Jesus openly criticised the Pharisees long threads upon their garments. These long threads are religious symbols but the Pharisees would make them super long, impractically so, to show their great piety. They joined a long list of criticisms that Jesus accused the religious leaders of. There is a lot of symbols and cultural references in Matthew 23 but this one is quite clear and carries a very simple message – God doesn’t look at the outside but at our actions.
This passage about the religious hypocrites holds such a lot of symbols, but all of them have at their root the idea of pride. This is reflected in these games, each taking the ideas from a slightly different angle.
Inverted Mirror
All Ages
Any size group
No Setup time
Noisy game
Can be seated
This mirroring game takes two people facing each other, but they are going to copy each other’s actions in reverse: i.e. if one moves left, the other will move right. Have both people start by sitting down on chairs. As one person moves to become bigger/taller, the other moves to become smaller/shorter — generally this is if one person leads at first. Talk about how Jesus reversed the importance we place on people in this passage.
Hypocrites Hunt
All Ages
Any size group
Requires setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
Hide each letter of the word ‘hypocrites’ in your space, have the kid(s) find the letters and reconstruct the word. For younger kids, they can just find the letters and place them on the written word to fill it, older kids can try to work out what the word is from the letters.
Impractical clothing
All Ages
Any size group
Requires setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
The Pharisees made their tassels impractically long, this game ties into this. You will need to set up a series of obstacles the kids need to pass through and lay out some oversized clothing. The first time through the obstacles, the kid(s) can go without any extra clothes, but the second time round they have to choose one item to wear. Talk about how their new fashion choice hindered their movement.
Symbols Search
Ages 7+
Small group
Requires setup time
Noisy game
Can be seated
Walk around your space looking for symbols. Print out some symbols to ‘hide’ if you don’t think there are enough naturally around you. (road signs, power symbols, play, pause, a cross, a company logo, a flag etc).
Simon says
Under 7’s
Any size group
No Setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
This traditional game links so well to the idea of saying one thing and doing something different. The leader gives an instruction and the children perform it… but only if the leader uses the words ‘Simon says’ before the instruction… Get it wrong and you are out!
The idea of the servant being the greatest is one that Jesus revisits in many passages, this little split pin craft looks at how not only the servant is the greatest but often the authority is also the least. It’s based on Matthew 23:11-12 where Jesus says “The greatest among you will be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
Here are the images you need for the hero’s attributes linked to the Religious Hypocrites (Matthew 23).
Each hero set contains a high quality graphic of the character, a take home bible card and a colouring page.
The images are displayed small here, click on the image you wish to have, then save the image that loads.
(Please note : Some images have no watermark but are not copyright free, they are only intended for classroom use.)
This passage is chock-full of symbolism, cultural norms and is a potential minefield to understand as a modern adult, let alone as a child. It’s also pure teaching instead of a person-based narrative, so to make it more identifiable, I’ve focused on how one Pharisee may have heard it. The word ‘Hypocrite’ is quite an adult term, and it’s worth spending a few minutes explaining the meaning to the kids. If you have a very young group, then simply omit that one reference in the retelling below.
This retold version of the Bible passage is supplied for inspiration, feel free to omit or embellish to give it your personal voice.
Main Passage : Matthew 23:1-12
The Pharisee stood towards the back of the crowd, Jesus kind of fascinated him, but something about Jesus was dangerous. Now Jesus wasn’t happy and he wasn’t going to stay quiet.
“Just look at those men” said Jesus, staring at the small crowd of religious leaders. “Look at how they are dressed, with the tassels on their prayer shawls super long, as if that makes them holy?
The Pharisee looked at the long trailing threads that came from the four corners of his garment, they held the 5 religious knots. Pharisees would make the treads longer to show their importance, they didn’t need to be long, they got dirty easily, but it was sort of like a uniform, so people could see they were super religious.
Jesus was still talking, “They take the place of Moses in the community, making laws, reading scripture, telling you how God wants you to live your life. They share God’s truth but don’t act on it. Instead, they place the heavy load of keeping rules on God’s people and don’t do anything to help them. They love the place of honour at banquets, the front seats in the synagogues, they demand to be called ‘Rabbi’ by people.”
“Ha, Rabbi? — Don’t call these men ‘Rabbi’ or ‘teacher’ or even ‘instructor’ — you only have one teacher, the Messiah, you are all brothers and sisters the same. And you all have just one father, your Father in Heaven.”
The Pharisee felt like he’d been punched. God’s people needed religious leaders, his world had just been declared wrong. He’d spent years training to be something Jesus was against. How could he take this man seriously?
“Do you want to know who will be the greatest among you?” said Jesus, his voice calming. “The greatest will be the one who is a servant. Those who try to make themselves important will be made small, but those who are willing to serve even if it makes them look foolish, they will be praised and lifted high.”
The crowd quite liked that bit, but Jesus wasn’t finished with the religious leaders yet. Jesus wasn’t kind, he told them how they had got so many things wrong, he called them horrible names, he labelled them hypocrites. It was clear, whatever Jesus was planning, the Pharisees were going to lose if they didn’t stop it.
