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Hypocrites Killed Jesus
February 22, 2025

Think about when you were a little child. Whatever you were told you tended to believe because you didn’t have the filter you have today as an adult. Because of the experiences of our individual lives, some of us have very thick filters today because so early on we faced so many lies and difficult situations. Others of us as adults have much thinner filters because growing up, we didn’t face many lies or difficult situations. All of us have to some degree learned through life that what we see or hear isn’t always the reality of what is happening.

As little children, most of us lived our lives under the direction of our family without much regard to what was happening around us. All we knew was life and we couldn’t comprehend anything other than life until somebody or something close to us in our life died. Maybe death came to a grandparent or a pet. That experience with death made us come face to face with the reality that there is finality to life as we know it. Our age and maturity would determine how well we comprehended that finality at that time. What we knew was shaken by something we didn’t fully understand.

As years would pass, we would go from the small child at home focused on play and early learning provided by parents to the more formal learning of school. Most of us would attend public or private school where we would be interacting with other children close to our age. Through school we would find we did better at certain subjects than others, and we also found out that among the many other children of our class and school were children with different personalities and character. Before going to school, all we would know as children were our siblings, cousins, neighbors, and kids we met at places like church, and all those interactions were much more controlled and monitored by our parents. School was a new environment where throughout the school day, parents were not present.

I still remember what my mom would tell my sister and me as we would leave for school. She would tell us not to expect all the teacher’s attention because our teacher had many more students than just us. As a little child, I heard what my mother was telling me, but I had no basis to understand that some children would purposely try to monopolize the attention of the teacher. In my mind, if my mother was telling me to not expect all my teacher’s attention, that all the other students would think exactly the same way. After a few years of school, it would come as a surprise to me when I found out that some of my classmates would be nice to me when interacting with me but when I wasn’t around, they would sometimes say some mean things about me. All these things I learned through my experiences at school. All that I experienced at school was a microcosm of the world in which we live. If there is anything you might not like about public education, whatever you don’t like about it, exists in our society and is very real. Some parents might choose to shield their children from society by homeschooling their children, but what I have come to understand as an adult is everything I experienced as a student in school, I have experienced as an adult in life. Learning about hypocrisy when I was a child helped me to deal with it better when I became an adult.

I was blessed to grow up in a family where my parents cared for me and my sister very much. What my parents did was designed to benefit the family and by extension my sister and me. I recognize not everyone had the same experience with their parents, but my mom and dad were focused on the family and not an individual pursuit unrelated to the family. They wanted the very best for the family even when I as a child didn’t understand what that was. Growing up within a family that cares for the family and wants the best for its own is different than what I came to experience later in the world of work, where people would do just about anything to get ahead and to look better than other workers, and that included having other workers tell me one thing to my face and then go behind my back or act hypocritically.

Even among the religious elites of today we can see similar patterns. In my home state of Texas there have been multiple mega church pastors who have recently been canned by their churches because current and past actions have come to light, and some of those actions are salacious even by today’s standards. When we think of the religious elite, we tend to think of somebody who would be quick to pray for you, not somebody who would sexually prey on other church members and youths.

There is no place within faith for hypocrisy, and sadly some make the mistake and allow it. Hypocrisy is not something new to religion today. Hypocrisy as part of religion was the reality during the time of Jesus. Take for example when Jesus and the disciples were wandering through a crop field on the Sabbath. The disciples were hungry and as they walked, they picked from the crop to eat, and the Pharisees were quick to condemn Jesus and the disciples for this. Jesus responded by giving the example of David and the shewbread, and even how priests work on the Sabbath. He explained to them that although they knew the law of God, they didn’t understand mercy and why in the Bible it is recorded that God prefers mercy over sacrifice. Then, immediately after this Jesus went into the synagogue and healed a man of his withered hand. The Pharisees who very well knew the commandment of not killing a person from that day sought how they might destroy Jesus.

Matthew 12:1-14
At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day. But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue: And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him. And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other. Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.

Today we might look at the concept of destroying somebody and think in terms of social media, where somebody gets lit up in a negative way on differing social media platforms so that people do not like or trust them. Even the recent Superbowl half-time show was seen by many as an attempt by the headlining performer to disrespect a rival in the music industry. When the Pharisees sought to destroy Jesus, they were not trying to kill his reputation. They wanted Jesus dead, and that is clear from an account when the Pharisees and chief priests met.

John 11:45-53
Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him. But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done. Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.

The Pharisees were hypocrites because they did what they told others not to do, and when they would condemn others for doing what they should not do, they would give themselves a free pass to do the same. Jesus told the disciples to do what the Pharisees taught, but not to do what they did. He explained they were the champions of making things more complicated and difficult than what was needed for others and would do nothing to help. He showed how they liked all the attention and how instead we should seek to be a servant.

Jesus then listed several woes against the Pharisees and with each of these woes, he called them hypocrites. The first woe of hypocrisy was how they cut off access to the Kingdom of God. The next woe of hypocrisy came from how the Pharisees seized control of widow’s homes through what was presented as an act of religious devotion. Another woe of hypocrisy stemmed from how the Pharisees sought to make people followers of their religious practices and when the person became a follower, they condemned the person through their beliefs. Yet another woe came through their incorrect interpretation of scripture which resulted in the people having the wrong priorities. With woes still coming, another woe of hypocrisy came from rigid adherence to the law while ignoring what the law intended as a result, justice, mercy, and faith.

The Pharisees were lambasted as hypocrites because they focused on their outward appearance, not on the inner character of who they really were when it was just them with God as their witness. They thought how sincere they appeared to others was of greater importance than how they sought to extort from others so they could live a great life. Jesus explained that the hypocrisy of the Pharisees was so complete that they appeared to be righteous to other people while they really were horrible sinners. He used history to show how that while the Pharisees claimed to be better than previous generations, they were the descendants of people who killed the prophets, and had they been alive at that earlier time, they would have done exactly the same.

Matthew 23:1-36
Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

The Pharisees were hypocrites who plotted to kill Jesus and during his earthly ministry, Jesus would be confronted by the scribes and Pharisees who would try and challenge him on any point they thought they could win. When they asked Jesus why his disciples didn’t complete ceremonial handwashing, Jesus asked why they didn’t honor their mother and father, and how through their hypocritical tradition they nullified the commandments of God.

Matthew 15:1-14
Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

Jesus warned the disciples of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees using the example of leaven. Leavening agents are used to puff up bread. Most breads that we eat have some type of leaven in them. Without leaven, bread will be pretty flat and crunchier, and with leaven, bread tends to be puffy and lighter to eat. In using the example of leaven, Jesus was telling them not to become hypocritical like the Pharisees, who focused on how they outwardly appeared instead of focusing on who they truly were. Jesus also told the disciples that everything eventually comes to light and not to fear those like the Pharisees who could use their religious authority to bring them harm.

Luke 12:1-7
In the meantime, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.

Jesus warned against using acts of charity as a basis to look good before other people and called that practice hypocrisy. He taught that whenever the disciples did a charitable act, they were to do it secretly with God as their witness, because God does see everything that we do secretly, and when we do good with no expectation of public reward, God can reward us.

Matthew 6:1-6
Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

Jesus warned to not be entrapped by the hypocrisy that comes from trying to serve two masters. There is no such thing as equally serving God and anything else. We avoid hypocrisy by actively seeking first the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness.

Matthew 6:24-34
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek: for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

If we value human life more than eternal life in the Kingdom of God, Jesus tells us we will lose out on life, and that means not only will we lose our human life, but we will also lose out on eternal life to come. Jesus was showing that it is hypocrisy to seek first the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness and then try and distance ourselves from the message of the Bible because society doesn’t like what the Bible teaches.

Mark 8:34-38
And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

Knowing what is taught in the Bible gives us a wealth of knowledge that spiritually benefits others as well as ourselves, but what that knowledge does not give us is the right or responsibility to judge others. Jesus showed it is hypocritical for us to look at the sins of others because when we are looking at the sins of others, we are not looking at the sins in our own life, and Jesus tells us to be focused on the sins in our own life.

Matthew 7:1-5
Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

We might think we have come to the point where sin is no longer part of our life, but sin is always part of our life. John tells us that if we think we have no sin, the truth is not in us.

1 John 1:8-10
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

What changes for us about sin is not that we are free from sin, but that through Jesus Christ we are free from the penalty of sin, eternal death. Knowing we are free of the penalty of sin does not mean we surrender to sin. We could read further in First John and see that we do not practice sin, meaning we don’t give in to sin, and we spiritually fight against sin each and every day. John also shows we also focus on loving others as ourselves. We do all of this and must remember that even though we are of the household of faith, not everyone is. Some will seek our destruction even though they appear outwardly righteous. What is the result of what they do? Does it lead to good or something bad? People who are righteous do righteous things and people who are not righteous do not do righteous things.

Matthew 7:15-20
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

We cannot claim to be righteous and do things that are not righteous and then find fault with others who are not righteous. When we act with hypocritical judgment, we bring God’s judgment upon ourselves.

Romans 2:1-11
Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God.

Paul warned Timothy of the end time and of those who would claim to be god-fearing, but who would live their lives as anything but god-fearing. Living in the end time, we know we need not judge them for their hypocrisy, and we need to be careful to not be caught up in it. If somebody has no problem acting hypocritical with God, they will have no problem acting hypocritical with us. We are warned to stay away from people who claim to be God-fearing but who never pivot and pursue righteousness. These are the people who can learn and learn about the Bible, but they do not pursue righteousness. They may have tremendous Bible knowledge, but do not change what they do. We need to seek those who are also seeking first the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness.

2 Timothy 3:1-7
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Titus was warned that he would encounter two types of religious people, the pure and the defiled. Paul explained the pure will see things through the lens of purity and the defiled will see things through the lens of sin. The pure will first seek the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness, and the defiled will be just fine with sin. We know from First John that both will sin, but the pure will in the face of sin seek righteousness, and the defiled will see no reason to change. Both will know God allowed them to be made the way they were born. The pure will seek to become like God and the defiled will wait for God to become like them. We all know how that will end.

Titus 1:10-16
For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake. One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretans are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth. Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

We cannot have faith in isolation from every other part of our life. If we have faith, what we do will correlate to the faith we have. We will do those things which align to the faith we have, and we will not do those things that are opposed to the faith we have.

James 2:14-20
What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

Soon, the spring Holy Days will be upon us, including the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Paul told the Corinthians that they needed to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. As Christians, we are not to be hypocritical and phony, we are to be sincere and truthful.

1 Corinthians 5:1-8
It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife. And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Peter tells us to lay aside all malice, guile, envies, evil speaking, and hypocrisies so that we can spiritually grow. All of these, including hypocrisy, are incompatible with spiritual growth.

1 Peter 2:1-3
Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

Jesus was killed in a plot hatched by the religious elites of his time, the Pharisees and chief priests, and Jesus called them hypocrites. They had a form of religion which outwardly made them look good, but what they believed while based on the word of God, had no eternal benefit to them or to others. As hypocrites, they killed Jesus. We cannot be hypocrites. What we do must align to what we believe even when what we do is done in the privacy of our own homes. If we are hypocrites today, we need to understand that had we been alive in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus, we would have joined in with the Pharisees and chief priests when they plotted to put Jesus to death as hypocrites. It’s enough that Jesus died so that the price of our sins could be paid. We cannot live as hypocrites today and must live our lives with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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