For and Against Love and Hypocrisy
All too often, followers of Jesus are known more for what they are against than what they are for. This is saddening but, unfortunately, not surprising when the soundtrack of our current culture seems to be a never-ending chorus of "for's" and much louder "against's." In the midst of this chaos, there are two important questions we need to be asking as followers of Jesus: What was Jesus “for?” AND What was Jesus "against?"
I’ve spent the last several months thinking about and studying these two questions, and I want to be really honest up front: when I started digging into this topic, I did so with very poor motives. I got lost in the rhetoric. I unwittingly set out to prove my preferences and views were right, and that differing views were wrong. If I could just find the right scripture, I could bolster my arguments and feel justified in my anger.
Anger does strange things to all of us.
It’s easy to fall into this trap—especially when the noise around us is so loud, when everyone seems to be shouting from the rooftops about what they’re against. It's easy to get swept up, to want to be right more than we want to be loving.
Something impressed on me both in seminary and in my years in ministry was the critical importance of studying scripture inductively rather than deductively. Here's the difference:
An inductive study of scripture means you start with the Bible, with an open heart and mind, and come to a conclusion based on the truths you find there. It’s about seeking God’s voice, not just confirming our own.
A deductive study, on the other hand, starts with a conclusion. You dig into scripture looking to confirm what you’ve already decided to be true, hunting for proof that God is on your side of the argument.
An inductive approach is about seeking God’s truth, while a deductive approach is about seeking your own proof.
And as best we can, I want us to seek God’s truth and not our own proof as we dig into this important topic. My prayer is that in this pursuit, we come to know Jesus more deeply and authentically, beyond our biases and preferences.
So let’s jump into this weeks topic… Love and hypocrisy
Love and Hypocrisy
Jesus was for love.
Jesus was against hypocrisy.
These statements aren’t revolutionary. Most of us would claim to be for love and against hypocrisy. But it’s so much easier to say than to live out, especially when the lines get blurred in our own hearts and actions.
We could get super philosophical and ask deep questions like:
What is love? (Baby, don’t hurt me)
What is hypocrisy?
But rather than going full Aristotle, let’s dive into what Jesus had to say about these two conflicting concepts and what we can learn from not only his words but his actions.
Jesus Was for Love
When asked what the greatest commandment was this is what Jesus said:
Matthew 22:37-40
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
This would have not been new information for the Jewish people and the religious leaders did not oppose him in this, they did however challenge the application of this verse. One such challenge came from a religious leader who asked this question:
Luke 10:29b
Who is my neighbor?
Basically— Who do I need to include and who can I exclude?
This man was trying to define the boundaries of love and justify his own behaviors.
The good Samaritan
Jesus’ response was the parable of the Good Samaritan—
In this parable a jewish man is brutally attacked and left on the side of the road to die. While he lays in the dirt dying a priest and later a levite come along - and go right past him without rendering aid. These two religious men would have been experts in the law and sacrifices respectively and would have been unlikely to ever get their “hands-dirty” for many reasons we won’t dig into, but the bottom line is this;
Their strict adherence to the technicalities of the law prevented them from loving their neighbor.
This man who desperately needed help fell outside of their “line” of neighborly love.
The unexpected hero of this story ends up being a Samaritan - a man who would have been despised by the Jewish people. This Samaritan man no doubt would have been raised to hate the Jews, and had almost certainly experienced discrimination first hand from them.
But when he sees the injured man he is filled with compassion, and he chooses to move his “line.” He crosses his line of prejudice, preference, pain and social acceptance to care for someone in need. He physically carries and transports the man to safety. He pays for his care which would have certainly caused him hardship, and he allows himself to become ceremonially unclean which would have forced him to separate himself for a time from his family and community. All of this, for a man he didn’t know - a man who certainly hated him and would have likely not rendered aid if the roles were reversed- and yet he did it anyway.
When Jesus had finished telling this parable the conversation continued:
Luke 10:36-37
“Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.
The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”
Love doesn’t look for the lines and technicalities. Love doesn’t ask, “Who’s in and who’s out?” Love sees the need and steps in.
This is the kind of love Jesus is for.
Now let’s look at something Jesus was against.. Hypocrisy
Against Hypocrisy
I can say with almost complete certainty that we are all against hypocrisy, and yet, we have all likely been hypocrites at many points in our lives. If we get really honest- - -
self righteousness feels great.
Making a point feels great.
Proving yourself right feels great.
And when we get truly lost in this train of thought we become dangerous and it certainly becomes a barrier to love.
We can see this barrier in the story of the good Samaritan, and we can also see it here:
A woman caught in adultery
While teaching a crowd a woman is brought to Jesus by a group of experts in the Jewish law- religious men who had made it their job to discredit and disgrace Jesus. The woman they brought had been caught in the act of adultery and they challenged Jesus saying this:
John 8:4-5
“Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”
We won’t get into it, but it’s important to know that these religious men are violating their own laws and practices- hypocritically trying to enforce the law while also breaking it.
They are willing to let a woman die a brutal death to prove their point.
This is what hypocracy does. It blinds us to the harm we are inflicting because our desire to be right has become more important than loving our neighbor.
Our desire to be superior has become more important than someone else’s humanity.
Our desire to make a point has made us forget that those we are hurting are made in the image of God.
Jesus response to them should penetrate into each of our hearts:
John 8:7
All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!
If you want to hold others accountable to the law, then let’s hold you accountable too. None of them were without sin, and they knew it. If any one of them had picked up and thrown a stone, they would have condemn themselves to the same fate they were prescribing to her.
If her actions condemn her to death, then so will theirs.
Her accusers had no legs to stand on, and slowly, starting with oldest they left one by one.
John 8:10-11
Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”
“No, Lord,” she said.
And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”
Like the man left for dead on the side of the road, this woman certainly believed that she was about to die- and yet…
The compassion of a neighbor, and the love of a savior gave them new life.
Hypocrisy indiscriminately harms in a multitude of ways.
Love indiscriminately heals, restores, and reaches beyond boundaries.
We need to stop measuring ourselves by whether we believe we have the right to pick up a stone, and instead measure by how quickly we drop it.
Where Do We See Ourselves?
If I take a step back and reflect on these stories, I often find myself in uncomfortable places. More often than I’d like to admit, I’m the one asking Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”—searching for the boundaries, the loopholes, the easy way out. I know the right answers, but sometimes I fail to live them out. In the story of the woman caught in adultery, I see my own moments of judgment and the times when I’ve let my desire to be right outweigh the call to be compassionate.
Maybe that’s why these stories are so challenging. They hold up a mirror, confronting us with our reluctance to love, our eagerness to prove ourselves, and our tendency to hide behind our beliefs instead of letting them transform our actions. Jesus isn’t just pointing out hypocrisy in others; He’s challenging us to examine our own hearts and actions.
This week, I want to encourage you to reflect honestly on where you see yourself in these stories. Are there times you’ve walked past someone in need because it was inconvenient or uncomfortable? Have you found yourself crossing to the other side of the road rather than stepping in to help? Have you been more focused on being right than on being loving?
Let’s strive to be people who are known for our love—not just in what we say but in what we do. Let’s be quick to drop the stones we’re tempted to pick up and lean into the messy, radical love that Jesus showed us.
A Final Thought
As we continue this series, my prayer is that we keep these two questions at the forefront: What was Jesus for? What was Jesus against? Let’s approach these questions with open hearts, seeking God’s truth rather than just validating our own perspectives. Let’s allow that truth to challenge us, change us, and draw us closer to Jesus.
Thank you for reading! Next week, we’ll explore another set of “For” and “Against” statements as we continue this journey together. I hope you’ll join me as we dig deeper and grow closer to Him. Until then, let’s strive to be people who truly live out what we say we’re for.
