Mark 12 28 - Beware Hypocrisy
March 15th, 2026 “Beware Hypocrisy” Rev. Heather Jepsen
Mark 12:28-44
This Sunday we are continuing with our close study of the gospel of Mark. Last week we read stories of Jesus in the temple, teaching and challenging both the crowds and the religious elite. Those themes continue today.
It is the same setting, within the temple during holy week, and Jesus is in conversation and conflict with the Pharisees and their ilk. Where our reading picks up a scribe approaches Jesus asking, “which commandment is the greatest?” Unlike others who seek to trap Jesus in his words, this scribe has noticed the value of Jesus’ answers and approaches with genuine curiosity.
The answer Jesus gives is straight from the Old Testament, and is sometimes referred to as the schema as that’s the first word of the teaching in Hebrew, “hear”. Faithful Jews would repeat the first line of this confession every morning and evening as part of their spiritual practice, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Once again, we notice that Jesus is firmly planted in Jewish roots and is not trying to create a new religion.
Jesus follows the statement of faith with the two commandments, to love God and neighbor. Again, both of these come from the earliest days of the Jewish tradition. His answer is correct, as the scribe agrees with him. The scribe’s statement that love of God and neighbor is more important then burnt offerings and sacrifices is a criticism of the temple system which puts ritual ahead of right living. When Jesus hears the scribe he too offers a compliment, commending the man’s faith.
After this interaction Jesus starts to take the lead in the story. No longer in conversation with the religious leaders, he begins to just teach those gathered around him in the temple square. Jesus challenges the traditional idea that the Messiah will be the son of David, claiming that if David calls his successor Lord then he must be greater then David and not a son.
Jesus then points out the hypocritical behavior of the religious elite. They like to dress fancy, have places of honor with politicians and rich people, and to be powerful and recognized in public. Meanwhile they do no real ministry, devouring the poor instead of helping them. Jesus warns that hypocritical religious leaders will be judged with a special severity.
Then he moves to the treasury system and points out all the large offerings that are given to the church. Instead of praising those who give great sums, Jesus calls attention to a poor widow who puts in two small coins, giving all that she has. He praises the widow for her sacrificial giving while he simultaneously questions a church system that would allow a widow to be so poor in the first place.
As with our other readings this Lent, this section of Mark is a rich passage with lots of layers. I want to look at what these teachings would mean for the community that Mark is writing for before we look at their relevance for our own time and place.
There are two main themes here and the greater one is a critique of the religious system as a whole. Love of God and neighbor are more important than temple rituals and offerings. The scribes, those who study the laws of Judaism, are shown to be hypocrites as they amass personal wealth while ignoring the needs of the poor around them. And the temple itself is shown to be corrupt, gathering money from the wealthy and not supporting those who need help. A poor widow should be cared for by the religious community, and instead she is giving her last coins to the church.
Remember that the greatest stress for the community that Mark is writing for is the tension between the old Jewish systems and structures, and this new version of Judaism that is blossoming in Jesus. In all of these teachings, Jesus is pointing out that one can be a faithful Jew apart from the temple. It is a radical idea. But if the temple is corrupt and the leaders are hypocrites, then the community of Mark can make their way forward without them.
According to these teachings of Jesus, Mark’s community can fulfill the will of God without the temple practices. That is huge. Especially when we consider the historical location of the gospel of Mark, written shortly after the temple is destroyed by the Romans.
The teaching about David’s son is also significant to the Markan community. Remember who David is, not the shepherd boy, but the warrior king. The Messiah that was to come, the son of David, would be another warrior king. The belief in the Messiah as David’s son is a militaristic nationalistic promise.
Jesus challenges those interpretations. In fact, he seems to claim here that the Messiah is not the son of David, which is something for you to put in your back pocket and think about this week. Mark’s community knows that Jesus does not bring an earthly kingdom, as again he is writing after the Romans crack down on a Jewish military uprising. God does not seem to support military might, and so the Messiah of Mark distances himself from those ancient claims.
Much of Jesus’ teachings here in the temple during his final week, connect with our own world today. Like the followers of Jesus, we can see religious elite who choose to align themselves with the aristocracy. Those who wrap themselves in a cloak of faith, while they accumulate personal wealth and power, will be judged harshly. Jesus warns us to beware any time we see religion wrapping itself up with political power, as the root of that is always evil.
And we all know that the church has a tendency to seek its own needs before it helps the poor. As a national church, PCUSA enacted shameful cuts last year to our mission outreach in the name of saving the institutional structure. And our own congregation often struggles to find the balance between mission giving and budget woes. But let me tell you plainly, if you only have 2 pennies, please don’t give them to me. Let me give you some help instead.
The thing I really want to lean into today though, is this talk about the Messiah as David’s son. Constantly throughout the scriptures Jesus rejects violence and all of its trappings. And here, most profoundly, he rejects the title Son of David. Jesus does not seek after military power. Jesus does not honor and recognize nationalism. Jesus is not striving to enact or protect the nation of Israel. Jesus could care less about nation states.
Right now, our country is engaged in a war in the middle east. And there is a lot of talk in military channels and beyond that somehow this is a war sanctioned by God. In fact, there are reports that US commanders in every branch of our military have told their soldiers that the war with Iran is “anointed by Jesus” and will bring about his return to earth as part of Armageddon. That language is false and wrong. It is hypocritical and it is a lie. That language is dangerous and it has no place in the halls of power in our military or anywhere else.
Jesus never ever anoints a war, and war will not bring God to earth. It will only bring destruction down upon our own heads. Years of poor Biblical interpretation, a neglect for Jewish and Christian history, and the marrying of church and state have led us to this dangerous precipice, and it is wrong. I want to say clearly and unequivocally, you cannot support God and any empire. You cannot support Jesus, the crucified Lord, and the nationalistic structures of power and might that killed him. In rejecting the title Son of David, Jesus clearly rejects all militaristic, nationalistic ambitions.
My friends, just as in Jesus’ day our world and our church are ripe with hypocrisy. Jesus warns us to beware of those who seek to enrich themselves and churches that focus more on getting money then on taking care of the poor. Jesus warns against those who would marry the power of weapons and military might with the name of God. And Jesus tells us as clearly as he can, there are only two things that we must do.
Love God. Love Neighbor. Anything else is a lie. Amen.
