Matthew 23:25–39: Formalism and Hypocrisy
Introduction
In John Bunyan’s classic story, The Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian meets two strange figures named Formalist and Hypocrisy as they tumble over the wall on the left side of the narrow way. Christian is astonished, since they have not gone through the gate of repentance from sin and faith in Christ, as he had. He challenges them, “Do you not know that it is written that the one who does not enter by the gate, but climbs up some other way—that person is a thief and a robber?” But Formalist and Hypocrisy dismiss Christian, insisting that to do back to the gate would be too difficult, and that it is much easier to take their short-cut. Besides, their shortcut was a tradition that had been followed for more than a thousand years, so they felt very confident in what they were doing. When Christian continued to point out the great differences between his life and theirs, they only laughed at him.
As Jesus continues his woes against the scribes and the Pharisees, he points out with perfect clarity the falseness of their professed religion. Moving from their smallest infractions against God’s righteous law, up to the most extreme, he shows how they are formalists and hypocrites through and through. Worst of all, in clinging to their false, human religion, they rejected God’s own mercy and grace toward them. In this passage, Jesus teaches us to seek refuge under the shadow of Christ’s wing.
Discussion Questions
1. Historically, what did the scribes and Pharisees debate about the cleanliness of dishes? Why was that ceremonial detail so important to them? How does Jesus use that debate to talk about internal uncleanness in their own lives? What is the uncleanness that Jesus identifies that lurks within their hearts? How does this make them like whitewashed tombs? What were the whitewashed tombs to which Jesus was comparing them?
2. How did the scribes and Pharisees talk about the righteous prophets who had been murdered in the past? Why did they profess that they would not have taken part in the persecution and murder of those prophets, if they had lived in those days? How does Jesus show that violent bloodshed against the righteous in the Old Testament was not the exception, but the rule? Why does hypocrisy seem so self-justified to the hypocrite, and so absurd to everyone else?
3. Why does Jesus compare himself to a hen gathering her chicks under her wings (see Ps. 91:4–6; Isa. 31:5)? How does this image convey the protection and refuge that God promised to give to his people? How do these Old Testament gospel promises underscore the stark tragedy of God’s rejection at the hands of Israel’s leaders? What fate does Jesus promise will await these leaders who have rejected him?
4. In what ways may formalism have crept into your own spiritual life? In what areas might you be more hypocritical than you allow yourself to believe? What do you think makes these false gospels so attractive to us? What does the Bible tell us about God’s mercy toward his people, especially in his Son Jesus Christ? Where do you need to repent from your sins and turn again to Christ for forgiveness and cleansing and sanctification?
