What Sorrow Awaits

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 10th of August, 2025.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

Family, most believers aren’t too worried about dying.  Granted, we don’t usually want to hurry the event, mainly because we don’t want to leave our loved ones; we just aren’t ready to let go of this world.  But we’re not worried about what will come next, because we are confident our next life has been guaranteed by Jesus.

And I guess there are a lot of non-believers who aren’t worried about dying because they think nothing comes next – you just die and that’s the end of it.  They want to wring everything out of this life they can because there’ll be nothing to follow.  Oh, but what sorrow awaits them when they learn the truth, when Jesus separates them off to the left and says, “Get away from Me!  I never knew You!”

I’m sure you’ve heard someone say, at one time or another, that there are two types of people, and then go on and try to lump the whole world into those two types.  Well, I say there are at least two types of hypocrites.  First are those folks who only show us one side.  They hide the truth behind a façade.  Most of what they say and present to the public is a lie.  And when they practice their hypocrisy enough, they start to believe it themselves.  These are the wolves in sheep’s clothing, who sometimes try to hoodoo and scam gullible folk.  Generally speaking, when you see through their fake front, you dislike them and avoid them when possible.

The second group are those who we know are hypocrites, they know they are hypocrites, and we all accept it and even pay them to be hypocrites.  These are our actors, movie stars, TV stars, who pretend to be someone or something they are most certainly not, but do so for our entertainment so society says it’s all OK.  I always loved the commercial from years back of a man standing there in a white lab coat with a stethoscope slung around his neck and he says, “I’m not a real doctor, but I play one on TV”, and then proceeds to try to sell us some kind of health stuff.  He was an actor playing an actor.

Our word “hypocrite” come from the ancient Greek word that translates to “actor”.  In the times of the early church, “actors” who converted to Christianity were pretty much expected to change professions, mainly because of how much Jesus spoke out against hypocrisy.  Take for instance the day when Jesus had His fill of the religious leaders of His day.  Please listen and follow along to how Jesus spoke out against them, as recorded for us in the 23rd chapter of the Apostle Matthew’s Gospel account, verses 1 through 36, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible this morning…

1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to His disciples, 2 “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. 3 So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. 4 They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.

5 “Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. 6 And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. 7 They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’

8 “Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters. 9 And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your Father. 10 And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you must be a servant. 12 But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

13 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either. 14 What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! You shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, you will be severely punished.

15 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are!

16 “Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say that it means nothing to swear ‘by God’s Temple,’ but that it is binding to swear ‘by the gold in the Temple.’ 17 Blind fools! Which is more important — the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 And you say that to swear ‘by the altar’ is not binding, but to swear ‘by the gifts on the altar’ is binding. 19 How blind! For which is more important — the gift on the altar or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 When you swear ‘by the altar,’ you are swearing by it and by everything on it. 21 And when you swear ‘by the Temple,’ you are swearing by it and by God, who lives in it. 22 And when you swear ‘by heaven,’ you are swearing by the throne of God and by God, who sits on the throne.

23 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law — justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. 24 Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!

25 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy — full of greed and self-indulgence! 26 You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too.

27 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs — beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. 28 Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.

29 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed, and you decorate the monuments of the godly people your ancestors destroyed. 30 Then you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would never have joined them in killing the prophets.’

31 “But in saying that, you testify against yourselves that you are indeed the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Go ahead and finish what your ancestors started. 33 Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?

34 “Therefore, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers of religious law. But you will kill some by crucifixion, and you will flog others with whips in your synagogues, chasing them from city to city. 35 As a result, you will be held responsible for the murder of all godly people of all time — from the murder of righteous Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you killed in the Temple between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 I tell you the truth, this judgment will fall on this very generation.”

--Matthew 23:1-36 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, thank You for making sure that we would still have Your Son’s words to study and live by even after all these many years.  You inspired the men and women who authored the books of our Holy Bible.  But with all the challenges in life, we sometimes struggle to make the effort to spend more time reading their works, Your words.  It just seems like we’re always too busy with life to make the time for this.  Please forgive us our failures, Father.  Help us make the time to study our bible so we will be more confident sharing Your word, and Your Son, with others so that they too might find salvation through Jesus.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better grasp the message You have for us this day.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, our worship, and our service.  And please keep us healthy and safe through these trying times.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

I wish I knew the originator of this little story.  While trying to deliver a lesson, a rather pompous-looking deacon was endeavoring to impress upon a class of boys the importance of living the Christian life.  “Why do people call me a Christian?”, the man asked.  After a somewhat awkward silence, one youngster said, “Maybe it's because they don't know you.”

Mark Twain once quipped, “We're all like the moon - we have a dark side we don't want anyone to see.”

And then there was an article in a 1992 issue of the little Daily Bread periodical that asked, “Have you checked the labels on your grocery items lately?  You may be getting less than you thought.  According to U.S. News & World Report, some manufacturers are selling us the same size packages we are accustomed to, but they are putting less of the product in the box.  For example, a box of well-known detergent that once held 61 ounces now contains only 55. Same size box, less soap.”

Sound familiar?  They noticed this back in 1992.  Today, we call it shrinkflation – the price may have stayed the same, or gone up some, but the quantity we receive has lessened, sometimes dramatically.

The article continued, “How something is wrapped doesn't always show us what's on the inside. That's true with people as well. We can wrap ourselves up in the same packaging every day -- nice clothes, big smile, friendly demeanor -- yet still be less than what we appear to be.”  We have a word for this – Jesus spoke it often: hypocrite.

There’s an old expression that you can’t tell a book by its cover, but that is exactly what a hypocrite expects us to do.  They want us to see the cover they present us as being their true make-up.  Be wary of these.

Thinking about our scripture reading, we’re probably more familiar with Jesus saying, “Woe to you” when berating the Pharisees.  But I really like how the New Living Translation puts it: “What sorrow awaits you”.  Jesus knew that the Pharisees – the hypocrites – that He was addressing and describing in this passage would never accept Him as Lord.  They condemned themselves by their actions and disbelief.  He knew what fate, what great sorrow awaited them.  And family, great sorrow also awaits all who refuse to follow Jesus.

All that Jesus accused the Pharisees of had less to do with obedience to the Law handed down by Moses as it did with obeying God’s intent.  They may have followed the letter of the Law, and forced others to do so, too, but they miserably misunderstood the intent behind God’s words in the Law.  Jesus tried to remind them of what they already knew.  God, through His prophet Hosea, has told us what He wants of us, as Hosea notes in the 6th verse of the 6th chapter of his book of prophecy, when God says…

6 I want you to show mercy,

not offer sacrifices.

I want you to know Me

more than I want burnt offerings.

--Hosea 6:6 (NLT)

And our heavenly Father reiterated this when He spoke through His prophet Micah, who announced God’s words in the 8th verse of the 6th chapter of his book of prophecy…

8 No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,

and this is what He requires of you:

to do what is right, to love mercy,

and to walk humbly with your God.

--Micah 6:8 (NLT)

Do what is right – be righteous.  Love mercy, show mercy - have mercy on others and forgive them their slights and offences.  Walk humbly with God – be humble, be honest with ourselves and with others.  If we know God, and understand His intent for our lives, we will follow these simple instructions.  But oh what sorrow awaits those that fail.

Be wary of hypocrites.  Trust in the Lord and follow Him.  And all our sorrows will end with our last breath.  For God’s wonderful rewards await us.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for giving us the faith to believe in and follow Your Son Jesus as our Lord and Master.  You gave us the choice to accept Jesus or refuse Him.  We chose acceptance.  Father, we know that we don’t always do what is right or show mercy.  But we do try to know You better, to build a closer relationship with You.  Remind us, Father, of what You expect of us.  Remove our moments of hesitation and stubbornness, please God, and forgive us those times we fail to live and behave righteously.  Please help us reach out to others and share with them what Jesus said and did and taught.  Help us lead them to Jesus so they too may be saved. 

Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith, trying to make us his own.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what comes our way.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, thank You for telling it like it is.  You pointed out the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees, and by how You described them, we can see them in some of our leaders and others today.  Please forgive us, Lord, when we fail to heed Your words of warning.  We know it disappoints You when we don’t do as You command and instruct.  Please help us be more like You in how we live and behave.  Help us serve You by telling more people all about You and what You taught.  Help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing the Gospel message, showing Your love through our love.  Give us the words to say, show us the deeds to do to lead the lost to You.

Holy Spirit, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  All this we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.