4 Sep 2015
Matthew 23:5
Matthew 23:5: “But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,”
In other words, the Pharisees were being extravagantly religious in order to show off. They were saying “See, look what good people we are! We are so much better than you. Why, we do X and Y and Z. We are amazing, and you people are pathetic.” It was all a show. They weren’t doing it to serve God; they were doing it so that other people would think that they were super special.
Needless to say, God was not at all impressed with this outward show. They were making a mockery of following God, and Jesus had nothing but bad things to say about them. (Incidentally, notice that Jesus did not live by Thumper’s motto. He did not believe in the idea that “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”.)
God wants us to obey Him from the heart. Jesus made a point of saying that when we do good deeds, we should do them in secret so that only God knows. When we do this, God will be honored and He will reward us. Doing things just to be seen by other people doesn’t honor God at all. The point is to honor the Lord, not to get honor from men! God is our audience. He is the one that we should be trying to please. “Look at me and be impressed at how great I am!” is not a Christian sentiment.