Mark 12:40 Commentary and Bible Study

Two more marks of hypocrisy are given by the Lord. ‘Which devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayers.’ The two seem to go together; certainly they are not put side-by-side by accident. The first is an act of extortion, taking advantage of those who are least able to defend themselves from the unscrupulous. How they did it is not stated, but the intention was to get their hands on the property of those who no longer had anyone to provide for them, and who therefore could least of all afford to be taken advantage. So the suffering that they caused was dismissed from the scribes’ minds. But at the same time, they were unwilling to forfeit their reputation, and so all of this was kept hidden. To cover it over, they were extra diligent in their religious activities, and made sure that this was noticed by others. It is the same evil that the Lord identifies in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:5). Prayer, which ought to be the highest of activities, has been dragged down to the dirt, and become a means to an evil end. Man’s ability to turn even good things into evil reveals a level of genius. That prayer goes nowhere. God refuses to hear it, because it is utter hypocrisy. But does the one praying the prayer even care about that? No, his eyes are on something much closer to hand. The praise of men is something he can get right now; the concealment of his extortion of the widow is something that he needs immediately. A long prayer will fool many, for their have no way of looking into his heart, and so they will be obliged to take his piety at face value. Does this prayer bring a reward? On the contrary, it is the cause of greater damnation. God hates hypocrisy in religion. Can we say that he hates it more than anything else? Maybe. The hypocrite has prayed and obtained his reward from men, but the ‘reward’ he gets from the Lord will more than make up for what he thought to steal from the Lord – eternal damnation!