Is Tim Tebow a hypocrite? Jesus might think so.
In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew Chapter 6), Jesus instructs His followers that when they pray, they should not be like the hypocritical Pharisees of the time, who prayed out in the open because they were concerned about their public image. Instead, Jesus says that when His followers pray, they should do so privately, behind closed doors. Do this, He says, and “your Father will reward you openly.” Matthew 6:5-6
New Living Translation: “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” Matthew 6:5-6
King James Version: “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” Matthew 6:5 and 6
Unlike hypocrites, the sincere believer does not put himself on display when he prays. A Christian prays privately, for he understands that his relationship with God is personal, not public.
It’s personal, yes, but not private in the sense of excluding the public. I think the motive is the defining thing here. The Pharisee prays in public in order to be seen, not for any other reason. And it’s evident in Jesus’s other remarks about the Pharisees that their hypocrisy was systemic. But Jesus couldn’t have meant the remark as a wholesale condemnation of public prayer. He prayed in public himself.