"As He taught, Jesus said, 'Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.'" (Mark 12:38-39) He warns the crowd, "These men don't have your best interests at heart. They are looking out for their own interests. They are teachers of the law, not because they possess a great love for God's word, but because it gives them status in the community. They wear the long robes that mark them out as people of high society, people who don't have to do any manual labor. They want everyone they meet to make a big fuss over them. They enjoy all the benefits of their station in life, such as the best seats in the house of God and the places of honor at the banquets. They are exploiting their position and their power over you. They should be leading you as carefully and tenderly as a shepherd leads his flock, but instead they are using you for their own gain."
Jesus now makes a harsh accusation against these men, "They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely." (Mark 12:40) A rabbi could not be paid for teaching the word of God, but he was allowed to receive gifts. Some of the rabbis of Jesus' day were swindling the public by convincing them that supporting the rabbis through their gifts was the same as giving offerings to God. Elderly widows, and especially those suffering from dementia, were easy prey for a dishonest teacher. This kind of thing still goes on in our own day. Just last week on the national news there was a story about an elderly widow who had given everything she had to a religious organization. Her family was bringing suit against the organization, claiming it had taken advantage of her advanced age and her dwindling mental faculties. Jesus says there is an especially severe punishment for those who do such things. Our Lord, the Good Shepherd, will not look with favor on anyone who takes advantage of the weak. A good shepherd gives special care and attention to the weak of his flock, but so often in this fallen world we find wicked shepherds who exploit the weak.
God Himself has this to say about anyone who takes advantage of the weak, "Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do and they cry out to Me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless." (Exodus 22:22-24) God pronounces a curse upon anyone who defrauds the weak, "Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow." (Deuteronomy 27:19) James, the brother of the Lord Jesus, condemns the hypocrisy and cruelty he has seen among those who claim to be godly, saying, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." (James 1:27) In Jesus' day, and in our own day, many who should have been caring for the flock were polluted by the world, taking advantage of the weak for their own gain.
Jesus also points out that the teachers of the law enjoy making long public prayers, prayers made for the purpose of being heard by men and not by God. The gospel writer Matthew tells us that at one point in His ministry Jesus spoke this warning regarding prayer, "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full." (Matthew 6:5) Have you ever, while listening to someone pray aloud, gotten the feeling that they love the sound of their own voice? Have you ever had the impression that their words are intended mainly to impress their listeners? Jesus says, "If that is the reward they seek, then they have it. Their eloquent words bring them the respect of men. God, however, is not pleased with insincere prayer."
Jesus tells us the correct way to pray, "But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." (Matthew 6:6) The person who gets alone with God truly wants to hear from God. The person who prays in private is seeking help from God rather than seeking the admiration of his fellow man. The person who spends private time with God wants to grow in his relationship with God. This is the type of prayer that is pleasing to the Lord. There may be times when we are asked to pray publicly, such as when blessing food for example, and Jesus isn't criticizing such things. In the Bible we find Jesus saying a blessing while breaking bread. But those prayers are intended to be short and to the point; they are not meant to be used as an occasion to pray lengthy and showy prayers in order to be admired by the crowd.
The Lord knows our hearts. It's possible to fool our fellow man, but we can't fool God. He knows our every thought and intention. He will reward us accordingly. Therefore, we should have the attitude of David, who said while making his own sincere prayer of the Lord, "May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." (Psalm 19:14)
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