokrites (Greek #5273) meant one who answers; it then came to be specially connected with the statement and answer, the dialogue, of the stage; and it is the regular Greek word for an actor. It then came to mean an actor in the worse sense of the term, a pretender, one who acts a part, one who wears a mask to cover his true feelings, one who puts on an external show while inwardly his thoughts and feelings are very different. To Jesus the Scribes and Pharisees were men who were acting a part. What he meant was this. Their whole idea of religion consisted in outward observances, the wearing of elaborate phylacteries and tassels, the meticulous observance of the rules and regulations of the Law. But in their hearts there was bitterness and envy and pride and arrogance. To Jesus these Scribes and Pharisees were men who, under a mask of elaborate godliness, concealed hearts in which the most godless feelings and emotions held sway. And that accusation holds good in greater or lesser degree of any man who lives life on the assumption that religion consists in external observances and external acts. There is an unwritten saying of Jesus which says, "The key of the Kingdom they hid." His condemnation of these Scribes and Pharisees is that they are not only failing to enter the Kingdom themselves, they shut the door on the faces of those who seek to enter. What did he mean by this accusation? We have already seen (Matthew 6:10) that the best way to think of the Kingdom is to think of it as a society on earth where God's will is as perfectly done as it is in heaven. To be a citizen of the Kingdom, and to do God's will, are one and the same thing. The Pharisees believed that to do God's will was to observe their thousands of petty rules and regulations; and nothing could be further from that Kingdom whose basic idea is love. When people tried to find entry into the Kingdom the Pharisees presented them with these rules and regulations, which was as good as shutting the door in their faces. The Pharisees preferred their ideas of religion to God's idea of religion. They had forgotten the basic truth that, if a man would teach others, he must himself first listen to God. The gravest danger which any teacher or preacher encounters is that he should erect his own prejudices into universal principles and substitute his own ideas for the truth of God. When he does that he is not a guide, but a barrier, to the Kingdom, for, misled himself, he misleads others. (Matthew 23 - William Barclay's Daily Study Bible)
Matthew 24:51 and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mark 7:6 And He said to them, "Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: 'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.
William Barclay - He accused them of hypocrisy. The word hupokrites has an interesting and revealing history. It begins by meaning simply one who answers; it goes on to mean one who answers in a set dialogue or a set conversation, that is to say an actor; and finally it means, not simply an actor on the stage, but one whose whole life is a piece of acting without any sincerity behind it at all. Anyone to whom religion is a legal thing, anyone to whom religion means carrying out certain external rules and regulations, anyone to whom religion is entirely connected with the observation of a certain ritual and the keeping of a certain number of tabus is in the end bound to be, in this sense, a hypocrite. The reason is this--he believes that he is a good man if he carries out the correct acts and practices, no matter what his heart and his thoughts are like. To take the case of the legalistic Jew in the time of Jesus, he might hate his fellow man with all his heart, he might be full of envy and jealousy and concealed bitterness and pride; that did not matter so long as he carried out the correct handwashings and observed the correct laws about cleanness and uncleanness. Legalism takes account of a man's outward actions; but it takes no account at all of his inward feelings. He may well be meticulously serving God in outward things, and bluntly disobeying God in inward things--and that is hypocrisy. The devout Mohammedan must pray to God a certain number of times each day. To do so he carries his prayer mat; wherever he is, he will unroll the mat, fall upon his knees, say his prayers and then go on. There is a story of a Mohammedan who was pursuing a man with upraised knife to murder him. Just then the call to prayer rang out. Immediately he stopped, spread out his prayer mat, knelt, said his prayer as fast as he could; then rose and continued his murderous pursuit. The prayer was simply a form and a ritual, an outward observance, merely the correct interlude in the career of murder. There is no greater religious peril than that of identifying religion with outward observance. There is no commoner religious mistake than to identify goodness with certain so-called religious acts. Church-going, bible-reading, careful financial giving, even time-tabled prayer do not make a man a good man. The fundamental question is, how is a man's heart towards God and towards his fellow-men? And if in his heart there are enmity, bitterness, grudges, pride, not all the outward religious observances in the world will make him anything other than a hypocrite. (Mark 7 - William Barclay's Daily Study Bible)
Luke 6:42 "Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.
Luke 12:56 "You hypocrites! You know how to analyze the appearance of the earth and the sky, but why do you not analyze this present time?
William Barclay - When we read this passage we are reminded again of the Jewish definition of preaching--charaz (Hebrew 02737), which means stringing pearls (The Rabbis held that the preacher must never linger more than a few moments on any topic but, in order to maintain interest, must move quickly from one topic to another. Jewish preaching, therefore, often gives us the impression of being disconnected.). This passage, too, is a collection of pearls strung together without the close connection which modern preaching demands. But in it there are certain dominant ideas. (i) It tells us of the forbidden sin, which is hypocrisy. The word hypocrite began by meaning someone who answers; and hypocrisy originally meant answering. First the words were used of the ordinary flow of question and answer in any talk or in any dialogue; then they began to be connected with question and answer in a play. From that they went on to be connected with acting apart. The hypocrite is never genuine; he is always play-acting. The basis of hypocrisy is insincerity. God would rather have a blunt, honest sinner, than someone who puts on an act of goodness. (Luke 12 - William Barclay's Daily Study Bible) Comment on Jn 13:21-30 = The treachery of Judas is seen at its worst. He must have been the perfect actor and the perfect hypocrite. One thing is clear--if the other disciples had known what Judas was about, he would never have left that room alive. All the time Judas must have been putting on an act of love and loyalty which deceived everyone except Jesus. He was not only a bare-faced villain; he was a suave hypocrite. There is warning here. By our outward actions we may deceive men; but there is no hiding things from the eye of Christ.
Luke 13:15 But the Lord answered him and said, "You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him?
Hupokrites occurs 2 times in the Septuagint (LXX) = Job 34:30; 36:13
Hypocrite as discussed more below had its origins in Greek theater, in which it described a character who wore a mask. In the theater the "hypocrite" held the painted mask in front of his face to portray a character. Today, hypocrites are those who try to disguise their true identity. They say they are one thing, but their actions prove otherwise.
In the New Testament a hypocrite normally refers to an unregenerate person who is self-deceived. Unless prompted by the right motives, religious activities, including doing good deeds to others, are of no real spiritual value and receive no commendation from God. It does matter greatly why we do what we do. The hypocrite has a duplicitous life – often without realizing it – giving appearance of one motive when in reality there is a hidden motive. Beloved, I don't know about you, but I can state without reservation that the most difficult type of hypocrisy to discern is not that in others but self-hypocrisy! (My wife reminds me of this frequently!) How easy it is to spot improper motives others but make excuses for similar motives in our own heart or even worse (and probably more often) never even see them (that's called self-deception)!
The hypocrite is the man or woman who puts on a mask and pretends to be what he or she is not in the inner person or in modern parlance is not "authentic". A parallel thought is what others see what's on the outside, which we refer to as reputation. God sees what's really present on the inside, which is what we call character. Clearly, God is interested in our character, not our reputation. Who do you seek to please in your various religious activities? Are you "playing the part" like an actor/actress or are you seeking to please only your Father Who art in heaven? (cf passages that speak of pleasing God - Ep 5:10-note, Ro 12:1NIV-note, Php 4:18b-note, He 11:6-note, 1Jn 3:22)
When (not if but when) you give, pray and fast, don't be an "play actor" hiding behind your mask of religious activity trying to convince people (or even yourself) you are someone who is wholly devoted to God and perfectly pious, when you are not. By way of application it would be wise to apply this warning by our Lord to all our "religious activities". Be honest and ask yourself "Why am I doing what I am doing at church?" Remember Jesus is always more interested in "being" than in "doing". The latter should always proceed from the former.
Wuest adds that this Greek word "is made up of hupo “under,” and krino “to judge” and referred originally to “one who judged from under the cover of a mask,” thus, assuming an identity and a character which he was not. This person was the actor on the Greek stage, one who took the part of another. The Pharisees were religious actors, so to speak, in that they pretended to be on the outside, what they were not on the inside...Our word hypocrite comes from this Greek word. It usually referred to the act of concealing wrong feelings or character under the pretence of better ones." (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)
In another note Wuest explains that ""The Greek word for “hypocrite” was used of an actor on the Greek stage, one who played the part of another. The word means literally, “to judge under,” and was used of someone giving off his judgment from behind a screen or mask.... The true identity of the person is covered up. It refers to acts of impersonation or deception. It was used of an actor on the Greek stage. Taken over into the New Testament, it referred to a person we call a hypocrite, one who assumes the mannerisms, speech, and character of someone else, thus hiding his true identity. Christianity requires that believers should be open and above-board. They should be themselves. Their lives should be like an open book, easily read." (Ibid)
Barclay - The word hypocrite began by meaning someone who answers; and hypocrisy originally meant answering. First the words were used of the ordinary flow of question and answer in any talk or in any dialogue; then they began to be connected with question and answer in a play. From that they went on to be connected with acting apart. The hypocrite is never genuine; he is always play-acting. The basis of hypocrisy is insincerity. God would rather have a blunt, honest sinner, than someone who puts on an act of goodness. (Luke 12 - William Barclay's Daily Study Bible)
A hypocrite is like a clean glove which hides a dirty hand. He acts as if he is good but isn't.
A hypocrite preaches by the yard but practices by the inch.
A hypocrite prays on his knees on Sunday and preys on his neighbors on Monday!
A hypocrite is a man who lets his light so shine before men that they can't tell what is going on behind! Contrast Mt 5:16-note
William Barclay adds that "Hupokrites (hypocrite) is a word with a curious history. It is the noun from the verb hupokrinesthai which means to answer; a hupokrites begins by being an answerer. Then it it goes on to mean one who answers in a set dialogue or a set conversation, that is to say an actor, the man who takes part in the question and answer of the stage... It then came to mean an actor in the worse sense of the term, a pretender, one who acts a part, one who wears a mask to cover his true feelings, one who puts on an external show while inwardly his thoughts and feelings are very different....it comes to mean a hypocrite, a man who all the time is acting a part and concealing his real motives...one whose whole life is a piece of acting without any sincerity behind it at all. Anyone to whom religion is a legal thing, anyone to whom religion means carrying out certain external rules and regulations, anyone to whom religion is entirely connected with the observation of a certain ritual and the keeping of a certain number of taboos is in the end bound to be, in this sense, a hypocrite. The reason is this—he believes that he is a good man if he carries out the correct acts and practices, no matter what his heart and his thoughts are like. To take the case of the legalistic Jew in the time of Jesus, he might hate his fellow man with all his heart, he might be full of envy and jealousy and concealed bitterness and pride; that did not matter so long as he carried out the correct handwashings and observed the correct laws about cleanness and uncleanness. Legalism takes account of a man’s outward actions; but it takes no account at all of his inward feelings. He may well be meticulously serving God in outward things, and bluntly disobeying God in inward things—and that is hypocrisy....There is no greater religious peril than that of identifying religion with outward observance. There is no commoner religious mistake than to identify goodness with certain so-called religious acts. Church-going, bible-reading, careful financial giving, even time-tabled prayer do not make a man a good man. The fundamental question is, how is a man’s heart towards God and towards his fellow-men? And if in his heart there are enmity, bitterness, grudges, pride, not all the outward religious observances in the world will make him anything other than a hypocrite... The hypocrite is the man whose alleged Christian profession is for his own profit and prestige and not for the service and glory of Christ." (Barclay, W: The Daily study Bible series)
The world doesn't doubt Christianity as much as it does some who claim to be Christians, so that the hypocritical "Christian" is one of the devil's best workers!
The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery notes that "The Pharisees are the prototypical hypocrites of the Bible. A composite portrait is easy to assemble from Jesus' denunciations of them. They are ostentatious when they give alms with the intent that people will praise them (Mt 6:2). They pray in the synagogues and street corners so people will take note (Mt 6:5). When they fast, they disfigure their faces (Mt 6:16). They tithe their garden produce but neglect “the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith” (Mt 23:23). In Jesus' caricature of them, they clean the outside of a drinking cup but ignore the filth inside it (Mt 23:25). They are self-righteous (Mt 23:29, 30), they teach people false religious beliefs (Mt 23:16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22), and they prevent people from entering the kingdom of heaven (Mt 23:13, 14, 15). They try to trap Jesus by pretending to be perplexed about issues (Mt 22:15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22). We are not surprised that they have a special place in hell (Mt 24:51). Jesus' climactic exposure of hypocrites is to picture them as “whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness” (Mt 23:27RSV). (Dictionary of Biblical Imagery)
Leo Tolstoy - Hypocrisy in anything whatever may deceive the cleverest and most penetrating man, but the least wide-awake of children recognizes it, and is revolted by it, however ingeniously it may be disguised.
Thomas Brooks - The hypocrite is a cloud without rain, a blossoming tree without fruit, a star without light, a shell without a kernel.
Richard Glover spared no words when he said that "Hypocrisy not only covers faults, but swiftly eats out of the soul every remnant of truth and honour left in it.
John Mason's spiritual sayings offer some pithy portrayals of a hypocrite "A hypocrite is one who neither is what he seems; nor seems what he is. A hypocrite is the picture of a saint; but his paint shall be washed off and he shall appear in his own colors.
A hypocrite is hated by the world for seeming to be a Christian; and hated by God for not being one. (Grace Gems!)
Thomas Brooks on hypocrite - Many are much in and for church ordinances and activities, whose hearts are very carnal, and whose lives are very vain. It is nothing to be much in those religious duties and performances wherein the worst of sinners may go beyond the best of saints. The most refined hypocrites labor only to be seen by others in their praying, fasting, talking, hearing, giving, etc. Let them have but man's eye to see them, and man's ear to hear them, and man's tongue to commend them, and man's hand to reward them—and they will sit down and bless themselves. They say of the nightingale, that when she is solitary in the woods, she is careless of her melody. But when she perceives that she has any auditors, or is near houses, then she composes herself more harmoniously and elegantly. Truly, this is the frame and temper of the best of hypocrites.
Puritan writer Thomas Watson in his description of trees of righteousness said "Fruitfulness is one of the most distinctive characteristics of a Christian." Pr 12:12: "The root of the righteous yields fruit."
Fruitfulness distinguishes a saint from a hypocrite. The hypocrite is all for show and pretense; he has fair leaves—but "the root of the righteous yields fruit." Fruit can no more be separated from faith—than moisture from the air; it is the very definition of a branch in Christ; it bears fruit (Jn 15:2). As a man differs from a beast by reason, a beast differs from a plant by sense, and a plant differs from a stone by fruit—so a sincere Christian differs from a hypocrite by fruit. Fruitfulness puts a difference between the sound tree—and the hollow tree.
QUESTION. But may not hypocrites bring forth fruit?
ANSWER. They do not bring forth fruit in the Vine; they bring forth in the strength of their abilities, not in the strength of Christ.
Hypocrites bring forth something like fruit—but it is not the right fruit. The fruit they bear is not so sweet. The crab-apple tree may bear fruit as well as the pear-tree—but the pear excels in sweetness. The hypocrite may pray and give alms as well as a child of God—but there is a difference in the fruit. The fruit of the regenerate is wholesome; it is sweetened with faith and ripened with love. The hypocrite's fruit is sour and harsh; he does not bring forth sweet pomegranates—but crab-apples; not figs—but wild grapes.
The seeming fruit of hypocrites dies and comes to nothing. John 15:6: "He is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned." The hypocrite's fruit is like the grass upon the housetops, which withers before it grows up (Ps 139:6; Mt 13:6). (The Trees of Righteousness Blossoming and Bringing Forth Fruit)
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Pumped Up - According to Reuters news agency, on April 28 at the 1992 Galveston County Fair and Rodeo, a steer named Husker, weighing in at 1,190 pounds, was named grand champion. The steer was sold at auction for $13,500 and slaughtered a few days after the competition. When veterinarians examined the carcass, said a contest official, they found something suspicious. They discovered evidence of what is called "airing." To give steers a better appearance, competitors have been known to inject air into their animals' hides with a syringe or a needle attached to a bicycle pump. Pump long enough, and they've got themselves what looks like a grand champion steer, though of course it's against the rules. The Galveston County Fair and Rodeo Association withdrew the championship title and sale money from Husker. A pumped-up steer is like a hypocritical person. Hypocrites appear more virtuous than they are.
Horrible Hypocrisy - According to the Chicago Tribune, a man named Joe from Rock-ford, Illinois, ran a live Internet sex site called Video Fantasy. Joe had a ten-year-old son. On his home computer Joe installed filtering software to limit the surfing that his son could do on the Internet. Joe explained, "It's not that I keep him sheltered, but my wife and I pay close attention to what he reads, what he watches on TV and what he does on the computer because we have a responsibility to him to be the best parents we can." Joe's sense of responsibility to his son is commendable. Joe's sense of responsibility to the children of other parents (and the parents themselves!) is deplorable. Can there be a more stark illustration of hypocrisy? (From 750 Engaging Illustrations)
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Thomas Watson in his explanation of spiritual hunger describes...
the difference between true and false desires, spiritual hunger and carnal hunger.
1. The hypocrite does not desire grace for itself. He desires grace only as a bridge to lead him over to heaven. He does not so much search after grace—as glory. He does not so much desire the way of righteousness—as the crown of righteousness. His desire is not to be made like Christ—but to reign with Christ. This was Balaam's desire. 'Let me die the death of the righteous' (Numbers 23:10). Such desires as these are found among the damned. This is the hypocrite's hunger. But a child of God desires grace for itself, and Christ for himself. To a believer not only is heaven precious, but Christ is precious, "Yes, He is very precious to you who believe!" (1Peter 2:7).
2. The hypocrite's desire is conditional. He would have heaven and his sins too, heaven and his pride, heaven and his covetousness. The young man in the gospel would have had heaven, provided he might keep his earthly possessions. Many a man would have Christ—but there is some sin he must gratify. This is the hypocrites' hunger; but true desire is absolute. Give me, says the soul, Christ on any terms. Let God propound whatever articles he will, I will subscribe to them. Would he have me deny myself? Would he have me mortify sin? I am content to do anything—just so I may have Christ. Hypocrites would have Christ—but they will not part with their beloved lust for Him!
3. Hypocrites' desires are but desires. They are lazy and sluggish. 'The desire of the slothful kills him, for his hands refuse to labor' (Proverbs 21:25). Men would be saved but they will take no pains. Does he desire water. Who will not let down the bucket into the well? But true desire is quickened into endeavor. 'All night long I search for you; earnestly I seek for God.' (Isaiah 26:9). The 'violent take heaven by force (Matthew 11:12). The lovesick spouse, though she was wounded, and her veil taken away—yet she seeks after Christ (Song 5:7). Desire is the weight of the soul, which sets it a going; as the eagle which desires her prey makes haste to it. 'Where the slain are, there is she' (Job 39:30). The eagle has sharpness of sight to discover her prey, and swiftness of wing to fly to it. So the soul who hungers after righteousness, is carried swiftly to it in the use of all holy ordinances.
4. The hypocrite's desires are cheap. He would have spiritual things—but will be spend nothing for them. He cares not how much money he parts with for his lusts; he has money to spend upon a drunken companion; but he has no money to part with for the maintaining of God's ordinances. Hypocrites cry up religion—but cry down supporting the church. But true desires are costly. David would not offer burnt-offerings without cost (1Chronicles 21:24). A hungry man will give anything for food; as it fell out in the siege of Samaria (2Kings 6:25). That man never hungered after Christ, who thinks much of parting with a little silver for 'the Pearl of great price'.
5. Hypocrites' desires are flashy and transient. They are quickly gone, like the wind which does not stay long in one corner. Or like a hot fit which is soon over. While the hypocrite is under terror of conscience, or in affliction, he has some good desires—but the hot fit is soon over. His goodness, like a fiery comet, soon spends and evaporates. But true desire is constant. It is observable that the word in the text is: 'Blessed are those who are hungering.' Though they have righteousness—yet they are still hungering after more. Hypocrites desire it like the motion of a watch—which is quickly run down. The desire of a godly man is like the beating of the pulse—which lasts as long as life. 'My soul breaks for the longing that it has to your judgments' (Psalm 119:20). And that we might not think this pang of desire would soon be over he adds, 'at all times'. David's desire after God was not a high color in a fit—but the constant complexion of his soul. In the temple the fire was not to go out by night. 'The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar' (Leviticus 6:13). There was, says Cyril, a mystery in it, to show that we must be ever burning in holy affections and desires.
6. Hypocrites' desires are unseasonable. They are not well-timed. They put off their hungering after righteousness until it is too late. They are like the foolish virgins, who came knocking when the door was shut (Matthew 25:11). In time of health and prosperity the stream of their affections ran another way. It was sin the hypocrite desired, not righteousness. When he is about to die and can keep his sins no longer, now he would have grace as a passport to carry him to heaven (Luke 13:25). This is the hypocrite's fault. His desires are too late. He sends forth his desires when his last breath is going forth; as if a man should desire a pardon after the sentence is passed. These bedridden desires are bogus! But true desires are timely and seasonable. A gracious heart 'seeks first the Kingdom of God' (Matthew 6:33). David's thirst after God was early (Psalm 63:1). The wise virgins got their oil early before the bridegroom came. Thus we see the difference between a true and false hunger. Those who can find this true hunger are blessed, and may take comfort in it. (Spiritual Hunger)
Thomas Watson in his exposition of Pr 4:23 writes that...
With regard to our graces, the heart is like a flattering mirror which will make a hypocrite look good. The foolish virgins thought they had oil; many strongly think that they have grace, when they have none. The hypocrite's knowledge is no better than ignorance (1 John 2:4). He has illumination—but not assimilation; he has not been made like Christ. He 'believes'—but his heart is not purified. He pretends to trust God in greater matters—but dares not trust Him in lesser ones. He will trust God with his soul—but not with his estate.
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Ron Mattoon - play acting was seen during times of mourning. In New Testament times some people made their living as professional mourners, who were paid to weep, wail, and tear their garments at funerals and on other occasions of sadness. It is said that some mourners were careful to tear their clothing at a seam, so that the material could easily be sewn back together for the next "mourning" opportunity. Both the professional mourners and those who hired them were hypocrites, hiring and being hired to put on a display of mourning that was entirely fake. This word "hypocrite" accurately describes professional mourners, but also those who do their almsgiving or any other deed for the praise of men. They want more praise than their deeds merit. Hypocrites are acting the part of another, for they are trying to act the part of one who has done a great deal more than they are actually doing. Furthermore, in their almsgiving, they are acting the part of one who is concerned about the poor, but in reality they are not interested in the poor at all. Instead, they are interested only in the praise of men. Their efforts to appear interested in the poor are nothing but play-acting. Their almsgiving is mostly a staged act. They are hypocrites and phonies. We always need to be on guard of this ever-present problem of becoming a hypocrite. (Ron Mattoon - Treasures From Proverbs, Volume One)
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David Jeremiah recounts the following story...
Consider the story Dr. Harry Ironside told about a missionary in China who was translating the New Testament into the Chinese language. He was assisted by an eminent Chinese scholar, a Confucianist who had never before been exposed to Christianity. Week after week and month after month they sat side by side working through the biblical text.
When the project was nearly completed, the missionary told his friend, “You have been of great help to me. I could never have gotten along without you. Now I want to ask you a question. As we have gone together through the New Testament, hasn’t the beauty of Christianity touched you? Wouldn’t you like to become a Christian/”
The Confucianist replied, “Yes, Christianity does appeal to me. I think it presents the most wonderful system of ethics I have ever known. I believe that if I ever saw a Christian, I might become more interested in becoming one myself.”
“But,” exclaimed the missionary, “I am a Christian!”
“You?” the scholar replied. “You, a Christian? I hope you will not take offense, but I must tell you that I have observed you and listened to you from the beginning. If I understand the New Testament, a Christian is one who follows Jesus; and Jesus said, ‘By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.’
“You cannot be a Christian, for I have listened to you as you have talked about others in an unkind way. I have observed, too, that whereas your New Testament says that God will supply all our needs, you do not trust Him. You worry about this and about that; and if your check is a day late, you become dreadfully concerned. No, you cannot be a Christian. But I think that if I ever see one, I should like to be one.”
Pierced to the heart, the missionary broke down, sobbed out a confession, and asked God for forgiveness. He asked for the scholar’s forgiveness as well. This man was so broken that the Confucianist later remarked, “Well, perhaps I have seen a Christian after all.”… (David Jeremiah, Signs of Life, p. 225)
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Lehman Strauss - We live in a world of make-believe. We are actors. It was the custom of Greek and Roman actors to wear large masks with mechanical devices to regulate the inflections and intonations of the voice. The Greek word for a play actor is hupokrites, from which we derive the English word hypocrite, a pretender, one who appears in a false guise and thus does not disclose what he truly is. In Satan's world, where man has his earthly sojourn, men and women apply their make-up almost daily before presenting themselves on the stage of life. This superficial camouflage is applied both physically and morally. Recently (June 21, 1960) in a four-page spread in Look magazine, there appeared an advertisement with the caption, "Skin-Deep Beauty: a $1 Billion Business." It went on to say, "Today, the face a girl wakes up with is rarely revealed in public." And most of us must admit that too frequently the heart we wake up with is rarely revealed in public...Are you guilty of play acting? Did you ever pretend that you were glad to see someone when in reality you were not? (Lehman Strauss - The Book of Revelation).
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Hypocrite: Someone who complains that there is too much sex and violence on his VCR.- Current Comedy (Reader’s Digest, October, 1991, page 183)
Hypocrites – Great Methodist preacher Sangster once asked, “Are some people outside the church because you’re inside?"
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Ron Mattoon notes that hypocrites hate rejection...
They thrive on being accepted by the crowd and are willing to pay any price to have approval. In fact, on the French Riviera, it is such an important status symbol to have a balcony on an apartment, that it is quite common to see balconies painted on the walls of apartment buildings. People even paint wet laundry hanging on a clothesline, just to give a touch of reality. All of this is done in order to be accepted.
Why do hypocrites pay any price for praise or acceptance? They may have suffered the pain of rejection earlier in their lives or may have not had much approval or praise as they were growing up. Some folks may have had a bad reputation when they were younger and want people to think they are good without being good. Others are addicted to praise and approval. They can't live without it. The reasons for hypocritical behavior are many. Nevertheless, hypocrites think nothing of deceiving others by their hypocrisy.
The biggest victim is the hypocrite himself, for he has deceived himself into thinking his behavior is appropriate or will have merit with the Lord. It doesn't. This is what the Lord was condemning because He alone is to be glorified, not ourselves. God condemns hypocritical praying because He knows that seeking praise inflates our pride, creating further spiritual problems in our lives. Praying, for self-glory or without sincerity, is a waste of time for the Lord is not fooled by our phoniness. (Ron Mattoon - Treasures From Proverbs, Volume One)
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The New Unger's Bible Dictionary definition of "hypocrite"...
The hypocrite is a double person, natural and artificial. The first he keeps to himself, and the other he puts on, as he does his clothes, to make his appearance before men. Hypocrites have been divided into four classes:
(1) The worldly hypocrite, who makes a profession of religion and pretends to be religious, merely from worldly considerations (Matthew 23:5).
(2) The legal hypocrite, who relinquishes his vicious practices, in order thereby to merit heaven, while at the same time having no real love for God (Romans 10:3).
(3) The evangelical hypocrite, whose religion is nothing more than a bare conviction of sin; who rejoices under the idea that Christ died for him, and yet has no desire to live a holy life (Matthew 13:20).
(4) The enthusiastic hypocrite, who has an imaginary sight of his sins and of Christ and talks of remarkable impulses and high feelings, etc., while living in the most scandalous practices (2 Cor. 11:14).
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Spurgeon gives us..
A Picture of a Hypocrite - I recollect when a child seeing on the mantel-piece a stone apple, wonderfully like an apple, too, and very well coloured. I saw that apple years after, but it was no riper. It had been in unfavourable circumstances for softening and sweetening, if it ever would have become mellow; but I do not think if the sun of the Equator had shone on it, or if the dews of Hermon had fallen on it, it would ever have been fit to be brought to table. Its hard marble substance would have broken a giant's teeth. It was a hypocritical professor, a hard-hearted mocker of little children, a mere mimic of God's fruits. (Flashes of Thought)
Hypocrites in the Church - Doubtless there are thousands in all Christian churches who have the stamp and the impress of the King upon them, and look like the genuine shekels of the sanctuary, who after all are only fit to be, like bad money, fastened down on the footstool of the judgment seat, with a nail driven through them, to their everlasting reprobation and disgrace. How can we tell a bold man from a coward? Two soldiers wear the same regimentals: they will talk equally loudly of what they will do when the enemy shall come. It is the battle that tests and proves them; some peculiar phase of the conflict will bring out the difference; but till the battle comes how easy it is for the poltroon to play the hero, while perhaps the bravest man may modestly shrink into the rear! (Flashes of Thought)
Providence revealing Hypocrites - A lion may lie all day asleep, you may scarce know but what it is tame; but when the night brings the time for it to go forth to its prey, then it howls, and displays its ferocity. And so an ungodly man may lie down in the church of God with the lambs of the flock, and nothing may lead you to suspect his true character; but when the time comes for him to make profit by sin, or to get pleasure by sin, or to escape from persecution by sin, then you find out what he is. These providences are the King's coming in to scrutinise the guests. Changes in the conditions of the church, changes in the condition of the individual, all sorts of providential events go to make up the great sieve by which the wheat and the chaff are separated. (Flashes of Thought)
Hypocrites love the gold of the altar better than the God of the altar.
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Six Marks of Hypocrites (Mark 12:38-40):
1. Parade in fine clothing and religious robes (Mark 12:38; Matthew 23:5)
2. Love salutations in public (Mark 12:38)
3. Chief seat in church (Mark 12:39; notes, Matthew 23:2,6)
4. Chief couches at banquets (Mark 12:39; Matthew 23:6; Luke 14:7-11; Luke 20:46)
5. Take advantage of widows (Mark 12:40; note, Matthew 23:14)
6. Make long prayers (Mark 12:40; Matthew 23:14)
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Torrey's Topic:
Hypocrites
God knows and detects Isaiah 29:15, 16
Christ knew and detected Matt 22:18
God has no pleasure in Isaiah 9:17
Shall not come before God Job 13:16
Described as
Willfully blind Matt 23:17 Matt 23:19 Matt 23:26
Vile Isaiah 32:6
Self-righteous Isaiah 65:5 Luke 18:11
Covetous Ezek 33:31 2Peter 2:3
Ostentatious Matt 5:2 Matt 5:5 Matt 5:16 Matt 23:5
Censorious Matt 7:3, 4, 5 Luke 13:14, 15
Regarding tradition more than the word of God Matt 15:1, 2, 3
Exact in minor, but neglecting important duties Matt 23:23, 24
Having but a form of godliness 2Ti 3:5
Seeking only outward purity
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