In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 3 Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.
Have No Fear
4 “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Acknowledge Christ Before Men
8 “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, 9 but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. 10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 11 And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” Luke 12: 1-12 ESV
Luke 12: 1-12 Hypocrisy and Fear
So many thousands of people had gathered together that they were trampling one another - There was real power in their midst, and a lot of people today will turn out for someone who can address minor aches and pains, who can give them a program that will supposedly lead to a better life, but Jesus is actually healing people, raising people from the dead and feeding multitudes. I have gone to concerts as a young man where people pressed to get close to a stage, and the people at the rear have no idea what that accumulative force is on the people towards the front, and seemingly don't care. I remember concerts where even the mosh pit disappeared because the crowd became so densely packed at the front. You have someone so marvelous and caring like Jesus, and yet most that say they follow Him only do so for themselves, what they can gain. They want to be close to the miracles; they are frenzied to get up front where they can hear, because maybe, just maybe, He will say something that they like to hear or need. The Pharisees, the Zealots, they all notice this, and they take issue with Jesus, not because He heals people physically, but because He speaks of the inner circumcision of the heart, and He isn't using this powerful influence in the way they want. Instead of helping them reach their goals He condemns them for their apostate teaching. They would have no issue with Him turning these people into a mob and overthrowing Rome, that is what they hoped He would do.
36While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of light.” After Jesus had spoken these things, He went away and was hidden from them. 37Although Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still did not believe in Him. 38This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: “Lord, who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”… John 1: 36-38
1After this, Jesus crossed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias). 2 A large crowd followed Him because they saw the signs He was performing on the sick. 3Then Jesus went up on the mountain and sat down with His disciples.… John 6: 1-3
…24This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who has written them down. And we know that his testimony is true. 25 There are many more things that Jesus did. If all of them were written down, I suppose that not even the world itself would have space for the books that would be written. John 21: 24-25
Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy - We learned about this in the last chapter, about those who clean the outside of the cup, but leave the dirt on the inside, about those pristine white washed tombs, beautifully worked and chiseled, set in lovely gardens, but inside were dead men's bones. For the disciples growing up in Judaism the Pharisees were considered the religious elite, the most pious, the moralist of their time. Jesus says this is all for appearance, for the approval of men, and that they actually don't keep God's law in the way He intended. They don't worship Him in spirit and in truth.
…6he need not honor his father or mother with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you: 8‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.… Matthew 15: 6-8
Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed - Your outward reform will eventually be shone for what it is, outward only, not pious toward God, but for the approval of men. We sadly teach these same things in the work place today, how many times have you heard someone say: "you need to learn how to play the game. Know your audience. You need to say this, do that, wear this. You need to learn how to lie," or "if that bothers you, think about it like this, it's not lying it's just business." This should be cause for concern, how much have you sought the approval of men at the cost of God's Kingdom? What is God's actual standard? The tombs will be open, the designer suits will come off, the mindless flattery will fall away, and our titles here will mean nothing, what you think of me now means nothing. God sees behind the curtain.
27You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ 28But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.…
30And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to depart into hell. 31It has also been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, brings adultery upon her. And he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.… Matthew 5: 27-32
Or hidden that will not be known - No matter how good you are at concealing who you really are from men, it will all come out. King David went to great lengths to conceal his sin with Bathsheba, but in trying to cover up he just escalated the sin, eventually committing murder. He thought he could justify it by sending Uriah to the front of the battle, so then it wouldn't be directly by his own hand, but God didn't see it that way. David got Joab to help him, and Joab was not the best moral counselor when it comes to God's standard. Joab was a murderer too.
Whatever you whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops - Beware those closed door meetings. It's not that some things shouldn't be done or said in secret, but that they are not secret to God, and so we will be still be held accountable. Gossip, slander, attacking the integrity of someone of more integrity than us, "making an example" out of someone because it's in your power to do so is not "just business", no, God is present, and He says, "I will have mercy rather than sacrifice." When you talk about other people do you consider that they were made in the image of God, and do you put yourself in their place when they make a mistake? Would you want to be shown mercy, would you want to learn the lesson without ending your whole career? Is what that person did so ghastly that they are unsalvageable, does it capture and sum up the whole of their career? We talk as though we can see the intent of men's hearts, and yet when it comes to us we would like the same thing to be called a mistake when we do it, uncharacteristic of who we usually are. These conversations are not whispers to an omniscient and Holy God.
Do not fear those who kill the body - Everyone is going to die anyway, and the call of discipleship is even to the cross, but those that might kill us here can only go that far. They have no power in eternity, no authority over the soul, so let go of the fear of men, fear God instead.
…15For by this time I could have stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with a plague to wipe you off the earth. 16But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power to you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth. 17Still, you lord it over My people and do not allow them to go.… Exodus 9: 15-17
Fear Him Who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell - When Jesus stood before the Pharisees and Sadducees He told the truth of God and condemned their hypocrisy. When Jesus stood before Roman rulers He was silent until they spoke about their authority, and then He reminded them of Who was actually in control. Time and space is a temporal place, but God is eternal, infinite, and so will be His judgment against all ungodliness. It is a great relief for me to know that whatever you do to me God has ordained. I will condemn the wrong, but I will pray for the power to forgive because my perspective has been changed with my citizenship, it is eternal.
…9and he went back into the Praetorium. “Where are You from?” he asked. But Jesus gave no answer. 10So Pilate said to Him, “Do You refuse to speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You and authority to crucify You?” 11Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.”… John 19: 9-11
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies - They were cheap, insignificant in the eyes of everyone except the poor. It would rank similar to the off cuts, the less desirable pieces of meat at the butcher, the chicken feet. I learned to love that type of food, but mostly because it's cheap, and the little sparrows even sing that sales jingle, "cheap, cheap".
MacArthur notes that "one further reason to fear God (ED: AND NOT FEAR MAN), nothing escapes His knowledge....Sparrows were little tiny birds that the poor picked up, caught in nets and ate, plucked them, skinned them, roasted them and ate them like tiny little hors d'oeuvres and they fed the poor. They were so cheap you could buy five for two cents. In Matthew it says they were two for a penny. So what happened is for two pennies you got an extra one thrown in, two for a penny, or five for two pennies. A penny was one-sixteenth of a day's wage, a denarii, is called an assarion. It was a copper Roman coin. They were cheap food for the poor. Nobody cared about sparrows. The only reason the poor cared about sparrows was they could eat them. If there was anything you'd think God wouldn't bother Himself about it would be sparrows. Couldn't there be one sparrow somewhere on the planet that God didn't know about? No. No. And if He knows about sparrows, He knows about you. In fact, in Matthew 10:29 it says that He knows when the sparrow falls and that word can mean “hops.” He not only knows every sparrow but He knows when every sparrow hops." (A Certain Cure for Hypocrisy, Part 1) - Precept Austin
Even the hairs of your head are all numbered - That's not so difficult in my case, but it shows how intimately aware God is of His creation, to which we belong. This is good reason to fear Him, to reverence Him and to think about Him in whatever we ponder, say or do. Nothing is hidden from His omniscience.
Fear not, for you are more valuable than many sparrows - Despite what PETA says, that there is no difference between a rat and my child, God has placed human life at a premium. He has made man in His image, so we need to respect that in one another, and also realized that we are highly valued.
…25God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that crawls upon the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 26Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.” 27So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.… Genesis 1: 25-27
The Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God - Jesus reaffirms that there is no other way but through Him, and that all else are just thieves and robbers. If God sent the Messiah, His only way to be redeemed, then it is important that you recognize Him for Who He is, otherwise He will not recognize you.
…29Why then do you kick at My sacrifice and offering that I have prescribed for My dwelling place? You have honored your sons more than Me by fattening yourselves with the best of all the offerings of My people Israel.’ 30Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever. But now the LORD declares: Far be it from Me! For I will honor those who honor Me, but those who despise Me will be disdained. 31Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that no older man will be left in your house.… 1 Samuel 2: 29-31
32Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father in heaven. 33But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven. 34Do not assume that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.… Matthew 10: 32-34
To confess Christ, we must count on the faithful promises of the Son. - Jesus promises that if we confess Him on earth, He will confess us in heaven (Lu 12:8). Every Christian should live every day in light of someday standing before the One who gave His life for us. Our great hope should be that we will hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” Then any suffering or rejection we have experienced will be worth it all!
To confess Christ, we must rely on the instructive ministry of the Holy Spirit. - Jesus warns His followers that they will be brought before religious and governmental authorities because of their stand for Him. But He says that we should not worry about what we will say at such times, because the Holy Spirit will instruct us at the moment when we need His wisdom. These comments apply to any time that we are under fire for our testimony. If we have been living for Christ and walking in the Spirit, we can rely on the Spirit to give us wisdom to respond in the moment of pressure. - Precept Austin
And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven - How gracious and marvelous, and I have gone back to this like Peter after his denial, for I too was guilty of this.
And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man - Note the use of everyone used here and the next clause signifies there are no exceptions. As Utley puts it "The gospel is as wide as all humanity, but judgment is also as wide as all of those who say “no”!" This is probably every one of us, certainly those of us who came to Christ later in life (I was age 39), for we undoubtedly had spoken a word against Jesus. How many of us used His Name as a curse word before we were saved? That's a word spoken against Jesus (BTW - be wary watching TV these days - there is a veritable "epidemic" of using Jesus great Name as a curse word!). - Precept Austin
But the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven - It is the Spirit that bears witness, that brings light, and it is by the Holy Spirit that men wrote the Scriptures that give testimony to Christ. The Pharisees blasphemed the Holy Spirit by not recognizing Christ and associating His works with that of Satan.
While this verse has been controversial, in some ways the teaching seems relatively straightforward. First, Who is it Who leads a person to Christ? Clearly it is part of the saving work of the Holy Spirit. However if His work of convicting one of their sin is repeatedly refused, there is no other way for a person to be born again and come to saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. The NET Note agrees writing that "Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit probably refers to a total rejection of the testimony that the Spirit gives to Jesus and the plan of God. This is not so much a sin of the moment as of one's entire life, an obstinate rejection of God's message and testimony." Robert Stein's interpretation of the unpardonable sin is that it reflects a "persistent and unremitting resistance to the Spirit’s work as he brings conviction of sin and reveals the need for repentance and faith...the best interpretation, for rejection of the Spirit’s work renders faith impossible and salvation unattainable (cf. Acts 7:51+). One thing is clear. Anyone concerned about this sin has nothing to fear, for such a concern witnesses to a sensitivity and openness to the Spirit’s work, which those who have sinned in this way do not possess." (See Luke: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition New American Commentary – Volume 24: Luke) - Precept Austin
…25Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching. 26 If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains, 27but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume all adversaries.… Hebrews 10: 25-27
Do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say - This is not a call to spiritual laziness, neglect of study, but rather peace that the Lord will bring to mind that which is necessary in your time of trial. Trust Him. It is beautiful of the saints that this is their great concern, "what shall I say", but it is even more beautiful, like Stephen's sermon in Acts and His prayer at his stoning, that the Holy Spirit was in all of it. Don't worry about defending yourself, for who can say but God that this is your time to go.
14Remind the believers of these things, charging them before God to avoid quarreling over words, which succeeds only in leading the listeners to ruin. 15Make every effort to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman who accurately handles the word of truth. 16But avoid irreverent, empty chatter, which will only lead to more ungodliness,… 2 Timothy 2: 14-16
There were five martyrs waiting to die in Leon, France, had been imprisoned by the Catholic Church for their association with John Calvin, they graduated from Calvin's seminary. I've been reading their testimonies and their letters back and forth to John Calvin. And they wrote to Calvin and they said, "Please, sir, tell us what to say when it comes time for us to face the guillotine. Tell us what to say." And Calvin in so many words wrote back and said, "I don't need to tell you what to say, the Holy Spirit will tell you what to say. You don't need to fear that you'll abandon your faith, you don't need to fear that you won't be up for that hour, you don't need to fear that you will deny Christ, you don't need to fear that because the resident truth teacher is going to show you in that very hour what you ought to say. You're going to burst forth in an affirmation and a confession of Jesus as Lord even in the face of your own persecution and execution." This is true. This is true. And it wasn't just for them. - J Mac
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