matthew 23:5-12

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Introduction

Everyone who knows her would tell you: Cindy is a good person. She does all that you could expect of her and more. She’s very involved in her local church. She volunteers her time and her energy to teach the church’s children, to clean the church’s bathrooms, and to visit the church’s sick. If you were to observe how Cindy handles her finances you would be blown away by her generosity. She gives to her church, she gives to local non-profits, she gives to the homeless, she gives to her family and friends who are in need. If you need someone to pray for you you would ask Cindy because you know that she spends hours praying for other people. If you had a question about the Bible you would ask Cindy because you know she spends hours studying the Scriptures. If you needed advice about marriage, parenting, relationships – anything – you would go to Cindy because she wisely applies God’s Word in every area of her life. Cindy is by all accounts a good person. Cindy is by all accounts a good Christian.

But God sees things differently. Because while everyone else simply sees what Cindy does, God sees why Cindy does what she does. And God is disgusted by Cindy’s goodness because he sees that Cindy’s goodness is not good at all. It is evil. And he hates it.

Now I don’t tell you this story so that you will look at Cindy differently. I tell you this story so that you will look at yourself differently. Whatever your spiritual beliefs may be I want to challenge you tonight to look beyond the good things you believe and beyond the good things you do and, instead, look at why you do the good things you do. If God were to pull back all of your good deeds right before our eyes, if God were to pull back all of your good words and good actions and show us your motives, would we be impressed by your motives or repulsed by them?

That question will be answered for all of us tonight as we continue to listen to Jesus’ words from Matthew 23. Turn there with me if you will.

Good Things for the Wrong Reasons

Last week we summarized Jesus’ teaching in this chapter with these strong and offensive words: “Jesus Hates Religion (And You Should Too).” Now when we use the word religion, remember, we’re talking about any and every system of belief that says, “If you obey these teachings then you will be loved, accepted, and blessed.” Every religion in the world promotes some variation of this basic philosophy. Every religion in the world claims that if you obey certain teachings then you will be loved, accepted, and blessed by God, or by the universe, or by other people, or by karma, or whatever. Even thousands of Christian pastors teach this very message. But not Jesus. And not the BIble. No, the message of Jesus and the Scriptures is very different. The message of Jesus and the Scriptures is that religion, as just described, is evil.

But don’t take my word for it. The authority here is not me, the authority is Jesus. You’ll remember from last week that at this point in Matthew 23 Jesus is speaking to his disciples about the religious leaders of their day. As he does so he is communicating something that would have absolutely shocked his audience. He is explaining that these people who appear to us to be most pleasing to God are actually least pleasing to God. Here in verses 5-12 he gives us another reason why,

“Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to have people call them ‘Rabbi.’ But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father^, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Last week we saw that the first reason Jesus hates religion is because it is born from fear and it produces fear. Tonight we see that the second reason Jesus hates religion is because it is born from pride and it produces pride.

This is clear to us right away in verse 5. Jesus does not deny that religious people often do good things. His issue is that they do good things for the wrong reasons. As we said last week. they do good things because they fear not being accepted, loved, or blessed by God. Tonight we see that they also do good things because of their own pride. Jesus says, “Everything they do is done for other people to see.” And then he goes on to give specific examples.

First, he says that they “make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long.” Phylacteries were leather boxes with Scripture passages enclosed in them that the religious leaders physically tied to their foreheads and to their arms. They did this to show how seriously they took God’s command to keep his Word close to them. They also tied tassels to their garments as reminders to obey God’s commands. These things by themselves were enough to communicate their devotion to God. But the religious leaders didn’t merely want other people to know that they were devoted to God they wanted other people to know how much they were devoted to God. So they not only tied boxes and tassels to themselves, they tied wide boxes and long tassels to themselves so that others would see how righteous they were and how sincerely devoted to God they were.

Then he goes on to give a second way that this pride is manifested. He says, “They love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to have people call them ‘Rabbi.’” The religious leaders of Jesus’ day wanted to be honored, they wanted to be respected, they wanted to be set apart from other people, they wanted to be treated differently. They wanted to be seen as special.

How Religion Produces Pride

Now here we are 2,000 years removed from their situation. I doubt any of us are tying leather boxes to our heads. And few of us are demanding that people call us Rabbi. But Jesus’ words are just as applicable to us here and now as they were to the religious leaders of his day. And why? Why are Jesus’ words just as relevant today as they were 2,000 years ago? One reason, of course, is that we are prideful people by our very nature. But the second reason, and the reason we’re more concerned about today, is that religion itself feeds and multiplies the pride that is already within us. In fact, religion so feeds our pride that it is impossible to be a religious person and not also be a very prideful person.

“Woah! Wait a minute, Cole, that’s a very strong and broad statement you’re making.” Well, I realize that, but please understand that I don’t say offensive things because I get some sick pleasure from offending people. I say things like it is impossible to be a religious person without also being a very prideful person because it is true. Let me explain. Remember, religion is any system of belief that says, “If you obey these teachings then you will be loved, accepted, and blessed.” And the truth of the matter is that, with the exception of Jesus, every religious leader in history claims that if you obey certain teachings then you will be loved, accepted, and blessed by God, or by the universe, or by other people, or by karma, or whatever.

It shouldn’t take long to see how this type of thinking produces pride. It tells you that whatever good things you receive in life you receive because of your own obedience to this particular religion. You’re accepted by God because of what you’ve done. You’re loved by God because of what you’ve done. You’re blessed by God because of what you’ve done. Religion tells you that your position with God depends on your obedience to God and as long as you believe that your position with God depends on your obedience to God you will be a prideful person who can only point to yourself as the one to credit for any and every good thing that comes into your life. You see, pride is not just something religious people have to watch out for. Pride is the natural consequence of having a religious view of the world.

And this pride doesn’t just impact how you view yourself. It also impacts how you see other people. It’s not a coincidence that the first word my irreligious friends use to describe religious people is “judgmental.” This isn’t just a prejudice of our culture. This isn’t some false image created by the media. This is the very real and very natural result of having a religious view of the world. If the reason I’m accepted by God, loved by God, and blessed by God is in even the smallest possible way due to who I am or what I have done then I cannot help but look down on other people. If only you would do what I do you could have the same thing I have. I have worked hard for all that I have why can’t you work hard too? My religion very clearly tells me to do A, B, and C and I have done it. Therefore, there’s no excuse for you not to do the same thing.

You cannot be a religious person without also being a prideful person. It is impossible. It will impact how you view yourself, it will impact how you view other people and, worst of all, it will impact how you view God. If you believe that you are accepted by God, loved by God, and blessed by God because of your own obedience to your particular religion then you think very highly of yourself and very little of God. First of all it shows that you don’t think God is very righteous. You have to have a very small view of God’s righteousness to believe that the eternally holy God is somehow impressed by your willingness to give a small percentage of your money to the church or by your ability to abstain from fornication for a whole year. Really? Do you think the very source of goodness is so impressed by you doing what you’re supposed to do anyway that he is compelled to reward you with acceptance, love, and blessing?

Having a religious view of the world forces you to have a very high view of your own righteousness and a very small view of God’s righteousness. Having a religious view of the world also forces you to have a very small view of God’s wisdom. If you believe that you are accepted by God, loved by God, and blessed by God because of your own obedience to your particular religion then you believe that God is at best naïve and at worst an idiot. If you’re obeying God because you think that by obeying God you will earn his acceptance, his love, and his blessing then you are not obeying God because you love him, you are obeying God because you love yourself. You’re doing the good things you do in order to get from God the good things you want for yourself. Do you really think that little of God that you think he is too foolish to recognize that the only reason you’re obeying him is to get what you want from him? The average woman is smart enough to know the difference between a man who is doing nice things for her because he loves her and a man who is doing nice things for her because he wants something from her. If a 20 year-old girl can figure that out you don’t think that the very God who created her can figure it out? Really? Do you really think that God is that naïve? You have to think he’s that naïve if you think that he accepts you, loves you, and blesses you for obeying the commands of your religion. Having a religious view of the world forces you to have a very small view of God’s wisdom.

How This Works in Your Life

That’s the case with Cindy, who we talked about earlier tonight. Everyone around Cindy is impressed with her devotion to God and to God’s people. But not God. Because he sees her pride. Yes, she does many good things but she does these good things for very bad reasons. She does these things out of pride. Pride that tells her she can earn God’s acceptance, love, and blessing if she just tries hard enough. Pride that tells her that the reason to do good for God is to get good from God.

This is why Jesus hates religion. Jesus hates religion because of what it does to Cindy. And Jesus hates religion because of what it does to you. It enslaves you. It enslaves you. Do you see that? If you live as though the acceptance, love, and blessing of God depends upon how well you obey God then you will forever be a slave to pride. No matter how much you talk about God’s grace and God’s love you will always be a slave to pride because you will always believe that in some way you have earned God’s acceptance, love, and blessing; you will always think that the difference between you and “less godly” people is that you are willing to work harder; and you will always have a small view of God’s righteousness and God’s wisdom.

Now maybe you’re not a religious person. Maybe you would describe yourself as spiritual or irreligious. So maybe you think that this isn’t an issue for you. But it is. Just as it is impossible to be religious without also being prideful it is impossible to be irreligious without also being prideful. As an irreligious person you know that you didn’t make yourself and you didn’t make the world around you but, nevertheless, you think so highly of yourself that you feel you have the right and the ability to define your own meaning and your own purpose in life. As a “spiritual” person you believe there is someone or something greater than you to whom you owe your existence. But you think so highly of yourself that you feel you have the right and the ability to define your own way of relating to the greater being rather than letting the greater being define that for you. As an irreligious or spiritual person you know that all types of people follow all types of different spiritual paths. And you think so highly of yourself that you believe they are all equally valid pursuits, as though you are the one who gets to decide on what basis God does or does not accept human worship.

The Way Out

Religion and irreligion look very different on the outside. But, at their core, they’re exactly the same. Jesus hates religion – and irreligion – because both systems of thought are born of pride and both produce pride. And if you find yourself identifying in even the smallest way with either religion or irreligion you should pause right now and listen very closely to these words of Jesus. After explaining how the religious leaders of his day were filled with pride he then says this in verse 12, “Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Jesus tells us that the difference between being proud and humble is not just the difference between being an unlikable person and a likable person. The difference between being proud and humble is the difference between life and death. Jesus is talking here about the Day of Judgment, the great day when he will return to judge the wicked and reward the righteous. And he says very plainly that those who humble themselves in this life will be exalted in the next while those who exalt themselves in this life will be humbled in the next. In other words, the humble will be welcomed into the presence of God where they will experience everlasting joy while the proud will be cast out of the presence of God where they will experience everlasting torment.

Whatever you may think of Jesus I can assure you that Jesus is not a liar. For that reason, the proper response to Jesus’ words is absolute dread. Because the truth is there is not one of you in this room who is truly humble. Religious, irreligious, whatever – every one of us is stained by our own pride. And for that reason we deserve to be humbled when we finally do stand before the God who made us and sustains us for every moment of our existence.

As prideful people every one of us should respond to Jesus’ words with dread…until we look to what Jesus has done for prideful people.  Being God himself – being the only truly good, truly wise, truly just, truly loving being in existence – Jesus humbled himself for us even as we refused to humble ourselves for him. He willfully stepped away from the constant praise of his angels and he stepped into human flesh to be born from the womb of a poor young woman he created, in a manger made for animals he created, to live as an outcast in the world he created, and to eventually be murdered by the very people he created. In between his humble birth and his humble death Jesus spent every millisecond of his existence humbling himself in perfect obedience to God the Father and in perfect service to mere human beings.

Jesus did this for the pleasure of God and for the good of his people. And, because of that, God took his humbled Son and exalted him by raising his lifeless corpse from the dead, bringing him back into the glories of heaven, and seating him at his right hand where he presently sits reigning and ruling over all of creation.

Jesus humbled himself and, consequently, Jesus is now exalted above all. And Jesus did not do this merely to teach people a lesson on how or why you should be humble. Jesus did this, he did all of this, to make people humble. He lived and died in humility in place of those who have not lived in humility. So that tonight, right now, if you turn from your religion or from your irreligion and turn to Jesus in faith God declares you to be humble, as though you had lived the perfect life of humility that Jesus lived. If you turn from your religion or from your irreligion and turn to Jesus in faith, tonight, God will not humble you under his wrath, he will exalt you, because he counts Jesus’ punishment as your own, as though Jesus had lived the prideful life that you have lived.

So what are you waiting for? The ultimate act of humility that you can ever perform is to flee from religion, flee from irreligion, and acknowledge that you have nothing to offer God. Nothing. And that he has everything to offer you through Jesus Christ who lived the perfect life of righteousness and humility that you have failed to live, who died the death of separation and judgment that you deserve to die, and who rose from the dead to bring you to God now and forevermore. Stop trusting in your goodness and trust in his.