What is a Hypocrite?
The definition of the Greek words hypocrite or hypocrisy has evolved over time, and now has a completely different meaning. Initially a hypocrite was someone who played a part, acted a part, or dissembled. Hypocrisy was the tool of actors, rhetoricians, and debaters in Ancient Greece. Specifically from rhetoric and debate, we can assign sides of an argument that a person must then take to his/her fullest capacity. We understand the side we take may not represent our true point of view; instead it’s merely a position in an argument that helps us to better understand the sides of an issue. In the modern sense, being a hypocrite is a disagreeable thing, and there are plenty of idioms that express when someone is acting in this manner. “The pot calling the kettle black,” is a classic one and “People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones,” is equally popular. Both represent the modern take on hypocrites in general. The hypocrite is someone who criticizes something that he also doe
In Matthewss account of the Ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, he documented some very piercing words from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ to the Religious Jews in Jerusalem. The entire Chapter 23 is a verbal exercise of condemnation and indignation. Why was the Lord Jesus Christ so angry? Why did He call these religious people hypocrites? What is a hypocrite? First we must define the word hypocrite. The English word hypocrite comes from the Greek word hupokrites, which means an actor under an assumed character (a stage player); essentially a person playing a role; pretending. In those days people would gather at the theaters to watch and listen to actors (called hypocrites) perform various staged plays or stories for their audiences. It was a very popular form of entertainment for the people of that day. Therefore, when the Lord Jesus Christ began calling the religious leaders by this term, everyone knew exactly what He meant and that it was not a complement. A hypocrite in classica
a. Some are accused of hypocrisy when their walk does not measure up to their talk b. But that may be an indication of weakness, not hypocrisy per se c. “Hypocrite” comes from the Greek “hupokrites (hoop-ok-ree-tace’), meaning an actor under an assumed character; e.g., stage-player (Strong’s) d. A true hypocrite is one who pretends to be something he or she is not, and really has no intention of becoming! 2. Jesus addressed hypocrites in His day, in particular some scribes and Pharisees… a. They were among the more religiously conservative of that time b. Yet some of the harshest words Jesus ever spoke were directed toward them c. In just one speech, he called them… 1) Hypocrites (seven times) – Mt 23:13-15,23,25,27,29 2) Fools (twice) and blind guides (five times) – Mt 23:16-17,19, 24,26 3) Serpents, brood of vipers (once) – Mt 23:33 3. Despite such strong condemnation, one can learn from hypocrites… a. You can heed their teaching, when it comes from God’s word Mt 23:1-3 1) Don’
A hypocrite is someone who claims to have a belief, but then acts or speaks in ways that contradict that belief – ways uncharacteristic of people who hold the belief they do. Now, what’s a religion? That’s a bit tougher. It’s hard to categorize religions as different from cultures and philosophies, but they usually do contain elements of both. A religion is a system of beliefs about supernatural claims, often accompanied by sacred texts and stories. Among other things, all religions have these three things in common: they make definite claims about the world, they call themselves the “only way” (with the exception, perhaps, of Buddhism), and they involve the unproven, that is, the supernatural. Supernatural claims are unverified and usually constructed to be unverifiable – if they were verified and verifiable, they wouldn’t be supernatural, they would be naturalistic and scientific. Religious people must ascribe to their religion’s basic tenets, not necessarily perfectly, but mostly. F
a hypocrite is someone who claims they posses certain traits, or critisize people who don’t have them, but then they don’t have them themse;ves. for example: “Kelly scolded me for picking flowers out of someones garden, but a week later, she told me about the apple she took from her neighbor’s tree.” in this sentence, Kelly is the hypocrite.
