Matthew 23:27-33

1. Intro.
1. we should place as much emphasis on the inner man as we do the outward man
2. today we live in an age when old-fashioned preaching is not popular
1. it never has been popular with the majority
2. there was a time when many people would travel a long distance to hear the Word of God preached
3. if you think Bible preaching is popular just look at the way some churches advertise their services
1. there is a big list of things they have and do
2. seldom is there any mention of the preaching of God's Word
4. some would say, "people work hard all week long and when they go to church they want to hear something that will lift them up"
1. does this mean that the farmers who plowed behind mules did not do much work
2. the laborers of years gone by could take hard preaching because they had not done much all week long
3. the preaching of God’s Word is appropriate for every age
1. Paul’s advice to Timothy was, "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine" - II Timothy 4:2
2. the ungodly will claim this is no longer appropriate
3. if preaching that deals with the sin and hypocrisy is inappropriate today then the Lord Jesus would not be accepted in many churches today
4. He preached sermons of love, kindness, and forgiveness, but He also preached some of the most blistering sermons ever
5. Jesus even got into name calling - Matthew 23:29
4. any preacher ought to be concerned if he is popular with the lost world
1. more than likely, the reason he is so popular with lost people is because he tells them what they want to hear instead of what they NEED to hear - John 15:18
2. there is no way that we can please everyone, we need to please the One who is most important
5. in our text the Lord called the scribes and Pharisees hypocrites
1. they had built tombs for the prophets to honor them and decorated the graves of the righteous - 29
2. some would ask, "what is wrong with that" - there is nothing wrong with that
3. the problem was that while the prophets and righteous ones lived on earth, they despised them
4. it has been this way through the ages
5. some of the men we hold in high esteem today, like, Spurgeon, Moody, Torrey, and Sunday, were despised when they were alive
6. the Lord knew that some of the very religious rulers who were honoring the prophets, would soon nail Him to a cross and crucify Him
1. this is why Jesus blistered them, they were hypocrites
2. He wanted them to know that He knew what they were
3. He made it crystal clear how they stood in God’s eyes, and not a man there left scratching his head and asking what Jesus meant
4. they may not have liked what He had to say, but they understood exactly what He was saying
7. the white sepulchers gave the appearance that the one buried was pure and holy, but actually the person buried there may have lived a very wicked life
1. we might liken the situation to that of a girl who lives a very promiscuous life, but on her wedding day, wears a white wedding dress
2. a white wedding dress that is supposed to symbolize purity
3. the outward whiteness of the tombs gave the impression of purity and cleanness, but it was in utter contrast to the contents of the grave itself - 27
4. this gives us some idea how the Lord sees hypocrisy - 28
1. how revolting and disgusting it would be to look into the grave of a partially decayed human body
2. the sight and the stench would be horrible
5. no matter how frequently they whitewashed the tombs on the outside, they still contained only corruption on the inside
6. the attractive outward appearance did not change the corrupt contents
2. we may be clean on the inside by placing emphasis on the inside
1. most people live their lives trying to make sure the outside looks great, but they neglect the inside
1. our society places tremendous emphasis on OUTWARD APPEARANCES
2. people want expensive houses, cars, clothes, etc
3. they want to appear to have want they think society approves of at that time
4. the Lord despised that style of living, He branded it for what it was--hypocritical - Matthew 23:27
2. Peter deals with the inward man when he speaks to Christian housewives who want to win their lost husband to Christ - I Peter 3:1-4
1. many more husbands would be saved today if Christian housewives would spend as much time fixing up on the inside as they do the outside
2. when the inside is beautiful, the outside will also be beautiful
3. we can be clean on the inside by being cautious of the outside - Matthew 23:27
1. notice the words, "appear beautiful"
1. isn’t that where most folks live today, they are very careful to be what they think others want them to be
2. it is no wonder so many people are depressed
3. instead of being as careful for the inside as they are for the outside, they have built their lives on APPEARANCES only
4. they know they are hollow and empty on the inside
5. Jesus said they are like "whited sepulchres"
6. appearances can not always be trusted
2. this is why it is always smart to be cautious when trying to select a mate
1. so many marriages do not make it because the people involved worked so hard at making a good appearance they never really got to know each other
2. while they were dating they were polite and kind to each other, but they were not really a kind person
3. if you really want to know what a person is, listen to the way they talk to parents, brothers and sisters
3. a person can be deceived by false appearances
4. as Christians we must be cautious, we must not do what the world is doing
1. the lost world is living to make an impression
2. God wants us to live by placing the emphasis on the inward man
3. we must work at being controlled by the Holy Spirit
5. Jesus’ figure of speech conveyed a very strong message to the people He spoke to
1. no symbol of hypocrisy could have been stronger than that of graves, outwardly whitewashed and spotlessly clean, but full of corruption within
2. As Jesus looked upon those scribes and Pharisees, that was exactly how He saw them
3. He insisted that man’s religion was not to be merely an outward decoration, but was to be a life of Godly principle, of inward purity and outward testimony
6. our inward state must correspond to our outward show, because God hates hypocrisy