Title From Hypocrisy to Lowness!
From hypocrisy to lowliness!
Matthew 23:1-13, 9th Sunday of Creation, October 30, 2011
The 95-item theological proposition Luther put on the door of Wittenberg Cathedral has two main contents. One is that indulgences are theologically invalid, and the other is that the papal inerrancy is also theologically wrong. It may seem to us today that the Catholic indulgences and the papal inerrancy of that time were rhetoric, but at the time they had some truth. Whether indulgences or papal inerrancy, the center is the Church. The indulgence was a measure to finance the construction of Peter's Basilica at the time, and the papal inerrancy was also intended to strengthen the authority of the church. Efforts to build a cathedral that is grander and better than the structures of the world, and efforts to secure a more powerful ecclesiastical authority than the king of the world, were all for the sake of the church. They are merely introducing unbiblical doctrines for the sake of the church. As long as a person has a good end, there are times when the means do not matter much. It's like good things are good. But if you stay, religion will become corrupted. That is why the Reformers defined the church as “Ecclesia Samper Reformanda!” This is not to say that the church should be reformed all the time, not just temporarily.
scribes and Pharisees
In today's sermon text, Matthew 23:1-12, scribes and Pharisees appear. They were there when Jesus was preaching to his disciples. It is said that they sat in the ‘seat of Moses’ (verse 2). The position of Moses was to teach the law. Perhaps it was a synagogue. Jesus told them to accept their words and not to imitate their actions. The words are plausible, but the actions are not. That is the essence of hypocrisy. You can see it in two ways.
First, they speak and do not act (v. 3). It refers to a discrepancy between words and actions. Verse 4 describes this behavior more explicitly. “It binds a heavy load and puts it on a man's shoulder, but he himself would not move it with one finger.” This is, of course, an exaggeration. The scribes and Pharisees also tried very hard to keep the law and put it into practice. I worked hard to death. Their hard work is understandable. Because it was their job. The problem is that they enforced such laws on ordinary people. Ordinary people have to eat and live in the world. To impose the law on those who cannot keep the law means that they speak only and do not act. Jesus once said this: “Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden. I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) The heavy burden here is the law. Because the burden of the law destroys the soul.
Freedom from the law is not easy. Not only because they are forced to do it, but because they get masochistic satisfaction from such oppression. Of course, that satisfaction comes from a sick mind. It's called slavery. Terry Eagleton said on page 37 of his book Upholding God: A bit lengthy quote. “People become obsessed with their oppression like lovers, and they can get to the point where they do whatever it takes to not lose the selfish pleasure they get from it. So, letting go of guilt means depriving them of the disease that sustains their lives. This disease can be called the original masochism known as religion. In this context, the gospel that we are loved as we are is bound to be taken as an intolerable insult. At least it will take away the pain that proves we are still alive, and will make our efforts for moral self-discipline in vain. We do not want the yoke to be lightened. I hope you are bound by heavy chains.”
This problem is deeply ingrained in all the lives of modern people today. Change the law to positive law and think about it. Lawmakers are prone to hypocrisy. If you point out the immorality of others, you mistakenly think that you are moral. As it repeats itself, he becomes a Pharisee. In recent years, we often see this in so-called political prosecutors. The fact of the suspect's blood is notified to the media one by one. He does not shy away from the role of straw. You are already being treated as a criminal before the court gives you a sentence. Although it is illegal, they do not hesitate to do so in order to achieve their political goals. This is a classic example of modern day hypocrisy.
Second, the godly deeds of the Pharisees are to be seen by others (verse 5). In order to be seen by others, you must first look good. It has to be valuable and it has to be stylish. Whatever it is, it has to look like that. Prayers, hymns, and alms all seem plausible. Jesus' parable of the prayer of the Pharisee and the prayer of the publican is a classic example. The Pharisee proudly prayed. He was outstanding in every way. The publican was ashamed of everything. I didn't want to be seen by others. Jesus said that God heard the publican's prayer. It is difficult to misunderstand these words. This is not to deny all godly deeds themselves. If it is denied, the order of the world is destroyed. The problem is the attitude of life that puts godliness first. Living godly is necessary, but it is wrong to promote it. It is good to pray, but it is wrong to promote the act of praying itself. That is the fault of pietism.
Why is it wrong? The answer is that man is fundamentally ungodly. I am ungodly, but I fall into hypocrisy when I try to pretend to be godly. A person who has not even entered the spirituality of prayer falls into hypocrisy by pretending to pray. I have described it as the schoolboy complex in an article. Korean Christians are generally immersed in this model student complex. They are far from the freedom and liberation that the gospel gives as a gift. Repeated exposure to this belief results in aggression. They all see the world as the children of the evil Satan. The world is defined by the paradigm of ‘Jesus Salvation, Hell of Unbelief’. Some rational thinkers are inclined to the theory of sanctification. Salvation is already a problem that is over, so we should not stay there and live like a believer in Jesus. Is this the right story? No matter how much people shout for sanctification, they are not sanctified. It's not an effort. At best, it's just getting more cultured. Education does not change the fundamentals of a person. Although man cannot live a model life before God, the model student complex that clings to it destroys our lives.
It can be argued that hypocrisy is still better than evil. To put it bluntly, it's better to live worthy of respect in the eyes of others, even if it's hypocrisy, than to go to jail for unscrupulous behavior or to be pointed at by people for immorality. Who would deny that? But hypocrisy and evil are not to be compared. Evil is not very dangerous because it has already been shown to be evil. Rather, it can be used as a contrasting teacher. But in reality, hypocrisy is much more dangerous because it can be mistaken for good. It's like pseudo-spirituality is much more dangerous.
spirit of lowering
So how the hell am I supposed to live? The writer of Matthew is not talking about this just to criticize the scribes and Pharisees now. They know that their problems are exactly the same for them. It is saying that hypocrisy still works even in the newly started community with the gospel, not the law. There were also things that made each other look good. That is why the writer of the Gospel of Matthew preached the word not to connect with teachers, fathers, and leaders. It means facing the stern fact that a person cannot be a teacher, a father, or a leader.
The conclusion of the message of the writer of Matthew is that we must humble ourselves (verses 11, 12). The paradoxical statement in verse 12 is particularly important. “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” It is the spirituality of lowering. This statement sounds a bit unrealistic. Just because you lower yourself doesn't mean you'll get higher later. This is not to say that you should humble yourself now in order to be exalted later. To humble oneself is already exalted. Does this make sense? You can't force yourself down. Only in union with God can we humble ourselves. This is the answer. Unity with God is the only way to the highest.
Getting away from all kinds of religious hypocrisy and secular hypocrisy is the very essence of the Reformation. Hypocrisy is self-exaltation, and it cannot enter into unity with God. Conversely, those who have experienced unity with God cannot exalt themselves. This is because he experienced the paradoxical mystery of life that he was crucified, the lowest place in this world, but that the lower place is the higher place through Jesus, who was resurrected from the dead. Amen.