A Culture of Honesty and Hunger (Matthew 6:16-18)

Here’s Sunday’s message from our Matthew series. Really was great to get back into the pulpit and in this series. Check out the audio and video here.

I’m hereby declaring a statute of limitations on the spoiling of feature films. If you’ve not seen 1998’s The Truman Show, you might get mad at me today. But then again, you’ve had 24 years to see it. Come on! In the film, Jim Carrey plays Truman Burbank who is unknowingly living his life in the middle of a reality TV show. The world is watching. And he doesn’t have a clue. At least not at the start. But then he finds out - and then he’s not the least bit happy.

I think people outside the church often view those inside in that very same way.  They’re watching us. And they can see right through it all. The shiny, happy family. The pristine home with the white picket fence. The manicured yard with all the toys stowed away. They know it’s fake. And they wonder when we’ll figure it all out. And they’d love nothing more than to see it all implode.

But, in many ways, we’ve brought it all on ourselves. We’ve not gotten the Sermon on the Mount, and Matthew’s message, worked into our hearts. Here Jesus lays out a better way. A much better way. And in doing that, He assaults the image and lifestyle of the religious leaders of that day, the Pharisees.

Today, we wrap up this section, Matthew 6:1-18. We’ve seen Jesus talk about giving. Then praying. In these last three verses, we’ll look at what He says about fasting. But my bigger goal today is for us to hear Christ’s biggest point that He’s making. And to get there, I want to take you in a bit of a circle.

I’ll start off describing what their culture, their community looks like - that of the Pharisees. We’ll take a look at their worship practices. I’ll offer what I think is the key to something different. We’ll see how that changes how we worship together. And then we’ll come back to what our community, our culture, can become.

Culture: Pharisees

First, let’s look at the culture of the Pharisees. Now Jesus here is again on this mountain, teaching His disciples - along with the crowds. And He warns them about the Pharisees. This group of largely lay-leaders worked in tandem with the Scribes. The Scribes focused primarily on interpreting - and reproducing - God’s word. The Pharisees spent their time telling people how to live it out. And Christ calls them out for doing a pretty poor job of it.

They focused on piety - on being uber-devoted spiritually. Their name actually comes from a Hebrew word for “separate.” And they prided themselves on that. Being different - and better - than the surrounding culture. Even though they made up a minority of those in Israel in that day, their influence was pretty huge. But their teaching left themselves - and the people they led - in a place of deep anxiety and with a spirit of judgmentalism. That’s the culture the Pharisees created and perpetuated.

Devotion: Pharisees    

We second see a picture of their piety, their devotion here in these verses. Jesus is teaching His disciples - then and now - how to fast. And He says, very clearly, “Don’t do it like those Pharisee dudes. Do the opposite.” Hear the first part of verse 16 again: “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others.”

Now if you don’t know what fasting means, most basically, it’s forgoing food, abstaining from eating, for spiritual purposes. And as the Pharisees were doing this - and in their giving and prayer - they were making sure everyone knew. Picture the little kid who just heard he couldn’t have another cookie. And he puts that frown on his face - with his bottom lip sticking out. That’s how those religious leaders were walking around - “all gloomy.” Visibly sad.

Jesus also calls out the fact that they “disfigure their faces.” Now we don’t see this word used much in the Bible. But here’s what it’s probably describing. These men, walking around in robes, not cleaned up, looking really unruly. And then topping it all off with something symbolic. Sprinkling ashes on their head - rubbing them on their face - to show repentance - that they were REALLY sad.

They distort themselves on the outside. But in doing that, they ignore their inside. And later on - in Matthew 23 - Jesus is going to light them up - for being bowls that look clean on the outside but are filled up with poop. For being tombs that are painted sparkling white, but are chock full of dirt and death.

Now fasting was commanded by God. But really only on one day a year. There were other days that God’s people fasted. To seek guidance. To request protection. To call out in repentance. To cry out in grief. God’s people fasted. But the Pharisees were doing extra - on Mondays and Thursdays of each week. They were die hards. Really try-hards. But they weren’t getting extra-credit. They were getting called out by Jesus.

Motivation: Pharisees

And here, of course was His problem with them and their fasting. Third, see their motivation. They’re trying to appear holy to get applause. Isn’t that what Jesus says? They “disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others.” They want to be seen. They want to get praise. They distort themselves on the outside in order to look devoted.

As Aaron and Darren explained before, the term “hypocrite” refers to an actor, a stage player. The whole world’s a stage for these Pharisees. The streets of Jerusalem are a red carpet. And they’re strutting right on down. But they’re about to get called onto the carpet by Jesus.

Several years ago, a man named Guy Goma was waiting in the lobby of BBC in London. He was there to be interviewed for an IT job. At the same time, another man, also named Guy, whose last name was Kewney, was getting ready to be interviewed on air. And he was in a different waiting room. Kewney, a leading technology expert, was going on BBC to talk about an ongoing lawsuit between Apple Computer and Apple Corps, the record label owned by the Beatles.

A receptionist went to the waiting area where he thought Kewney was supposed to be. And greeted him with his full name. And ushered him back stage - for makeup and the works. But it was Guy Goma instead. He just thought his name had gotten mispronounced. And he went along with it all. The look of surprise and even horror on his face when the interview begins on live TV is priceless. And the way he stumbles to play along and answer the questions is hilarious.

However, the other Guy, watching someone else interviewed, with his name at the bottom of the screen - he wasn’t too pleased, either. Now that was an accident that a guy played along with. But this is the way the Pharisees are choosing to live. They’re trying to look like something they’re not. And Jesus isn’t happy. Our motives are critical, right? The way of the Pharisee is this: you puff yourself up. To get more for self. They appear holy. To get the applause.

Now often when we think of a hypocrite, we’re thinking of someone who lives a double-life. But as J. D. Greear points out,

“Jesus here is speaking of someone who is super-religious but who does not seek God for God’s sake. Someone who treats God as the way to get something else: a better life now, going to heaven when they die, a solid family, and so on.” (J. D. Greear)

Now we’ll come back to this at the end, but we always think of the Pharisees - the hypocrites - as those people over there. We never think of ourselves. But there’s more of this in us than we realize. How often do we play to the crowd? You know - post the humble “flexes” on social media? How do we use others to get the attention we want?

But most of the time we don’t even realize it, because, as Jeremiah puts it, our hearts are deceitful. These Pharisees no doubt had themselves convinced, as well. Author Paul Miller says it’s way more like bad breath than bed head. We can look in the mirror. And we can see that our hair’s messed up. But we can’t usually smell our own breath.

That’s why we need Jesus - and His people - to point it out. But that’s not too fun. What we’d rather have is people pat us on the back. But as Jesus says here, that’s not worth what it costs. And it certainly is something that won’t last. In verse 16, Jesus says, “Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.” The Pharisees have received it. Their reward. That’s it. The high-fives. The applause. The words of praise. The admiring looks. That’s their reward. They walk around saying they’re trying to please God. But He’s not pleased or impressed. So they completely miss out.

The Why Beneath the Why

Now that’s the motivation for their devotion. But I want to ask the why beneath the why. You’ve probably seen the meme, shared by every parent on your feed, the one with Yoda. That says: “Now that I have children, I really understand the scene in Return of the Jedi where Yoda is so tired of answering Luke’s questions he just up and dies.” Moms and dads, you hear me? Now I’d give anything to go back to when my kids were little. Let me be clear about that. But it was exhausting. What’s that frog doing? Jumping. Why? To get somewhere else? Why doesn’t he walk? I guess because it’s faster - or maybe more fun. Why? Because he’s leaving. Why? To get away from his those tadpoles asking all the questions.

Insecurity: Pharisees

Fourth, what’s really at the bottom, driving those religious leaders? The Pharisees are trying to appear holy. To seek after applause. That’s why. But why are they doing that? You see, it’s getting to that deeper question that’s so critical. It’s the way to progress. The way to hope.

What’s underneath all that people-pleasing? It’s insecurity. A lack of confidence. In who God is and what He’s done. That’s what makes us so full of anxiety. Have we done enough? Done it well enough? Does he think I’m a good person? Is she maybe mad at me?

It’s also what makes us so judgmental. If my worth is based on how well I do - and on how many people notice - I’ll compare myself to those around me. And I’ll look down on them. I’ll count up my likes. And compare them to yours. And notice who doesn’t “heart” my post. And I’ll get a little bitter. But I’ll tell you what that’s a recipe for. Misery. Steve Brown put it like this: “The masks we wear bind us to a role that kills the very freedom Jesus died to give us.”

Confidence: Christians

What’s the key for us to truly change? And escape this life that Jesus here condemns? Fifth, it comes from a confidence. In the fatherhood of God. We just passed the Lord’s Prayer. How does it start? “Our Father in heaven.” We have a Dad. And He reigns. Further on in this chapter, just down the page you’re on, Jesus is going to give us the reason why we so much live in worry. We’re acting like pagans. Who have no Dad.

That’s the same reason we try to make the world our stage. We’re forgetting we have a Father. One we don’t have to impress. Who in Jesus, His Son, accepts us for who we are. If God is like Simon Cowell, who looks down his nose and insults us in front of the crowd, we need to try harder and do better. And seek the approval of people. But if He’s the God of the Bible, like a good, good father, who smiles at us, we can live with confidence. With great security.

Think about the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. One son takes his inheritance early. And he blows it all on sex, drugs, and rock and roll. At his lowest point, hhe remembers his home, and he comes back. His father sees him on that road and runs after him. And showers him with kisses. And throws him the biggest party of all. My kids get annoyed by my attempts at affection. But Charles Haddon Spurgeon once described God in that way:

“I will tell you the way I think the father behaved towards his son who had been dead, but was alive again, who had been lost, but was found.  Let me try to describe the scene.  The father has kissed the son, and he bids him sit down; then he comes in front of him, and looks at him, and feels so happy that he says, “I must give you another kiss,” then he walks away a minute; but he is back again before long, saying to himself, “Oh, I must give him another kiss!”  He gives him another, for he is so happy.  His heart beats fast; he feels very joyful; the old man would like the music to strike up; he wants to be at the dancing; but meanwhile he satisfies himself by a repeated look at his long-lost child.  Oh, I believe that God looks at the sinner, and looks at him again, and keeps on looking at him, all the while delighting in the very sight of him, when the sinner is truly repentant, and comes back to his Father’s house.” (Charles Haddon Spurgeon)

You’re His child. He’s got you back. He loves you. But too much of the time, we’re tempted to live - just like the other son that’s also in that story - like these Pharisees.

Standing over to the side. With a big scowl on our face. Yelling out, “I tried so hard. And never did anything wrong. I did better than him. And you’re throwing that kid a party!” When we could join in the party and get hugs for ourselves. But we keep on the mask. As Jared Wilson put it, “You can be yourself with Jesus. It’s not the ‘impressive’ version of you that he loves.”

Karis, in the gospel, through what Jesus has done - through His life, death, and resurrection - and not through what we’ve done at all - we are brought into God’s family. We have this new identity. As a daughter, as a son. And that changes everything - if we have trust in Him. For every aspect of the Christian life, and certainly for fasting.

Motivation: Christians

Sixth, then, what is our motivation? Some time back, in Matthew chapter 3, we met John the Baptist. The forerunner of Jesus, who told people to get themselves ready for him. What did we hear him say? I’m baptizing you with water. He’s gonna baptize you with the Spirit. And he says, “He who is coming after me is mightier than I.” Over in John’s gospel, in chapter 3, the Baptizer reminds people. Hey, he’s the Bridegroom. I’m just the friend of the groom. And because He’s here, I’m overjoyed. And then he says, in verse 30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” And those words remind us of what our motivation should be. In everything we do, and definitely as we fast.

The Pharisees are trying to puff themselves up. And get more for themselves. And that meant applause. What should our motivation be, if we’re children of our Father? The opposite. To make ourselves low, and to get more of God. And there, to see Him get praise.

Now there is so much I could say about what it means to fast. But fasting in the Bible is associated very closely with something. Something very unlike the hypocrites. With humbling yourself. Again, they were trying to look humble, but their hearts were far from Him.

But we who are His children, when we fast, we’re saying we’re needy. We’re finite and frail. Feeble and foolish. We’re desperate for Him. What we need is not food - at least not most of all. We need His words. We can’t live on just bread alone. We need Him. What else are we doing when we practice fasting? We’re seeking to get more of God. To turn from things that don’t satisfy - and human praise is one. And to receive the One who can fill and satisfy our souls.

That’s what our motivation must be - for life, as well as in our acts of devotion - like fasting. To get more of Him. And to bring glory to His name. That little kid - secure in his father’s love - wants to make his daddy proud. Not as some way to talk him into love. But flowing out of that love. We want to get much of Him and make much of Him. That becomes our motivation.

Devotion: Christians

And that will still lead, seventh, to acts of devotion - like giving and praying and fasting. Now here’s what I think is so easy for us to do. To hear the words - “our motives have to be pure” - and to respond affirmatively in our heads. And to hear me say, “We have his love - not based on what we do.” And to respond in our hearts, “That’s right. That’s good.”

But here’s the problem. Yes, indeed, our motives are important. But they’re not everything. There is still a place for devotion in the life of the Christian. Discipline is not the same as legalism. Jesus, after all says here in verse 16, “when you fast.” He assumes we will. It’s what Christians do.

It’s really what all the major religions do. But we do it for a different reason. It  flows out of our relationship with Him. Out of the security we have in Him. And we give and pray and fast not as an in end in themselves. But as a means to an end. To get more of God. Greater joy in Him. And, as we do, to bring honor to Him. But we still do these things. Out of our trust, we then obey.

What does Jesus say here that His disciples should do?  Look at verse 17 again: “But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face.” Back when I was a kid, I learned guitar from my dad. And I immediately started accompanying my sister, as she sang around the state in shows. It was way before American Idol. But my mom who loved music tried to live her dreams through her. It was so traumatizing that my sister later refused to sing for years. My mom got her all dressed up. And taught her how to perform.

I remember Krystal at maybe 8 years old, flinging her pig tails around to the music, waving her finger at the audience, acting like she was more like 28, singing stuff in love songs we had no ability even to understand.

Well, my dad’s sister was visiting one weekend, and we are all sitting around playing and singing. And my sister, of course, broke out in her fake vibrato, her overdone stage voice, and I remember my aunt looking at her, and saying fairly strongly, right in my mom’s presence, “Why don’t you just sing natural?” Well, the first thing I wanted to say was, “I think you meant, ‘sing naturally.’” But the second thing I wanted to say was, “Amen, Aunt Shirley. Preach, sister. Because this whole cheeseball country stage thing is killing this boy.”

Isn’t this what Jesus is saying here? Look natural? “Anoint your head and wash your face.” Don’t look like those fools over there. Everyone can tell they’re fake. That’s clearly their stage voice. All that dirt on the face is way overdone. “Anoint your head.” As anointing with oil was often a sign of joy, He might be saying, try to downplay that you’re down. Or He could just be saying, practice some hygiene. Wash your face. Quit looking like such a fool. Take a shower. Comb your hair. Trim your beard, for crying out loud. Use deo for your B.O. Put on clean clothes. Sing or fast or pray - whatever you do, naturally. Look normal.

In fact, try not to even be seen. Interestingly, that word for “disfigure” back in verse 16 literally means “make invisible.” And the Pharisees took it quite literally, trying to make themselves unrecognizable with all the ash and the dirt. But in doing that, of course, it just made them seen all the more. Jesus is saying, “Really, make yourself unseen. Don’t draw attention to yourself.” Do it in “secret.” Don’t focus on the outside. But more on what’s in here.

The Pharisees again are distorting themselves on the outside. Christ’s disciples - when fasting - are to deprive themselves on the inside. Hypocrites do what they do to get filled up with self and get themselves praise. But disciples do it to get filled up with God and to bring Him glory. We empty ourselves of self. We devote ourselves to Him. Because we’re moved by who we are in Him. And what I want you to hear is that it makes all the difference. In our life together.

Community: Christians

Now we started out by thinking about the community Jesus calls out here. And I want to wrap up, eighth, with thinking about the culture He encourages. The life of the Pharisees is again one of anxiety, one of judgmentalism. But the life of Christians should look much different. A culture of freedom and joy.

I love these words from Matthew Perryman Jones, in his song, “The Belly of the Beast.”

“I’m so tired of pretending I’m okay

Building playgrounds over graveyards for display

‘Cause there’s freedom when we take off the disguise

And just look it in the face” (Matthew Perryman Jones)

Are you tired of the pretending and posturing? Of the playing and posing? Of being a fake and a fraud? And of keeping up the facade? Why don’t we say we’re sick of it all? And walk in the light with Him?

Hear these words with me from 1 John 1:5 through 7:

1John 1:5 ¶ This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

1John 1:6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

1John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

What is Jesus talking about, through John, in these words? About being honest. Honest before Jesus. Honest before each other. Confessing our sins to Him. Confessing them to one another. Stopping the games, the act, the show, the dance. And just being natural with one another. Doesn’t that sound awesome?

Being fake is exhausting, is it not? Keeping up appearances takes work. How awesome would it be if we could just relax? In His love. In the love of each other? Wouldn’t there be freedom there, and joy? Wouldn’t that be awesome - if we could be honest?

In addition, in this community of Jesus, we should also be hungry. Shouldn’t we? What’s fasting again all about? Yeah, we’re going without food. But not just to lose some weight. Or to clean our body out. We’re doing it to create a longing for God. To devote time for prayer. To fill ourselves up with Him. And yes, to flush out lesser loves. Now don’t you think that, if we realized just what we Had in Him - the love we have in the gospel - that we’d want to call out to Him more? And fill ourselves up with Him?

Let’s pray that we can we a place of gospel honesty - to walk in the light. But let’s also pray that we can be a place of gospel renewal - where we hunger for God. Where we see our great need. Where we want more and more of Him.

Would God birth a movement of prayer - in our church and in our city? And would you jump in and be a part of that? We’re going to call you to fast with us in days ahead this fall. Would you jump in with that, too? Let’s not be a place where we’re fake and we’re full. But one that wants to be honest. And has our hands wide open.

Now yes, of course, there’s risk in that. If we’re honest, and make ourselves open to God - and especially open to those around us right here - won’t we certainly get hurt? We can have so much fear. And maybe we’ve tried before and we say never again.

But Jesus says the reward is worth it. Keeping up the act. Closing yourselves off. It may feel safe. It may feel comfortable. But the reward doesn’t last. But Jesus says, verse 18 again, “that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your father who is in secret will reward you.” If we’re humble before Him. If we’re hungry for Him. It’ll be worth it, church, on that day, in ways we can’t possibly imagine.

But until that day, we’ll get to live in a gospel culture. We won’t just talk about the gospel. Just a list of things we believe. We’ll live it out together. In honesty and love. Why don’t we say yes to that church??

Hypocrites All

Now back to verse 1, that kicked off this section.

Mt. 6:1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.”

Beware, brothers. Beware, sisters. Watch out friends, watch out, neighbors. If we don’t, we’ll miss out. Yes, one day in the new world. But here, in our lives, today.

And that’s all of us. Because we’re all hypocrites, at least in part. The one thing we can’t do is leave thinking this. “I don’t want to be a Pharisee. I need to be better.” No! What I want you to hear is this: there’s Pharisee in everyone of us. Putting forth our best image. Hoping those around us notice. It’s not just Christians who live this way. It’s all of us. It’s just in the church, we realize that’s the case. We’re not like Truman. We know what’s true. We’re honest. And hungry. Rich Mullins once said this:

“I never understood why going to church made you a hypocrite either, because nobody goes to church because they're perfect. If you've got it all together, you don't need to go. You can go jogging with all the other perfect people on Sunday morning.

Every time you go to church, you're confessing again to yourself, to your family, to the people you pass on the way there, to the people who will greet you there, that you don't have it all together. And that you need their support. You need their direction. You need some accountability, you need some help.” (Rich Mullins)

“Full of hypocrites?,” he also once said. “No we’re not. There’s room for more.” But as we come together, humble, and hungry, we open our lives up for change.

Now I mentioned I’ve grown up playing guitar. But do you know what makes the difference between a guitar that’s good and one that’s not? It’s that the good ones are made of wood that’s real. And the not-so-good ones are usually put together with bad wood, covered by a thin veneer.

Now the world needs to hear from us a song. A song of praise to our God. And how do we get to that point? We have to be real. But the solution isn’t to try harder, to will ourselves into a whole other state. But to trust the master builder, who grabs wood out of the scrap bin - with all the splotches and knots - and turns us into something beautiful. That kicks out lush, rich tones. For the world to hear.

A Gospel Reality Show

Though maybe not as popular as before, I wonder why people are drawn to reality TV. Of course, some are drawn to the drama, for sure. They want to see the train wreck. To watch the dumpster fire burn. But I think some of us are looking for a way to escape. To live in some way through the lives of others. Maybe even to think there’s a better way to live.

Imagine if people looked over the fence and saw people who were real. Not perfect like Truman. But people honest about who they are. But also different. A community devoted to what’s good. People who aren’t satisfied with who they are. They’re hungry to grow, to get more of Him.

A people who are confident - not in themselves and the image they’ve created - but confident in their Father. And through that they experience freedom and joy. Now that would be something worth seeing. How about we tear down the fence - and be real? It would be alluring. Here’s what I want you to leave with today. Let’s give up our feeble efforts to fool others and our Father, and let’s rather walk in His light, fasting - and giving and praying - in a way that showcases how good and great He is. Let’s pray.