Sermon: Two Pharisees, Two Decisions: A Pharisee at the Market Place

The year is held up to the light of God’s goodness and faithfulness, with Jesus named the true Good Shepherd who has led through green pastures, still waters, right paths, and shadowed valleys. From that place of gratitude, attention turns to the quiet engine of a life: daily decisions. While millions of small choices are largely automatic, a tiny fraction of big decisions shape the rest. These are the places of growth, sorrow, joy, and formation—where God most pointedly walks with his people.

Using a Pharisee’s public devotion as a lens, three clarifying directions emerge for decision-making. First, know the heart of God, not merely the words on the page. Jesus affirms the Pharisees’ teaching because it comes from the law, yet critiques how they lose the “why” behind obedience. Scripture rarely hands out direct answers for specific modern choices, but it reveals God’s character and principles that can guide every choice. Truth-telling must become truth-doing.

Second, know what to build: lift burdens rather than load them. Jesus came as the Lamb who takes away sin. When religiosity sits at the center, the grace of God quickly fades. Decisions that form a community should help, heal, and strengthen the body—comradeship forged in hardship, not performance-driven compliance.

Third, know what to seek: the Father’s reward in secret rather than public recognition. The Pharisees loved titles, seats, banners, and the gaze of crowds. A recognition culture, supercharged by social media, tempts the soul to live on visible metrics. Jesus redirects desire toward the unseen pleasure of the Father, teaching that giving, serving, and praying in secret receive heaven’s reward.

The gathering is invited into a year-end examen: recall choices that honored God’s heart and feel joy; name choices made from empty religiosity or the hunger for applause and feel regret—but do not stay there. In grace, regret becomes a doorway to correction and repentance. Communion anchors identity again in Christ’s body and blood—truth to return to, love to live from, and promises to carry into the new year. With blessing, the community is sent to decide for the sake of the kingdom, confident that goodness and mercy will follow.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Big decisions steer countless small choices These few choices set direction, establish priorities, and shape habits that carry the rest of life along. Attending to them with God clarifies what truly matters and frees the heart from constant reactivity. Formation happens where commitments are made, not merely where impulses occur. Choose the few well, and the many will follow. [06:47]
• 2. Seek God’s heart, not proof-texts Scripture is not a vending machine of answers but a revelation of who God is. When the “why” of God’s commands is forgotten, obedience shrinks into performance. The Bible’s principles can govern choices it never explicitly names, if the heart of the Lord guides application. Truth-telling becomes truth-doing when love fulfills the law. [12:49]
• 3. Use freedom to build others Christ carries burdens; his people are called to lift, not load. Decisions made in a graceless frame fracture communities and harden hearts, even when they look “correct.” Grace does not remove holiness; it empowers it by restoring the fallen and strengthening the weak. Choose the path that repairs, restores, and unites. [14:20]
• 4. Crave God’s reward, not applause The hunger to be seen is subtle and relentless, especially in a metrics-driven culture. Public recognition can become its own reward and its own prison. Jesus calls for secret faithfulness that lives before the Father’s eyes. Trade visibility for intimacy, and applause for the pleasure of God. [26:56]
• 5. Let regret become repentance Regret is a God-given signal, not a life sentence. When carried to Jesus, it becomes correction, wisdom, and renewed obedience. The enemy weaponizes regret to stall the soul; the Spirit converts it into holy resolve. Move forward in grace, learning without lingering in shame. [32:35]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [01:16] - Looking back: God the Good Shepherd
• [03:34] - How many decisions we make
• [04:28] - Small, medium, and big choices
• [07:34] - A Pharisee’s public devotions
• [08:40] - Lesson 1: Know God’s heart
• [12:17] - Principles for modern decisions
• [13:10] - Lesson 2: Build, don’t burden
• [14:34] - When religiosity crowds out grace
• [21:25] - Lesson 3: Seen by others vs. God
• [25:07] - Recognition culture and the soul
• [26:56] - Give in secret; reward from God
• [28:29] - Year-end examen: joy and regret
• [39:50] - Communion: anchored in His promises
• [43:02] - Benediction for the new year

Bible reading

- Matthew 23:1-12

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others. But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Observation questions

1. In Matthew 23:2-3, what two instructions does Jesus give about the Pharisees’ teaching and their way of living?
2. In Matthew 23:4, what picture does Jesus use to describe how the Pharisees treat people, and what does it show about their leadership?
3. In Matthew 23:5-7, list the kinds of public recognition they loved. How might those look in today’s culture?
4. Why does Jesus affirm what they teach yet warn people not to copy how they live? [09:20]

Interpretation questions

1. If Scripture often does not name our modern choices, what does it mean to seek God’s heart and his principles when deciding about things like money, media, career, and relationships? [12:49]
2. How does the call to “lift burdens, not load them” flow from the gospel of the Lamb who takes away sin? What would it change in the way a community corrects, restores, and helps? [14:20]
3. What does it practically look like to seek the Father’s reward in secret instead of living for public recognition and visible metrics? [26:56]
4. Why do a few “big decisions” steer so many smaller habits, and how does that shape spiritual formation across a year? [06:47]

Application questions

1. Name one “big decision” on your horizon in the next 90 days (work, relationships, calling, finances). How could choosing it with Jesus set the tone for hundreds of small habits that follow? [06:47]
2. Pick one area the Bible doesn’t name directly in your life right now (screen time, spending on hobbies, when to date, which job to take). What part of God’s heart and which biblical principle will guide you this week? How will you test your motive before acting? [12:17]
3. Think of a decision you must make that affects others (home, church, team). What would “moving a finger to help” look like in that choice? Where might religiosity be crowding out grace, and how can you rebuild instead of burden? [13:38]
4. Where are you tempted to do good in order to be seen (posts, titles, seats, shout-outs)? What one practice will you move into secrecy this month so you can seek the Father’s reward? [26:56]
5. Do a short examen: one decision from this year that brings joy because it matched Jesus’ values, and one that brings regret. What concrete step of correction or repentance will you take this week so regret becomes wisdom and obedience? [32:35]
6. What truth about Jesus’ body and blood do you need to carry into your next decision—your identity, your forgiveness, his promises? How will you remind yourself before you act (verse on phone, 2-minute prayer, quick check-in with a friend)? [39:50]