“HYPOCRISY DEFEATED”
LUKE 12:1-12

I. Introduction
Have you ever seen or heard a person reprimanded for something they said or did and thought to yourself, “Good, he deserved it”? You probably have. Whenever my brother Randy was punished or lost privileges for something he said or did, I always thought to myself, “Good, he had that coming!” Do you suppose he reacted the same way when the tables were turned?

Of course, that seldom happened because I was always the perfect child. How could I have done any of the bad things other people were doing? Whenever I was punished or lost privileges, it was because of the injustice in this world…or because I was framed.

We laugh at that, but isn’t that how we tend to see ourselves and others? Other people make stupid mistakes. Other people do and say bad things. Other people cause trouble. Other people believe lies. Other people live lies. Other people, other people, other peo-ple! We see it so clearly in other people. But do we see it ourselves? Well, that’s anoth-er story. It is so easy for us to judge others – what they do, what they say, even what they think – but what does Jesus say about that?
*Matthew 7:1-5
1 “Do not judge lest you be judged.
2 “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.
3 “And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
4 “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye?
5 “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

Wait a minute! I thought the scribes and the Pharisees were the hypocrites. But here in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus isn’t focusing on them. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus is speaking to everyone. In Matthew 7:1-5 He is laying the foundation for His teaching that while the scribes and the Pharisees – those hypocritical and prideful legal-ists – while they emphasize the letter of the law, Jesus emphasizes the spirit of the law.

The reality that God’s Law teaches is this: Since no one (except the Lord Himself) can keep God’s Law perfectly, it follows that no amount of good works could ever save anyone. It was the Prophet Isaiah who told us, that when it comes to earning our salvation, “…all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment (Isaiah 64:6b).” Christ was the only One who could keep God’s Law perfectly. So it’s only Christ’s obedience and perfection, transferred to us by faith in Him and His finished work on the cross, that saves us.
We can do nothing. He saves us; we don’t save ourselves. What does that do to pride?
Romans 3:27-28
27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith.
28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from (the) works of (God’s) Law.

In Matthew 7:5 Jesus is teaching that all of us who judge others unfairly are acting as prideful hypocrites. Or in concrete terms the Jews of the first century could certainly relate to, judging someone unfairly was not only hypocritical, it was “pharisaical.”

Having said all of that, we need to understand what Jesus is not teaching here. He is not teaching that you and I should never judge anyone or anything. As Christians one of our most important duties is to judge and condemn the things God hates. To that end we all need to know His Word well enough so we know what God hates, so we can discern truth from error, or as the KJV says, “…rightly divide the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).”
Philippians 1:9-10a
9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,
10a so that you may approve the things that are excellent…

We need to make judgments every day just to protect our characters and our spiritual lives. One example of our need to make judgments involves false prophets.
Matthew 7:15-16a
15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
16a “You will know them by their fruits…”

But what about Matthew 7:1? What about, “Do not judge lest you be judged.”? Well, as always, the context defines the meaning. There is such a thing as righteous judgment, and Matthew 7:1 does not prohibit it. Hypocritical, self-righteous, and unfair judgment is always forbidden, but righteous judgments – judgments that are guided by spiritual dis-cernment and directed by the Holy Spirit – must be part of every true believer’s life. The true church is neither wise nor spiritually safe without such discernment.
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II. Review
What is the point of all of this? For the last two weeks we have seen Jesus identify, ex-pose, and condemn the sin of the scribes and the Pharisees. When we read His words we agree with them and we tend to say, “Good! You tell ‘em!” But we cannot judge the sin in others if we do not first identify and judge the sin in ourselves. If we neglect to judge ourselves first, we will be guilty of committing the same sins that the religious leaders of Jesus’ day were guilty of committing. From Luke 11:37-54 we saw Him expose and condemn their hypocrisy. He came down hard on them, didn’t He?
He made it crystal clear that He hated their hypocrisy and the legalism and personal pride that just naturally came with it. He hates those things wherever they are found, but espe-cially when they’re found in religious leaders. God will not tolerate it – He will judge it!
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III. Text
I’ve said all of that to set the stage for this morning’s passage in Luke’s gospel. Jesus is continuing His teaching about hypocrisy and the legalism and personal pride that accom-pany it. But now as we move on to Luke 12 there is a marked difference in Jesus’ focus.

He has already spoken directly to the scribes and Pharisees about their hypocrisy. But today He will speak directly to us, His followers. In the process He will not only warn us about not committing the sins of the scribes and Pharisees, He will tell us what to do about those sins when they rear their ugly heads in our own lives.
*Luke 12:1-12 (Please stand with me in honor of reading God’s Word.)
1 Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of the multitude had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
2 “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and (there is no-thing) hidden that will not be known.
3 “Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.
4 “And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that (they) have no more that they can do.
5 “But I will warn you whom to fear: Fear the One 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 cents? And yet not one of them is for-gotten before God.
7 “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows.
8 “And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man shall confess him also before the angels of God;
9 but he who denies Me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.
10 “And everyone who will speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him.
11 “And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not become anxious about how or what you should speak in your defense, or what you should say;
12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

In this passage the Lord gives us four separate warnings about the hypocrisy we find in our own lives. Each warning is accompanies by a corresponding encouragement. As we go through these verses, keep the scribes and the Pharisees in mind, and remember that Jesus’ warnings are not directed primarily at our actions, but at our attitudes. It is not so much what we do or don’t do, it is what we are. If I may extend the analogy a bit further – it is not as much what’s in your head, as it is what’s in your heart.
*Luke 12:1
1 Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of the multitude had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”

“Under these circumstances…” ties this verse directly back to Jesus’ pronouncement of woes on the religious leaders. It is likely that Jesus speaks to His disciples and the ever-growing crowds that are gathered around Him right after leaving the lunch where He has so strongly rebuked the scribes and the Pharisees.

The “…leaven of Pharisees…” is sin. Just as yeast permeates the dough and “fills it up,” so too does the sin of hypocrisy permeate us and fill us with pride. What is so heinous about personal pride? For one thing, it blinds us to our own sin, while at the same time it causes us to easily see and then to emphasize the slightest flaw in someone else. Jesus says to us, “Beware of the sin of the Pharisees…” Don’t fall into that trap. Why?
*Luke 12:2-3
2 “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and (there is no-thing) hidden that will not be known.
3 “Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.”

While this whole passage is directed at the disciples, Luke 12:1-3 seem to be addressed to the entire multitude that has assembled to hear Jesus speak. What He says here is a general truth that applies to all men, both lost and saved. Judgment is coming. For the lost it will take place at the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20), after which they will all be cast into the lake of fire, the final and eternal hell.

For the saved it will take place at the Judgment Seat of Christ (1 Corinthians 3; 2 Corinth-
ians 5). Remember, we will never be judged for our sins. Our sins were judged at the cross. But our Christian service will be judged to determine our eternal reward in heaven. Therefore, when all is said and done, everything will be exposed and everything will be made known. So in v. 3 Jesus says that all truth, both the sins of the lost and the service
of the saved, will “…be proclaimed upon the housetops.”

We often think of hypocrisy as trying to conceal the bad.
But what about failing to reveal the good? Isn’t that the other side of the same coin?
When we fail to reveal the good, aren’t we hiding the truth just as when we try to conceal the bad? And isn’t one of the clearest definitions of hypocrisy an attempt to hide the truth about someone or something?

How does that apply to the good news of the gospel? The question we need to ask our-selves is this: Do we try to hide the truth of the gospel? At first we would all say, “No! Of course not!” But how often have you and I shirked from our duty to tell someone the truth about our Lord and Savior and what He has done for us?

Listen, in Luke 12:2-3 Jesus is saying that all attempts to hide the truth will prove to be futile because all truth will eventually be known. No matter how long or how well a mat-ter is hidden in this life, it will finally be exposed. Listen to Paul.
1 Timothy 5:24-25
24 The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their sins follow after.
25 Likewise also, deeds that are good are quite evident, and those which are otherwise (not evident) cannot be concealed.

Here is what we can learn from Luke 12:2-3. The lost and their attempts to hide their sin, their hypocrisy, will be made known. And in the same way the saved and their attempts to conceal the gospel or hide the fact that they are Christians, their hypocrisy will also be made known. Sin will be revealed. The gospel and God’s people will be revealed too. It will all be revealed at Jesus’ Second Coming. All of creation waits for that moment.
Romans 8:19
19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.

So Luke 12:1 warns against hypocrisy. Then Luke 12:2-3 encourages us with the know-ledge that all of it will be revealed and all of it will be judged. Back in Luke 11 Jesus’ rebuke was directed solely at the religious leaders. But here He begins by addressing the multitudes. Next, He will narrow His focus and speak to His disciples. He begins with His second warning.
*Luke 12:4-5
4 “And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that (they) have no more that they can do.
5 “But I will warn you whom to fear: Fear the One who after He has killed has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!”

When you and I try to conceal the gospel or the fact that we are Christians we usually do so because we are afraid of temporal consequences. You know, “They’ll think I’m some kind of a nut, or a fanatic, or a religious right-winger, or a fool.” Yes. As far as the world is concerned, we are fools. But we should learn to view that as a badge of honor.
1 Corinthians 1:18, 4:10a
18 For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
10a We are fools for Christ’s sake…

Will revealing the gospel and your true identity as a Christian cost you something in this life? Yes, it will! You’ll lose a lot that this world holds dear.
2 Timothy 3:12
12 And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

You will be persecuted. But you’ll lose nothing in eternity. You’ll only gain.
• You say, “Maybe my neighbors will laugh at me.” Some of them most certainly will. But what does that matter in the eternal scheme of things?
• You say, “Maybe I’ll lose the respect of my peers.” You might, but if they aren’t your brothers and sisters in Christ, they aren’t really your peers anyway.
• You say, “Maybe I’ll lose some friends.” You will, but you’ll get better ones.
• You say, “Maybe I’ll lose my job.” I know some who have lost their jobs because of their faith. And God has taken care of them. And God will take care of you.
• You say, “Maybe I’ll even lose the love and respect of my family.” Maybe you will. That’s not an easy thing to accept. It hurts. But you’ll have a new family, an eternal family, a family that will love you unconditionally.

*Mark 10:29-31
29 Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake,
30 but that he shall receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.
31 “But many who are first, will be last; and the last, first.”

I know that fear of persecution is real. We all fear it to at least some degree. Jesus’ dis-ciples would come to fear the persecution of the Jewish religious leaders, and later, of the Gentiles as well. But Jesus tells them plainly, “Don’t fear them, fear God.”

Luke 12:4-5 are two powerful verses. “…I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that (they) have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: Fear the One who after He has killed has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!”

I cannot read these verses without being struck by the clarity of thought and the magni-tude of the truth that they convey. I suspect that these words have been on the minds and hearts of virtually every Christian martyr. Wouldn’t they be the very words that would prepare them to be Christian martyrs in the first place?
“Swear you allegiance to Caesar or die!” “Deny Christ or die!” “Recant your testimony or die!” “Affirm your allegiance to the papacy or die!” “Bow down to Allah (or whatever man-made god your persecutor is currently worshipping) or die!”

In vv. 4-5 Jesus is telling the Twelve that the day will come when they will be faced with death. And He is telling every Christian since then – the day may come when you will be faced with death. If and when that day comes you will have to decide just who it is you really fear. And let’s be very clear on this point. Don’t think that Jesus is saying any of His children will ever be cast into hell. He is not. He is saying that it is both irrational and illogical to fear anyone whose power does not extend beyond the grave.

Whom do you fear – the one who can burn, shoot, hang, or behead you? Sure you do. But don’t you fear the One who holds eternity in His hands even more? I hope you do. I hope I do. And that second warning leads us to this second encouragement.
*Luke 12:6-7
6 “Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? And yet not one of them is for-gotten before God.
7 “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

Even though today’s animal rights extremists don’t believe it, you and I are worth more to God than sparrows. Why? Because Jesus didn’t come to earth to die for sparrows and redeem them from their sins, that’s why. He came to save His people from their sins. If God remembers and cares for even the smallest and least significant animal, how much more does He remember and care for the people whom He came to save? It’s a rhetorical question, isn’t it? The answer is obvious. And so, in v. 7 He says, “Do not fear…”

Is this some kind of contradiction? In v. 5 Jesus tells us to fear God. Now in v. 7 He tells us not to fear. Here is the explanation. It ties the verses together. Jesus is putting our natural fear of death at the hands of men into the perspective of our eternal life in Him. Of course, we fear God. Only the ungodly do not. David says, “There is no fear of God before (their) eyes (Psalm 36:1).” But Jesus is telling us that, for the Christian, physical death is not to be feared, not when we are about to step into His presence.

Here is our hope. Nothing, not even physical death at the hands of those who hate God, can separate us from His infinite love and care.
Romans 8:35-39
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or dis-tress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 Just as it is written, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principal–ities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This is the context in which you and I can understand and embrace Jesus’ words to His disciples in Luke 12 – “Fear God, not men!” This leads to the third warning and its accompanying encouragement. This time the encouragement precedes the warning.
*Luke 12:8-10
8 “And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man shall confess him also before the angels of God;
9 but he who denies Me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.
10 “And everyone who will speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him.”

At first glance vv. 8-9, if taken out of their context, may look like Jesus is saying you can lose your salvation if you deny Him before men. But that is not the case. Did Peter lose his salvation after he denied Jesus three times? No, he most certainly did not!
• Don’t forget that your security in Christ is based on God’s choosing you in eternity past. It is not based on you choosing Him in the recent past.
• Don’t forget that your salvation isn’t kept because of your faithfulness to Christ. It is kept because of His faithfulness to you.
• Don’t miss the focus within the verses themselves. There is a definitive change from the second person (“you” in v. 8) to the third person (“he, everyone, him” in v. 9). While true believers have moments of weakness and waver in their faith as did the Apostle Peter, and as you and I sometimes do, true believers will never turn their backs on Christ, and walk away from Him. That’s not what true believers do.

Luke 12:10 speaks of false believers. Think again of the hypocrisy of the scribes and the Pharisees. Their religion just drips from their pores, but they hate Christ. Speaking of them and others like them, Jesus repeats His explanation of the unforgiveable sin. The final result of denying the Holy Spirit’s prompting, and rejecting the Person of Jesus Christ is the sin that will never be forgiven.

And so we come to Jesus’ final warning and encouragement to the Twelve and to us.
*Luke 12:11-12
11 “And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not become anxious about how or what you should speak in your defense, or what you should say;
12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

The immediate application is to the disciples. They all faced persecution.
And with the notable exception of John, the day came when they all faced martyrdom at the hands of fellow Jews or Gentiles. What began with Stephen being stoned to death in Acts 7 – martyrdom – has continued down to this day. It will not end until the Second Coming. In Luke 12:11 Jesus didn’t say, “If you are brought before rulers and authori-ties…” He said, “When…”

The Lord’s final warning is that all of us will suffer some form of persecution. It could be someone mocking you for your faith. It could be someone putting you to death for your faith. It could be anything in between those two extremes, but you and I will suffer some form of persecution. When it comes, how will we respond? What will we say? Here is Jesus’ final encouragement to us.

“Don’t worry about it! Don’t worry about it!” Don’t plan your speech ahead of time, because when that time comes, regardless of whether you’re being ridiculed or you’re about to be martyred, “…the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” Stephen knew.
*Acts 7:59-60
59 And they went on stoning Stephen as he called upon the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”
60 And falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” And having said this, he fell asleep.

Stephen knew, and when the time comes, whatever persecution you are facing, you will know too. That is Jesus’ promise to you and me this morning.
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IV. Conclusion
Let me urge you to remember these four lessons from Jesus today.
• Remember that we always live under the Father’s gaze.
• Remember that we are to fear the judgment of God; not the judgment of men.
• Remember that we are to trust Him in all circumstances.
• Remember that Jesus will remain faithful to us no matter what.

~ Pray ~