The Poison of Public Piety Text: Luke 20:45-47
Introduction: The Lust for Applause
We live in an age that is deeply confused about authority and honor. On the one hand, we have a revolutionary, leveling spirit that wants to tear down every hierarchy, dismantle every institution, and cancel every figure of authority. This spirit sees any claim to a "best seat" as an intolerable offense. On the other hand, and often in the very same people, we see a desperate craving for public approval, a lust for likes, and a frantic pursuit of celebrity status. We have traded long robes for verified checkmarks, but the disease of the heart is precisely the same.
Jesus, in His wisdom, does not fall into either ditch. He does not tell us to rip out the chief seats in the synagogues or to ban places of honor at banquets. The problem is not the existence of honor, but the inglorious and rapacious behavior of those who love it wrongly. The issue is not the seat, but the soul that sits in it. God Himself establishes authorities and stations of honor; to honor your father and mother is a commandment with a promise. The Bible requires that honor be given where it is due. But it absolutely forbids the kind of honor-seeking that has one eye perpetually on the grandstands.
In this short, sharp warning from our Lord, delivered in the hearing of all the people, He unmasks a particular kind of religious hypocrisy. This is not the hypocrisy of the gutter, but the hypocrisy of the seminary, the session, and the sanctuary. It is a warning against men who have mastered the outward forms of religion, who look impressive, sound impressive, and are impressive right up until you look at their bank statements and the trail of broken lives they leave behind them. Jesus pulls back the curtain on a piety that is entirely for public consumption, revealing the rot and ruin underneath. This is a warning we must take with the utmost seriousness, because the same spiritual bacteria that infected the scribes thrives just as well in the petri dish of our own hearts.
The Text
And while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples, “Beware of the scribes, who want to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces, and best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”
(Luke 20:45-47 LSB)
The Public Warning (v. 45)
We begin with the setting. Jesus is not whispering this to His inner circle. He is speaking publicly, for all to hear.
"And while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples," (Luke 20:45 LSB)
This is a public rebuke. The sins He is about to describe are public sins, and so the warning must be public as well. Jesus is not engaging in gossip or slander; He is a prophet declaring the truth in the open. He addresses His disciples, but it is for the benefit of the entire crowd. He is teaching His followers what to look out for, what kind of leadership to reject. This is spiritual discernment 101. He is training their noses to detect the stench of sanctimony.
There is a time for private correction, as Matthew 18 makes clear. But when leaders are publicly leading people astray, when their hypocrisy is a public spectacle, then the warning must be just as public. This is not about being mean; it is about being faithful. A shepherd who will not shout a warning when he sees a wolf approaching the flock is no shepherd at all. He is just a hireling.
The Profile of a Hypocrite (v. 46)
Jesus then gives a four-fold description of the scribes' corrupted desires. It is a portrait of men who have fallen in love with the perks of religion instead of the God of religion.
"Beware of the scribes, who want to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces, and best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets," (Luke 20:46 LSB)
First, they "want to walk around in long robes." The robes themselves were not the problem. They were simply the academic or official attire of the day, signifying their station as teachers of the Law. The problem was their desire, their want. They enjoyed the costume. They loved the feeling of the robe, not because it represented a weighty responsibility before God, but because it garnered respect from men. It was a status symbol. They were in love with the uniform of their office, not the duties of it.
Second, they "love greetings in the marketplaces." The marketplace was the public square, the center of social life. To be greeted there with titles of respect, "Rabbi, Rabbi," was a public affirmation of their importance. Again, the greeting itself is not the sin. The sin is to love it. It is to feed your soul on the applause of men. They sought out these public places precisely to receive this validation. Their ego was a bucket with a hole in it, and they were constantly seeking for others to pour in affirmation to keep it full.
Third and fourth, they loved the "best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets." This is about rank and privilege. In the synagogue, the best seats were up front, facing the congregation, where everyone could see you. At a banquet, the place of honor was next to the host. These men jockeyed for position. They were obsessed with the org chart. Their concern was not with serving God or His people, but with securing their own status. As Jesus pointed out elsewhere, He didn't tell us to get rid of seats of honor; He taught us how to get into them through humility. But these men wanted a shortcut. They wanted the glory without the cross.
All four of these desires point to the same root sin: pride. It is the lust for human glory. They were pursuing the wrong kind of glory, the kind that comes from man, which is fleeting and ultimately worthless. The glory that comes from God is the only glory that matters, and it is given to the humble, not to those who scheme and angle for it.
The Predatory Piety (v. 47a)
Here Jesus moves from their pride to their plunder. The hypocrisy is not just a matter of attitude; it has victims.
"who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers." (Luke 20:47a LSB)
This phrase, "devour widows' houses," is brutal. This is not a metaphor for sharp business practices. This is theft, pure and simple. Widows in that society were among the most vulnerable. They often had little legal or financial recourse. These scribes, in their capacity as legal experts and trusted religious figures, would manage the estates of widows, and under the cover of their pious reputations, they would embezzle the funds. They would use legal trickery and their positions of trust to strip these helpless women of their homes and their livelihood.
This is the black heart of their sin. Their love for long robes and best seats was not just harmless vanity. It was the public relations campaign that enabled their private corruption. The outward show of piety was the anesthetic they used to numb the victim while they picked her pocket. This is the essence of what the Bible calls pietism: a great show of obeying religious standards, all the while giving way to gross impiety. It is to be liturgically scrupulous and financially crooked.
And how did they cover their tracks? "For appearance's sake offer long prayers." The long prayers were the smokescreen. The longer and more eloquent the prayer in the marketplace, the less likely anyone was to suspect that the man offering it was a thief. The prayer was not directed to God; it was a performance for the crowd. It was a tool of misdirection. The more they stole from widows, the longer they had to pray in public to maintain the facade. This is a profound warning. When you see a great deal of outward, showy piety, you are right to ask what it might be concealing.
The Divine Verdict (v. 47b)
Jesus concludes with a terrifying sentence. The judgment will not only be certain, it will be proportional.
"These will receive greater condemnation." (Luke 20:47b LSB)
All sin deserves condemnation. All who die apart from Christ will face the wrath of God. But Scripture is clear that there are degrees of punishment in hell, just as there are degrees of reward in heaven. And the hottest places will be reserved for those who used the name of God as a cloak for their wickedness. To sin is one thing. To sin while wearing a long robe, after making a long prayer, is another thing entirely.
Why greater condemnation? Because their sin was compounded by their knowledge. They were the teachers of the law; they knew better than anyone what God required, particularly concerning justice for the widow and the orphan. To whom much is given, much is required. Their sin was also compounded by their position. They were not just sinning for themselves; they were causing others to stumble and blaspheme the name of God. They were making a mockery of true religion. They were poisoning the wells. For this, their judgment will be especially severe.
Conclusion: The True Scribe
This passage forces us to look in the mirror. It is easy for us to see the scribes in the prosperity preacher on television or the corrupt politician who makes a show of his faith. And we should. But we must also see the potential for this same hypocrisy in our own hearts. Where do we crave the approval of men? Where do we perform our spiritual duties "for appearance's sake?" Where do we use the language of faith to get what we want?
The ultimate contrast to these scribes is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. They loved long robes; He was stripped of His garments and crucified naked. They loved greetings in the marketplace; He was mocked and reviled in the public square. They loved the best seats; He humbled Himself and took the form of a servant. They devoured widows' houses; He gave His own life as a ransom for many, including the destitute and the outcast.
They received greater condemnation because they deserved it. But on the cross, Jesus took upon Himself the condemnation that we all deserve. He was condemned in our place, so that in Him there might be "no condemnation" for those who are in Christ Jesus. He is the true teacher, the true Scribe instructed in the kingdom of heaven, who brings forth out of His treasure what is new and what is old.
Therefore, the call is to repent of all our scribal tendencies. We must repent of our love for human applause and our performative piety. We must flee to the one who was truly humble, truly righteous, and truly devout. We must ask God to deliver us from our own righteousness, which is a filthy robe, and to clothe us in the perfect righteousness of His Son. Only then can we learn to offer true prayer, seek true honor, and care for the truly vulnerable, not for appearance's sake, but for His sake alone.