Compare Matthew 15:1-9; Mark 7:1-9; Luke 20:46; John 8:6
These are powerful verses against cultivating an outward appearance of righteousness without the inward attitudes that accompany the real thing.
I’ve always liked a German word that is the rough equivalent of English hypocrite: Scheinheiliger. A not very elegant but fairly literal translation is “appearance saint.”
The important thing is the inner reality, not the outward show.
Posted from San Diego, California