Suggested Lesson Development

Attention Activity

As appropriate, use the following activity or one of your own to begin the lesson.

Display the two cups (see the “Preparation” section). Make sure class members see only the outside of each cup.

Show class members the inside of each cup.

Explain that Jesus compared the Pharisees to a cup that is clean outside but dirty inside (Matthew 23:25–26). The Pharisees paid a great deal of attention to outward ordinances and actions that would make them appear righteous, but they were not as concerned with actually being righteous in their hearts. For this Jesus referred to them as hypocrites. This lesson will discuss the Savior’s condemnation of hypocrites—people who try to appear righteous but who do not try to live righteously.

Scripture Discussion and Application

As you teach the following scripture passages, discuss what they teach about avoiding hypocrisy. Encourage class members to focus on identifying and correcting hypocrisy in their own lives, rather than on identifying it in others.

1. Mary anoints Jesus’ feet.

Read and discuss John 12:1–8. Explain that five days before his Crucifixion, Jesus spent an evening with his friends at Bethany. There Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, anointed the Savior’s feet with spikenard, a costly ointment (John 12:1–3). Elder James E. Talmage explained why she did this:

“To anoint the head of a guest with ordinary oil was to do him honor; to anoint his feet also was to show unusual and signal regard; but the anointing of head and feet with spikenard, and in such abundance, was an act of reverential homage rarely rendered even to kings. Mary’s act was an expression of adoration; it was the fragrant outwelling of a heart overflowing with worship and affection” (Jesus the Christ, 3rd ed. [1916], 512).

2. Jesus makes a triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

Read and discuss Matthew 21:1–11. Display the picture of Jesus’ triumphal entry. Explain that when Jesus returned to Jerusalem for the Passover, many people came to see him because they heard that he had raised Lazarus from the dead (John 12:17–18). As Jesus approached the city, he was greeted by a great multitude of people who spread their garments in his path and hailed him with palm branches, an honor usually reserved for kings and conquerors. This fulfilled a prophecy by Zechariah (Zechariah 9:9) and was a further witness that Jesus was the promised Messiah.

3. Jesus gives the parable of the two sons and the parable of the householder.

Read and discuss selected verses from Matthew 21:23–46.

4. The scribes and Pharisees try to trap Jesus.

Read and discuss selected verses from Matthew 22:15–46. Explain that these verses record three times when the Pharisees and Sadducees tried to trap Jesus into saying something that would allow them to discredit and condemn him.

5. Jesus condemns the sin of hypocrisy.

Read and discuss selected verses from Matthew 23.

Conclusion

Encourage class members to examine their lives for hypocrisy and seek to eliminate it. Testify that a sincere desire to serve and obey Jesus Christ, motivated by love for and faith in him, will bring us closer to him and increase our love and faith.