Hypocrisy and Civil Authority (Mark 12:13-17)

Would you agree or disagree with this statement? Nothing is more nauseating to contemporary youth than hypocrisy, and nothing more attractive than sincerity. … Young people hate our adult shams and subterfuges. They have a very sensitive nose with which they can smell the faintest odor of religious humbug from a considerable distance. (Stott, Between Two Worlds, 203). People hate hypocrisy. Often when asked why someone won’t go to church, they reply, “Because of all the hypocrites.” While we might bristle, there is some truth to their statement. Modern Christianity is marked by hypocrisy. And if we are honest, our own lives are often marked by this. If I am honest, my own life is marked by this.

I say I love God, but only obey when it is convenient or fits my thinking. I say I am a child of God, but my attitude is marked by ungodly attitudes. I say one thing and do another. I make excuses for this hypocrisy, but at its core, it is still hypocrisy. In our text today, Jesus addresses the hypocrisy that is found in all of us. And he does so using a circumstance in which most of us struggle with hypocrisy more than any other. The area of civil government and politics. This will be a challenging text. I ask that as we work through it, you keep and open heart, asking God where you need to change. All of us struggle here. So let’s work on it together.