Did you ever see the traveling evangelists who gathered a crowd through gimmicks? Vance Havner told about the traveling preacher who claimed his horse could count. A crowd gathered to watch him ask the horse, “How many gospels are there?” Amazingly, the horse stomped four times. “How many apostles?” The crowd counted out loud as the horse stamped 12 times. Someone in the crowd shouted, “How many hypocrites are there in the church?” The horse went into a dance on all fours.
In Jesus’ relationship with the religious leaders, the gloves have come off. Again and again he takes them to task for their hypocrisy. The word hypocrite comes from a Greek word which means “to wear a mask.” The Pharisees loved to convey a public image, but their walk did not match their talk. Particularly, Jesus accosted them for making it harder for others to know God.
A friend of mine says, “We are all recovering hypocrites.” I won’t speak for you. As surely, though, as I critique someone else, the Holy Spirit will show me my own sin. It is not a pleasant experience. At the end of a difficult discourse, we see God’s gracious grief over the city of Jerusalem. God does not want to condemn people. Jesus spoke for the Father in saying, “I wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks, but you wouldn’t let me.” Will we let God love us and protect us from sin? Today, let us receive his forgiving grace for past sins and his prevenient grace to protect from future ones.
