Jesus was aware of all secrets

JESUS WAS AWARE OF ALL SECRETS
NOTHING CAN BE HID FROM HIM
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Luke 12:2-3 2There is nothing concealedthat will not
be disclosed,or hidden that will not be made known.
3Whatyou have said in the dark will be heard in the
daylight, and what you have whisperedin the ear in
the inner rooms will be proclaimedfrom the roofs.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Hidden Things
Luke 12:2, 3
W. Clarkson
Our Lord's affirmation implies that there is a greatdeal which has been long
beneath the surface, and we naturally ask - Does Godhide? And the answeris
- Yes, truly, "thou art a God that hidest thyself." He hides his own glory, that
we may not be dazzled thereby; he hides the bliss of the beatified, that we may
not be discontentedthereby. Like as a father hides from his children many
things which they will better learn a little later on, or had better make out for
themselves, so God hides many things from us for the very same reasons. But

he has so hidden treasures of truth and wisdom from us, that we have every
possible inducement to searchfor them, and fall capacity to find them.
I. THE PROVISION MADE FOR OUR TEMPORALWELFARE. Did he not
hide the coal, the copper, the iron, the lead, the silver, the gold, that we might
discover, might raise, might refine, might shape them to our use? And the
corn which he gives us to eat, the raiment to wear, the music to enjoy, - these
are only to be had by searching, by inquiry, by study, by endeavor. The
powers of steam, of electricity, were long hidden from the knowledge of
mankind, but they, with the other secrets ofthe world, are being known.
II. HIS SAVING AND SANCTIFYING TRUTH. Paul speaks much of "the
mystery hidden from the generations," i.e. God's greatpurpose to redeem, not
a nation from political bondage, but the whole human race from spiritual
servitude and degradation;his purpose to accomplishthis by coming to the
world in the Personof his SonJesus Christ. This was hidden in Old Testament
promises, and in the Law given by Moses;it was there, undiscovered by any
but a few discerning souls;and it was "not revealedunto the sons of men"
until, enlightened by the Spirit of God, the apostles made knownthe riches of
his grace. There are still some things in connectionwith Christian doctrine
which may be said to be hidden, but which soonerorlater will be revealed
and known.
III. HUMAN CHARACTER AND HUMAN LIFE. There are depths of
secrecyin these human hearts of ours. Evil thoughts may hide there unknown
to any but to those that entertain them; nay, may lurk and work within the
soul unsuspectedeven by that soul itself. For men are both better and worse
than they know themselves to be. What purity and gentleness andself-
sacrificing love may stealsilently through life, and may pass and be forgotten!
what deeds of truest heroism may be wrought which no pen records and no
tongue recites]Yet the wrong shall be exposed, and the right be understood
and honored; human charactershallbe read in the light of truth; the guilty
shall be humbled and the upright be exalted "in that day."

1. Our duty. It is that of:
(1) Exposure. Tearthe mask from the hypocrite; let the covering be torn off
the false man, the charlatan, the betrayer of the soul, with a firm and fearless
hand; make him stand out before his fellows stripped of his pretences;make it
true that "there is nothing covered," etc.
(2) Disclosure. Live to teach, to enlighten, to enlarge. Let the secretofhealth,
of wisdom, of usefulness, be published on every hand. Tellall you canreach -
the children in the school, the sick by the bedside, the loiterers by the wayside,
the congregationin the cottage,orthe hall, or the church - the secretof pure
and lasting joy, of real and true success.
2. Our danger. Since God will cause the hidden things to be known, since he
will "bring to light the hidden things of darkness, andmake manifest the
counsels ofall hearts," since he "will judge the secretsofmen," well may the
guilty shudder, well may we all ask - Who shall abide that solemn hour? But
there is an alternative. "The blood of Jesus Christ cleansesfrom all sin." True
penitence and genuine faith will secure for us such a covering that nothing
shall be revealed. There is a Divine forgiveness whichswallows up and hides
for everthe wrong that we have done.
3. Our hope. "And then" - at that day - "shall every man have praise of God;"
i.e. every man who is, in the true sense, praiseworthy; every man to whom
Christ will be free to say, "I was hungry, and ye gave me meat; for
inasmuch," etc. He who does good"to be seenof men" has his rewardnow;
his recompense is exhaustedhere. But he who works for Christ and for men in
the spirit of his Masterhas not his reward now; he has only a foretaste ofit.
The best of it has yet to come. And it will come;for there is nothing hidden

that shall not be revealed. Blessedis the quiet, humble life of unpretending
goodness,whichis like the silent spring that makes the meadows green;from
such lives as these come deeds of loveliness and usefulness to be made mention
of by the lips of the Lord himself, when the things that are coverednow shall
be revealed, and the things which man overlooks Godwill own and honor. - C.
Biblical Illustrator
Nothing covered, that shall not be revealed.
Luke 12:2, 3
The revealing process
W. Neill.
There is a tendency in things everywhere to manifest their natures, and make
themselves known. Seeds that are buried, seek the light; shells deep in the sea
grope their way to the shore;the processes ofnature are to bring things to the
surface. What is true in matter has certainly its counterpart in mind. Human

character, notwithstanding all efforts to keepitself back, also tends to
development; what is not seenat once is found out in a lifetime. The strong
passions ofthe soul, like smothered fires or hidden springs, at last burst their
way through, and become known. There is certainly going on around us in the
operations of nature, and in the unfolding of events, a revealing process, as if
creationand Providence had determined to let light into all dark places, and
at last uncover human hearts. This, we suppose, is the generalidea taught in
the text.
I. THERE ARE REVEALING PROCESSES GOING ON IN THE WORLD
AROUND US, AND UNDER CIRCUMSTANCESWHICH MAKE IT
EXCEEDINGLYPROBABLE THAT, IN THE WORLD TO COME, THEY
WILL CONTINUE TO GO ON WITH ACCELERATED AND
OVERWHELMING POWER. One factoften discloses a greatdeal, when
brought into connectionwith anotherfact, which, when it stoodby itself, told
nothing. The ancient kings of the Eastwere aware of this, when they sent
messages fromone to another on business which they wished to be kept secret
from all but themselves. The message waswritten upon a piece of parchment,
but so written that it could not be deciphered unless first bound upon a staff,
which contained a counterpart and keyto that which was sent, and eachking
kept one of these staffs;hence, if the messengershouldlose the scrip, the
secretwould not be divulged, because notintelligible, unless wrapped round
the wood:the one was read by the help of the other, though eachspoke
nothing by itself. So with events in human life; they throw light on eachother
when brought together.
II. ALL THE HINDRANCES WHICH PREVENTED APERFECT
REVELATION OF THE CHARACTER IN THIS WORLD, WILL, IN THE
NEXT, BE REMOVED. If even in such a world as this, where the body, and
old associations, andfriends, and forgetfulness, and ignorance of the
consequences, contribute to quiet the goadings ofconscience, men are still
driven by remorse to give a detailed and minute accountof the evil they have
done, what may not be expectedwhen, with conscience allalive, and memory
quickened, the soul dismantled of its clay, stung by its sins, bereft of friends,

and hindered by nothing, meets the eye of its Makerwithout a veil? Surely
there is a provision in our nature, by reasonof which every one shall give an
accountof himself unto God.
III. MUCH OF THE BIBLE IS WRITTEN, AND ALL PROBATION
ARRANGED, WITH REFERENCETO A JUDGMENT IN THE MIDST OF
MINUTE AND AMAZING REVELATIONS. There is a foretokening all
along our earthly way. If the wickedhear a "dreadful sound," what does he
hear? If he sees a hand others do not see, what is it that he sees? The fear of
God is not before his eyes, and yet he is afraid. There was a sound, a rustle of
a leaf, yet to him a sound that spoke of discovery — a whisperof betrayal and
development; he sees things around him working to the surface. Evena stain
upon his robe, a paler hue upon his cheek, may have a voice to some one;
many things have come out in ways most unexpected and who shall say, after
all, he may not have been observed!Perhaps the words of the agedpreacher
peal againupon his soul — "Every work into judgment, with every secret
thing, whether it be goodor whether it be evil." "Forevery idle word which
men shall speak, shallthey give account";"Whatsoeverye have spokenin
darkness shallbe heard in the light"; and "The sea gave up the dead which
were in it, and death and the grave the dead which were in them, and they
were judged, every man according to his works," outof the things that were
written in the books.
IV. IF THERE WERE NO BOOKS WITH MAN'S NEEDS RECORDEDIN
THEM, NO CONSCIENCE IN THE SOUL TO URGE THEM FORTH, NO
WITNESSESTO TESTIFY, AND NO FORMAL SENTENCE TO BE
PRONOUNCED AND VINDICATED, STILL THE FUTURE CONDITION
OF THE SOUL WILL ITSELF POINT BACK TO SPECIFIC ACTS OF SIN
OR UNRIGHTEOUSNESSON EARTH, AS THE GROUND OF ITS
PECULIAR DESTINY.

(W. Neill.)
The inner world
H. Palmer.
I. Now, we believe that God has dealt with man according to his temperament.
He knows us far better than we know ourselves;and He would therefore work
upon us in a manner most likely to produce a goodeffect. It may be, indeed,
that the abstractidea of the Lord's coming to judgment, would have been in
itself too lofty for a man fully to appreciate;so that in order to make man
realize it, and thus to let it have a practicalbearing upon our conduct, it has
been necessaryto enter into the detail, and describe one of the scenes
connectedwith it. Or, to regardthe subject in another light, it is noticeable
that man feels no shame of God's knowledge ofsin. This may be proved from
the factthat we are guilty, all of us, of many secretsins, which we should
blush to ownto our dearestfriend, but which we are ready enoughto
acknowledge to God. On the other hand, we are not often content that our
gooddeeds should be known to God alone, but the majority of persons would
seemto wish that men should regardthem also. These considerationsmay
lead us to understand, that it was from a complete knowledge ofhuman
nature that Christ warned His disciples by the announcement of the truth —
that all secrets wouldeventually be brought to light. "Beware," He says, "of
the leavenof the Pharisees,whichis hypocrisy." For there is nothing covered,
that shall not be revealed;neither hid, that shall not be known.
II. By laying as de a 1 further reference to God's perfect knowledge ofhuman
nature implied in the text, we would leadyour minds to the doctrine which the
text conveys — and, indeed, it is a most important one. Christ here speaks of
the revealing at the lastday, of all that we now hide in the closestsecrecy. He
tells us that there is nothing, hide it as we now may from the knowledge of
others, which He will not reveal before the masses ofthe universe. The actions
of a single day, who can number them? Go, examine your own hearts. Each
man for himself must go down to the regionof his own soul, and find out what
is there going on. Thoughts and passions, motives and wishes, hopes and fears,

hatred, lusts and affections, intentions of good, and designs of evil; these are
the shadowydwellers of that weedwithin, whose name is legion, for indeed
they are many. At one time they prompt us to external deeds;at another time,
our external deeds are only the cloak beneathwhich they disguise themselves,
so that men perceive them not. Oh, who canturn the mental eye inwards, and
not marvel at, and fear the secretworld which toils and burns in the heart?
Yet we see it not all. He knows all things now, and there shall come a day
when they shall be knownno longerto God alone, but they shall be all
declaredto the gatheredmasses ofthe universe; for Christ has told us, that
"there is nothing coveredthat shall not be revealed."
III. And if this be true, does it not especiallybehove us constantlyto regard
the state of that heart which God so closelyinspects?
IV. And here we may notice a remarkable distinction betweenthe judgment
passedon our conduct by man on the one side, and by God on the other. Man
takes into accountour wickedactions only, while God often discerns matter of
condemnation, long before the wickedaction is committed. As viewed by an
earthly tribunal, it is of little accountwhat designs we may have had, if those
designs have never been put into execution. If we are placedin positions
where unavoidable circumstances reallydebar us often from those privileges
which the gospelof Christ affords to man, we may safelycommit ourselves to
the hands of God; He knows our hearts; and the day will come when it will be
proved that, although debarred from many privileges, it was not really our
own fault; our inclinations were good, and these inclinations shall be openly
declared;for "there is nothing covered," no secretwish, no concealeddesire,
"that shall not be revealed;there is nothing hid that shall not be known."
(H. Palmer.)

Christians weighedin the balance
W. Harris.
If we had eyes adapted to the sight, we should see, onlooking into the smallest
seed, the future floweror tree enclosedin it. God will look into our feelings
and motives as into seeds;by those embryos of actionHe will infallibly
determine what we are, and will show what we should have been, had there
been scope and stage for their development and maturity. Nothing will be
made light of. The very dust of the balances shallbe takeninto account. It is
in the moral world as it is in the natural, where every substance weighs
something; though we speak of imponderable bodies, yet nature knows
nothing of positive levity: and were men possessedofthe necessaryscales, the
requisite instrument, we should find the same holds true in the moral world.
Nothing is insignificant on which sin has breathed the breath of hell:
everything is important in which holiness has impresseditself in the painted
characters. And accordingly"There is nothing coveredthat shall not be
revealed;and hid that shall not be known." Howeverunimportant now, in the
estimation of man, yet, when placedin the light of the Divine countenance,
like the atom in the sun's rays, it shall be deserving attention; and as the
minutest molecule of matter contains all the primordial elements of a world,
so the leastatom of that mind shall be found to include in it the essential
elements of heaven.
(W. Harris.)
No secrecyfor sin
C. H. Spurgeon.
A man broke into a small church in Scotland, with the sacrilegiousintention
of stealing the communion plate. Hearing steps outside the building, and
expecting that he should be discovered, he hurried to the end of the church,
where, seeing a long rope depending to the ground, he laid hold of it for the
purpose of climbing out of sight. But it proved to be the bell rope, and his
weight rang the bell, which attractedhis pursuers immediately to the spot.

The man, of course, was caught;and thus wittily addressedthe unconscious
cause ofhis detection: — "If it had not been for thy long tongue and empty
head I should not have been in my present predicament." This is the story as
we get it from Mr. Gatty's book "upon the Bell"; but it has its lesson. Those
who sin are pretty sure, sooneror later, to turn king's-evidence against
themselves. There is a voice in wrong-doing; its long tongue will not always be
quiet. All unaware, the offender puts out his hand and pulls the bell which
tells againsthimself and summons vengeanceto overtake him. Let no man
dream that he cansecure secrecyforhis wickedness. Everytimber in floor or
roof is really to cry out againsthim, and before he is aware ofit, he will
himself be ringing out his own infamy. What will be his dismay when he
stands self-convictedbefore the assembleduniverse!
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Guilt strangely revealed
ClericalLibrary.
Once, in a certain part of Germany, a box of treasure that was being sent by
railway was found to have been opened and emptied of its contents, and filled
with stones and rubbish. The question was, Who was the robber? Some sand
was found sticking to the box, and a clevermineralogist, having lookedat the
grains of sand through his microscope, saidthat there was only one station on
the railwaywhere there was that kind of sand. Then they knew that the box
must have been takenout at that station, and so they found out who was the
robber. The dust under his feet, where he had setdown the box to open it, was
a witness againsthim.
(ClericalLibrary.)
The quickening of conscience
Just as the manipulations of the photographer in his dark chamber bring
forth a picture which has been burnt into the plate by rays of light before, that

when completed it may be brought to light again, and set before men that they
may see what manner of persons they were; so, in the dark chambers of the
dead, in the hidden spirit-world, there shall be a quickening of conscience.
Many a dull picture, burnt into the mind amid the brightness of life shall be
made terribly clear, the whole to be exposedas a finished view in the light of
the judgment throne, and of Him who sits thereon. We are taught that we had
better cultivate this photography of life ourselves. Godhas given to us the
dark chambers of the night, no chambers of horror, but chambers in which,
awayfrom busy life, we may still be workers forHim, bringing forth the
pictures of the day that are imprinted on conscience, andthat may all be lost,
unless we thus draw them forth.
Everything is recorded
W. H. Baxendale.
It is related that, some time since, a gentleman visiting England calledupon a
gentleman there living in princely grandeur. After being passedfrom one
liveried servant to another, with almost as much ceremonyas if he were about
to be brought into the presence ofthe Queen, he was shown into a large and
elegantlyfurnished drawing-room, where he was receivedby the gentleman
whom he sought. He saw that there were two other persons seatedat a table in
the room, but not being introduced to them, proceeded with his business. At
the close ofthe interview, as he was about to leave, the gentlemanremarked,
"I am accustomedto have conversations with me recorded, and, that there
may be no misunderstanding, these my amanuenses will read to you what you
have said." The visitor was thunderstruck. He little thought, while sitting
there, that two pairs of ears were catching up every word he uttered, and two
pairs of hands were putting it into a permanent record. So with many in this
world. They seemnot to know that there is a Being about their path who
hears every syllable they utter, and who, "when the books are opened," will
bring everything to view. In a late work of fiction the Recording Angel is
representedas dropping a tear, just as he enters the celestialgates, uponan
oath uttered in haste by a favourite character, and blotting it out for ever. But
that is fiction, and not truth. A greaterthan man declares that "whatsoeveris

spokenin darkness shallbe heard in the light," and that "every idle word that
men shall speak, they shall give accountthereofin the day of judgment."
(W. H. Baxendale.)
Easternproclamations
Our Lord spent most of His life in villages;and, accordingly, the reference
here is to a custom observedonly in such places, never in cities. At the present
day, writes Thompson, localgovernors in country districts cause their
commands thus to be published. Their proclamations are generallymade in
the evening, after the people have returned from their labours in the field. The
public crier ascends the highest roof at hand, and lifts up his voice in a long-
drawn callupon all faithful subjects to give earand obey. He then proceeds to
announce, in a set form, the will of their master, and demands obedience
thereto.
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(2) For there is nothing covered.—Moreaccurately, but there is nothing . . .
The Greek conjunctioncannot possibly have the meaning of “for,” and the
latter word suggests a logicalconnectionwhichis different from that of the
original. What our Lord seems to say is, “Bewareye of . . . hypocrisy . . .; but,
whether ye beware or not, know that all that is now secretwill one day be
manifested.” On the verse itself, see Note on Matthew 11:25. The connection
in the two passages is, however, very different. There the underlying thought
of a future day of revelation(see 1Corinthians 4:5) is made a motive to
courage in proclaiming truths that had been receivedin secret;here as a
motive to caution, lest we should be trusting in the counterfeits of truth and

holiness. The force of the two Greek words would, perhaps, be better
expressedby, There is nothing veiled that shall not be unveiled.
BensonCommentary
Luke 12:2-5. For there is nothing covered, &c. — All your actions shall be
brought to light, either in this world or in the next. Wherefore take greatcare
never to do any thing which cannot bear the light, but let the whole of your
behaviour be fair, honest, and good. This argument againsthypocrisy he
proceededto improve as a reasonfor their acquiring another quality, which
would serve all the ends they could propose by their hypocrisy, and to much
better purpose; an undaunted resolutionin the performance of their duty,
founded on faith in God, who now governs the world by a particular
providence, and in the end will rewardor punish every man according to his
deeds. I say unto you, my friends — With all possible seriousness, andtender
concernfor your everlasting welfare;Be not afraid of them that kill the body
— Let not the fear of man make you act the hypocrite, or concealany thing
which I have commissionedyou to publish: and after that have no more that
they can do — The immortal soul being entirely out of their reach. But I will
forewarnyou — Greek, υποδειξω υμιν, I will show you; whom you shall fear
— Whose displeasure you shall be afraid to incur; fear him, which after he
hath killed the body, hath powerto castinto hell — Is able to torment the soul
eternally, and whose displeasure, therefore, is infinitely to be dreaded. Yea, I
say unto you, Fearhim — And rather chooseto venture on the greatest
dangers, and to sacrifice your lives, than to do any thing which may offend his
Divine Majesty. See onMatthew 10:28. It is remarkable that Christ gives this
direction even to his peculiar friends: therefore the fearing of God, as having
powerto castinto hell, is to be pressedeven upon true believers.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
12:1-12 A firm belief of the doctrine of God's universal providence, and the
extent of it, would satisfyus when in peril, and encourage us to trust God in
the wayof duty. Providence takes notice of the meanestcreatures, evenof the
sparrows, and therefore of the smallestinterests of the disciples of Christ.
Those who confess Christ now, shall be owned by him in the greatday, before

the angels ofGod. To deter us from denying Christ, and deserting his truths
and ways, we are here assuredthat those who deny Christ, though they may
thus save life itself, and though they may gain a kingdom by it, will be great
losers at last;for Christ will not know them, will not own them, nor show
them favour. But let no trembling, penitent backsliderdoubt of obtaining
forgiveness. This is far different from the determined enmity that is
blasphemy againstthe Holy Ghost, which shall never be forgiven, because it
will never be repented of.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Nothing covered- See the notes at Matthew 10:26-32.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
2. hid—from knowledge. "Tis no use concealing anything, for all will one day
come out. Give free and fearless utterance then to all the truth." (Compare
1Co 4:3, 5).
Matthew Poole's Commentary
It is a proverbial expression:those, and parabolicalexpressions,may be
applied in severalcases, andto severalsubjects:we have met with this before
variously applied, Matthew 10:26 Mark 4:22; and in this Gospel, Luke 8:17.
Here it is applied as an argument againsthypocrisy, or the concealing of
naughty and corrupt hearts under the vizor and disguise of demure looks, or
fair conversation. In the day of judgment sinners shall walk naked, and men
shall see their shame;God will in that day make known all the secrets of
men’s hearts, to be sure the secretsofall their hearts, whose iniquities are not
forgiven, and whose sins are not covered.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
For there is nothing coveredthat shall not be revealed,....No sin, be it ever so
secretor privately done, as nothing is more coveredthan hypocrisy, but what
shall be detectedsooneror later; if not in this world, which is often the case,
yet the last judgment, and in the world to come:

neither hid, that shall not be known; for how careful soevermen may be to
hide their vices from others, they are knownto God; who will bring every
thing into judgment, and make manifest the secrets ofall hearts. These were
generalsentences, whichwere used by Christ at different times, upon
different occasions, andapplied to particular cases;See Gill on Matthew
10:26.
Geneva Study Bible
For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall
not be known.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
Luke 12:2-10. See on Matthew 10:26-33. The connectionis indicated by means
of the continuative δέ: “Ye must the more, however, be on your guard against
this hypocritical ζύμη, since your teaching is destined to the greatestpublicity
for the future.” Comp. Mark 4:22. Publicity which lies open to the world’s
judgment, and hypocritical characterwhich must shun disclosure, are
irreconcilable. If you would not dread the former, the latter must remain far
from you. According to Weiss, Luke has given to the whole saying only the
meaning, that everything concealedby hypocrisy nevertheless one day comes
to light, and therefore, even every word, howeversecretlyit is spoken, shall
come one day to publicity. But this supposition, without any ground for it,
attributes to Luke a complete misapprehension of the meaning.
Luke 12:3. ἀνθʼ ὧν] quare, wherefore. See Hermann, ad Viger. p. 710;
Schaefer, Appar. Dem. I. p. 846.
ὅσα ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ κ.τ.λ.]Everything which (in dread of persecutions)ye shall
have spokenin the darkness, i.e. shallhave taught in secret, shall(in the

triumph of my cause)be heard in the cleardaylight, i.e. shall be known in full
publicity by your preaching and the preaching of others. The expressionἐν τῇ
σκοτίᾳ usedof the apostolic agencyis not inappropriate (de Wette), since it
characterizes it not in general, but only under certaincircumstances (Luke
12:4). But certainly the original form of the saying is found in Matthew 10:27,
while in Luke it was alteredto suit the apostolic experiencesafterthese had
often enough proved the necessityof teaching in secretwhatat a later period
came to be publicly proclaimed before the whole world,[153]when the gospel,
as in Luke’s time, was triumphantly spread abroad.
ἐν τῷ φωτί] in the clearday; Hom. Od. xxi. 429;Xen. Cyr. iv. 2. 26; Wis 18:4.
Luke 12:4. If Jesus reminded His disciples by ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ and πρὸς τὸ οὖς …
ἐν τ. ταμείοις, Luke 12:3, of the impending pressure of persecutions, He now
exhorts them to fearlessness inpresence of their persecutors.
τοῖς φίλοις μου]for as such they were the object of persecution.
μετὰ ταῦτα]μετὰ τὸ ἀποκτεῖναι. The plural depends on the idea of being put
to death, comprising all the modes of taking awaylife. See Kühner, II. p. 423.
Luke 12:5 f. Observe the marked emphasis on the φοβήθητε.
Luke 12:8-10. Notan admonition for the disciples to remain faithful, for Luke
12:10 would not be appropriate to that, inasmuch as there was no occasionto
be anxious at all about their speaking againstthe Son of man, and it would
have been even inappropriate to bid them beware of the blasphemy against
the Holy Ghost;[154]but Jesus adds to the previous encouragements a new

one (λέγω δὲ ὑμῖν, comp. Luke 12:4), saying to them how momentous for the
eternal destiny of men is the apostolic work conductedby the Holy Spirit, how
even the decisionof the judgment on men would be given in accordance with
the result of the work of the apostles among them. Hence, Luke 12:10 has
been wrongly regardedas not pertinent to this (Kuinoel, de Wette); while, on
the other hand, Schleiermacherconsidersthe arrangementof Matthew 12 as
less appropriate, in that he introduces a contrastof the present time (in which
the Sonis resisted) with the future (when the more rapid and mighty agency
of the Spirit is blasphemed). In itself the saying is appropriate in both places,
nay, it may have been uttered more than once; but in Matthew and Mark we
have its closesthistoricalconnectionand position.
As to the blasphemy againstthe Holy Spirit, see on Matthew 12:31 f.
[153]According to Hilgenfeld, Evang. p. 192 (comp. his Zeitschrift, 1865, p.
192), and Köstlin, p. 147, this publicity is regardedas having been meant as a
contrastto the ministry of the Twelve, becausethey had chiefly limited
themselves to the circle of Judaism. It is not indeed in agreementwith this that
that which is secretshould so purposely be made prominent. The Twelve
neither limited their ministry merely to Judaism, nor did they minister among
the Jews in quietness and secrecylike preachers in a corner.
[154]Hofmann, Sehriftbew. II. 2, p. 342, insists on regarding the blasphemy
againstthe Spirit in this place as not distinct from the denial of Jesus. He says
that this denial, in the case of those, namely, who had not only had the earthly
human manifestationof Jesus before them, but had received the Holy Spirit,
is blasphemy againstthe Spirit. But it is very arbitrary to assume, in
contradiction to Matthew 12:31, Mark 3:29, that the blasphemy againstthe
Holy Spirit presupposes that the Spirit has already been received. The
blasphemers of the Spirit are malevolently conscious and hardened opposers
of Christ. They may certainly have alreadyhad the Spirit and have

apostatizedand become such opposers (Hebrews 10:29);but if such people
were to be understood in this passage,some clearerindicationshould have
been given. Still, how far from the Lord must even the mere thought have
been, that the disciples, His friends, ver. 4, could ever change into such
malignant blasphemers!
Expositor's Greek Testament
Luke 12:2 = Matthew 10:26, there connectedwith a counselnot to fear men
addressedto persons whose vocationimposes the obligationto speak out. Here
= dissimulation, concealmentof your faith, is vain; the truth will out sooneror
later.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
2. Forthere is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed]Rather, But (unless
with ‫א‬ we omit the δὲ altogether). This whole discourse, in its vividness and
compression, and the apparent abruptness of some of its causalconnexions,
indicates the tumult of emotion through which our Lord had been passing in
the lasttrying scene. The line of thought is—‘Hypocrisy aims at concealment;
but, &c.’ Hypocrisy is not only sinful but useless.
covered—revealed]Literally, “veiled over—unveiled.” You will be made
responsible for any part of my teaching which you concealorkeepback.
Bengel's Gnomen
Luke 12:2. Οὐδὲν δἐ, [for, Engl. Vers.] but nothing) All things, both bad and
good, shall be revealed:and they who revealthe truth, are removed (shrink)
from hypocrisy.—συγκεκαλυμμένον, coveredall over) removed from the eyes
of men: so, in darkness (ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ), Luke 12:3.—κρυπτὸν, hidden) removed
also from the knowledge ofmen: so, to the ear (πρὸς τὸ οὖς), Luke 12:3.
Pulpit Commentary
Verses 2, 3. - For there is nothing covered, that shall not he revealed;neither
hid, that shall not be known Therefore whatsoever ye have spokenin darkness

shall be heard in the light. The day would come when his estimate of this now
popular teaching of the Pharisees wouldbe found to have been correct. Its
real nature, now hid, would be revealedand fully known and discredited;
while, on the other hand, the words and teaching of his disciples, now listened
to but by few, and those of seeminglylittle account, would become widely and
generallyknown and listened to. Upon the housetops. These were flat, terrace-
like roofs, and, the houses generallybeing low, one who spoke from them
would easily be heard in the streetbeneath. "These words have a strong
Syrian colouring. The Syrian house-top (in Matthew 10:27 and here) presents
an image which has no sense in Asia Minor, or Greece, orItaly, or even at
Antioch. The fiat roofs cease atthe mouth of the Orontes; Antioch itself has
sloping roofs" (Renan, 'Les Evangiles,'p. 262, note 1).
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCE HURT MD
Luke 12:2 "But there is nothing coveredup that will not be revealed, and
hidden that will not be known.
KJV Luke 12:2 For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed;
neither hid, that shall not be known.
Luke 8:17; Eccl12:14; Mt 10:26; Mark 4:22; Ro 2:16; 1 Cor4:5; 2 Cor 5:10;
Rev 20:11,12
Luke 12 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries

Luke 12:1-3 The Leaven of Hypocrisy - Greg Allen
Luke 12:1-12 Confessing orDenying Christ? - Steven Cole
Luke 12:1-7 A Certain Cure for Hypocrisy, Part 1 - John MacArthur
ALL WILL BE REVEALED
AND MADE KNOWN
This is similar to Jesus'words elsewhere in the Gospels
Mt 10:26 “Therefore do not fearthem, for there is nothing concealedthat will
not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.
Mk 4:22 “Fornothing is hidden, except to be revealed;nor has anything been
secret, but that it would come to light.
Luke 8:17-note “Fornothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor
anything secretthat will not be known and come to light.
Paul gave a similar teaching
1 Ti 5:24-25 The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to
judgment; for others, their sins follow after. 25 Likewise also, deeds thatare
goodare quite evident, and those which are otherwise cannotbe concealed.

Ro 2:6, 16 who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS
DEEDS:(2:16) on the day when, according to my gospel, Godwill judge the
secrets ofmen through Christ Jesus.
1 Cor 4:5 Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait
until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the
darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then eachman’s praise
will come to him from God.
But (term of contrast)Stands in contrastto the leaven of hypocrisy and begins
Jesus'teaching on how to avoid the leavenof hypocrisy. As the NLT
paraphrases it "The time is coming when everything that is coveredup will be
revealed, and all that is secretwill be made known to all."
There is nothing coveredup that will not be revealedand hidden that will not
be known - This is straightforward. God is omniscient. Pr 15:3 (note) says
"The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Watching the evil and the good."
The upshot is that nothing we think, do or say escapesthe omniscient eye of
God. It follows that no one escapesexposure and that everyone will be
revealed. If one is a hypocritical "white washed" tomb on the outside but full
of dead men's bones on the inside (Mt 23:27), he may fool men on earth, but
he does not fool God in heaven and he will be exposed. Eccl12:14 explains
"ForGod will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden,
whether it is goodor evil." (cf Eccl3:17, cf Mt 12:36)
John MacArthur asks in light of the danger of hypocrisy "How to avoid the
eternal disaster of being a hypocrite? In Luke 12:2-13 the Lord gives...three
necessaryrealities, three essentialobligations, if you want to avoid being
damned for being a hypocrite, if you want to make sure you're not in a false
religious system. Here they are. You ready? Honor God, honor Christ, honor

the Spirit. How about that? Godis mentioned in verse 5 as the One who after
He has killed has authority to castinto hell and He's also mentioned in verse
6. The Son is mentioned in verse 8 as the Son of Man who must be confessed,
and mentioned again in verse 10. The Spirit is mentioned in verse 10 and
againin verse 12. And here you have a magnificent trinitarian passageandin
the broad sense ofthings you cannotavoid hell if you're not a trinitarian.
That is to say you're going to hell if you're a unitarian. You cannot honor
God without honoring Christ and you cannot honor Christ without honoring
the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit points to Christ and Christ shows us the
Father. It's a package. The only way you'll ever avoid eternal disasteris to
honor God, honor Christ, and to honor the Holy Spirit. How basic is that?"
(A Certain Cure for Hypocrisy, Part 1)
NET Note on be revealed...be known-The passive voice verbs here ("be
revealed," be made known")see the revelation as coming from God. The text
is both a warning about bad things being revealedand an encouragementthat
goodthings will be made known, though the stress with the images of
darkness and what is hidden in vv. 2–3 is on the attempt to conceal.
Solomonwrites that "God will bring every actto judgment, everything which
is hidden, whether it is goodor evil." (Eccl12:14)
Rod Mattoon- Jesus warns that what the hypocrite has concealed, the true
condition of his heart, would eventually be exposedfor all to see. Whatever
corruption was hidden would be brought out into the open. What is on the
inside of the hypocrite would eventually come to light. Jesus is repeating a
warning that was written in the Pentateuchof the Old Testament. Numbers
32:23—Butif ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned againstthe Lord: and
be sure your sin will find you out." Since one's spiritual life is an inner
condition of the soul that no one can see, hypocrisyis always a spiritual
danger. Hypocrites say and do different things in public than they do in

private. Jesus warnedthat hypocrisy eventually gets exposed. People are not
goodenough at living a double life to fool everyone all the time, and they
never fool God. Nothing canbe hidden from the Lord. The lies of the
hypocrite will be revealed one day whether it is here in this life or on
Judgment Day....Concerning hypocrisy or deception, Abraham Lincoln put it
this way, "You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people
some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time." May we
also add, "You cannot fool God any of the time!"
Be revealed(601)(apokalupto from apó = from + kalúpto = cover, conceal,
English = apocalypse - see study of apokalupsis English= apocalypse)literally
means to remove the coverfrom and so the idea is to remove that which
concealssomething. Almost all of the NT uses have a figurative use, especially
to some aspectof spiritual truth that was heretofore hidden but now has the
"lid removed" so that it canbe seen(understood).
Will be revealedis future tense (speaks offuture judgment) passive voice
(revealedby an outside Source = God is the Revealer)indicative mood (mood
of reality = this is a certainty for every hypocrite! There is absolutely no
escape from this just judgment!)
In Luke 8:17-note Jesus said
For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secretthat
will not be knownand come to light.
Hidden (2927)(kruptos from krupto = keepsecret;English ~ cryptic, etc)
means concealed, secret, hidden either to protect it or for self-serving

purposes. Krupto describes something that is unknown because it is being
kept secretor hidden.
Be known (1097)(ginosko) means to acquire information through some
modality, as through sense perceptionand generallyinvolves experiential
knowledge, notmerely the accumulation of known facts.
The Lord Is Looking - There is nothing coveredthat will not be revealed, nor
hidden that will not be known. —Luke 12:2
Looking through his telescope, anastronomerwas making observations ofthe
setting sun. As he was adjusting his lens, he noticed the top of a hill several
miles away.
On the hill were two boys stealing apples from an orchard. One was shaking
down the fruit and the other was standing watch. They thought no one was
watching them, but the astronomersaw their every move.
How much more does the all-seeing eye of God behold everything we do—
whether in the open or in private. This is a disturbing thought that could lead
us to despair. But God not only sees and remembers, He also forgives and
forgets if we come to Him in repentance and confession. The Lord promises to
do these things with our sins:
Forgive them all (1 Jn. 1:9).
Castthem into the sea (Mic. 7:19).
Take them away(Isa. 6:7).

Coverthem up (Ps. 32:1).
Blot them out (Acts 3:19).
Put them away(Heb. 9:26).
Remember them no more (Heb. 8:12).
We can’t hide our sins from God. So let’s confess them and acceptHis
gracious forgiveness. ByM.R. DeHaan
O God, I have been guilty, I confess,
Thy Spirit has at last my sins made known;
Forgive me, Lord, and I will evermore
Devote myself to Thee and Thee alone. —Smith
God has an all-seeing eye—andan all-forgiving heart.
Luke 12:3 "Accordingly, whateveryou have said in the dark will be heard in
the light, and what you have whisperedin the inner rooms will be proclaimed
upon the housetops.
KJV Luke 12:3 Therefore whatsoeverye have spokenin darkness shallbe
heard in the light; and that which ye have spokenin the ear in closets shallbe
proclaimed upon the housetops.
Accordingly, whateveryou have said in the dark Job24:14,15;Eccl
10:12,13,20;Mt 12:36;Jude 1:14,15

will be heard in the light - The houses in Judea being flat-roofed, with a
balustrade round about, were used for the purpose of taking the air, sleeping,
and prayer, and, it seems, forannouncing things in the most public manner.
So among the Turks, a crier announces the hours of public worship from the
minaret or tower of the mosque.
what you have whisperedin the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the
housetops Mt 10:27
Luke 12 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Luke 12:1-3 The Leaven of Hypocrisy - Greg Allen
Luke 12:1-12 Confessing orDenying Christ? - Steven Cole
Luke 12:1-7 A Certain Cure for Hypocrisy, Part 1 - John MacArthur
WHAT YOU SAY NOW
WILL BE HEARD
Accordingly, whateveryou have said in the dark will be heard in the light -
Jesus is simply amplifying Lk 12:2 using a more figurative description. If we
say something in the dark the picture is that no one hears what we say, but
that is sheerself-deception, but it will be obvious what we said in the light,
when we are exposed.
Accordingly (because of the reasongiven in Lk 12:2) - The point is knowing
what is coming in the future should impact our thoughts, words and conduct
in the present! Are you as convictedas I am? I hope so!
We should fear God (Lk 12:5) because He will revealthe truth. If you are a
hypocrite, it will be brought to the light!

MacArthur adds "The truth of what you are is going to come out and
hypocrites will be seenfor what they really are and especiallyif they name the
name of God and the name of Jesus Christ. How horrible will be their
judgment. FearGod because youcan't hide anything from Him."
And what you have whisperedin the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the
housetops - Whispered is a Greek idiom "spokenin the ear." And so againwe
see that Jesus uses anotherfigure to show how futile it is to think we can hide
what we sayfrom the omniscient Godsimply by "whispering!" This is a
dramatic picture for the housetops of those days were flat, so standing on
them and proclaiming what one said that he thought no one heard would in
fact be clearly heard by all. Hypocrites will one day be seenfor what they
really are.
The inner rooms - In Jesus'day most houses were made of dirt which could
be easily dug through allowing thieves to steal. To minimize this risk, an inner
room was often built in the middle of the house awayfrom the outer wall and
this is where one might keepvaluables. It was also a greatplace to "whisper"
if you did not want anyone to hear! Top secretconversations were also heldin
these rooms! Jesus said, "The secrets ofthese rooms would be proclaimed one
day from the housetops."
NET Note explains that proclaimed from the housetops "is an idiom for
proclaiming something publicly. Roofs of many first century Jewishhouses in
Judea and Galilee were flat and had accesseitherfrom outside or from within
the house. Something shouted from atop a house would be heard by everyone
in the streetbelow."
Mattoonon housetops - This was a common practice in that time.
Proclamations by localgovernors or masters from the housetops, in towns or
on farms, continue even in our time. These governors proclaimedtheir
commands from the roof to those under their authority. Masters would make

announcements to their workers when they returned from the fields. The key
point here is the fact that evil will be exposedone day. Nothing is hidden from
the Lord. This train of thought runs all throughout the Bible.
In fact in Matthew 10 Jesus directedHis 12 disciples (Mt 10:1) to proclaim
their message(GoodNews)from the housetops:
Therefore do not fearthem, for there is nothing concealedthat will not be
revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 “What I tell you in the
darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear,
proclaim upon the housetops. (Mt 10:26-27)
Darrell L. Bock - This figure of speechdescribes our most private practices.
This is a classic reversaltheme:the most private of acts and utterances
become the most public. It is this exposure that makes hypocrisy useless in the
long run and the heroic deed done in private an objectof admiration
eventually. The contrasts are strong: darkness versus light and private
whispering versus public preaching. (Luke 9:51-24:53, BakerExegetical
Commentary on the New Testament[Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996], 1135)
Mattoonapplies this section - May we heed the warning of Jesus and look out
for the leaven of hypocrisy. We cando this by scrutinizing our ownactions
closely, making sure our walk matches our talk. Be sure to not be harsh or
hard with other people and their faults. Be swift to admit your mistakes when
you make them. Look out for the leaven.
Spurgeon- It would be well if we all lived in such a fashion that we should not
be ashamed to have everything we did placardedon the very sky. I have heard
of one who said that he would like to have a window in his heart, so that
everybody might see what was going on. I think that, if I had such a window
in my heart, I should like to have shutters to it; and I question whether any

man really could wish to have his heart open to the gaze of all mankind. But,
at least, let our lives be such that we should not be ashamedfor the universal
eye to be fixed upon them. If thou art ashamedto have any one of thine
actions known, be ashamed to do it. If thou wouldst be ashamed to hear again
what thou was about to say, do not sayit. Check thy tongue; be cautious and
careful. Live ever as one who realizes God’s omniscience. While one of the
ancient orators was speaking, onone occasion, allhis hearers went awaywith
the exceptionof Plato; but he continued to speak as eloquently as ever, for he
said that Plato was a sufficient audience for any man. So, if there be no one
but the eye of God looking upon thee, be just as careful as if thou were in the
street, surrounded by thy fellow-creatures;nay, be more careful because thou
art in the presence of thy Creator.
ILLUSTRATION - THE TRUTH WILL COME OUT - Early in 1996, the
body of the former ambassadorto Switzerland (M. Larry Lawrence)was
buried in Arlington Cemetery, America's graveyard of war heroes. His
granite tombstone read, "S1C [SeamanFirst Class]U.S. MerchantMarine."
But according to Don Van Natta Jr. and Elaine Sciolino in the New York
Times, on December11, 1997, cemeteryworkershauled that tombstone away,
and they exhumed the casket. (READ THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE) The
reason:the man had lied. For years he told others he had served on the Coast
Guard ship Horace Bushnell during World War II. He said the Germans
torpedoed the ship, and he had been thrown overboard, sustaining a head
injury. In fact, records showedthat at the time he said he was serving in the
MerchantMarine he was actuallyattending Wilbur Wright College in
Chicago. The CoastGuardhad no recordof his serving in the Merchant
Marine, and of course he had never earned the rank of seamanfirst class.
Somehow his lie was not discoveredwhen the State Department investigated
his background, and he was approved as an ambassador. Somehow his body
was permitted to be buried in Arlington Cemetery with a tombstone engraved
with a lie, but to no surprise, the truth eventually came out. The truth always
will.

Mr. Lawrence's misrepresentations wentundetectedin his lifetime by almost
everyone, including President Clinton, who consideredhim a friend....Mr.
Clinton told the mourners how Mr. Lawrence had suffered a serious head
injury when he was thrown overboardfrom his ship, the Horace Bushnell,
after it was hit by a German torpedo in the lastdays of World War II. He
''showedthe same courage and resolve he had shown as a young merchant
marine during World War II,'' the Presidentsaid. It was not until last
weekendthat it became known that on the day the Bushnell was torpedoed,
Mr. Lawrence was in his native Chicago, attending classes atWilbur Wright
College. Now there are regrets and soul-searching. (Fromthe N Y Times -
very interesting reading, even for the liberal N Y Times!)
ADAM CLARKE
Verse 2
There is nothing covered - See the notes on Matthew 5:15; Matthew 10:26,
Matthew 10:27; (note); Mark 4:22; (note).
Wise Counsel - Luke 12:1-12
Rev. Bruce Goettsche
Union Church of La Harpe Illinois
In the Book ofProverbs we are given this admonition:

Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forgetmy words or swerve from them.
Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protectyou; love her, and she will watch
over you. Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it costall you
have, getunderstanding. (Proverbs 4:5-7)
We look for goodteachers to teach us how to play music, increase our skills in
a sport, teachus to dance, or help us learn a trade. We seek the advice of a
goodfinancial manager. We look for trainers (O.K., you may look for a
trainer) to help you getin shape. We go to any number of “specialists”to get
advice on how to solve various problems. We know instinctively that good
advice is hard to come by.
In our text, Luke 12:1-12, Jesus is giving instruction to his disciples in the
hearing of the multitude. We are told, “a crowdof many thousands had
gathered, so that they were trampling on one another”. The people knew
Jesus had uncommon wisdom. They were eagerto hear what He had to say. I
suspectHe was like a breath of fresh air. He was someone who spoke the truth
and did so in a way that people could understand. He was humble yet spoke
with authority. He was approachable yet He was a cut above everyone else.
His advice was life-changing. I invite you to listen intently as the Mastergives
us counselfor life.
Guard AgainstHypocrisy – Be Real
Jesus, we are told, spoke first to his disciples (but certainly within the hearing
of the crowd),
“Be on your guard againstthe yeastof the Pharisees,whichis hypocrisy. 2
There is nothing concealedthat will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not

be made known. 3 What you have said in the dark will be heard in the
daylight, and what you have whispered in the earin the inner rooms will be
proclaimed from the roofs. (1-5)
Jesus was not one to mince words. He told his disciples to beware of the kind
of hypocrisy that characterizedthe Pharisees. Whywere they hypocrites?
Becausethey wanted to look holy more than they wanted to be holy.
They claimed to be devoted to the Lord yet they manipulated God’s truth in
order to suit their purposes and advance their own causes.
They were quick to see the sin in others but seemedunable to see the sin in
themselves.
We learn two things about hypocrisy. First, hypocrisy is deception. A key idea
of hypocrisy is “hiding”. The word hypocrite came from the idea of playing a
part in the theatre. The hypocrite is pretending to be something they are not.
Mosthypocrites don’t realize that they are hypocrites. They have convinced
themselves that they have things under control. They cannot see their own
addictions, weaknesses andfailures. They spend their life pretending and
trying to keepothers from recognizing that they are pretending. They are so
convincing that they foolthemselves.

The secondthing we learn is that hypocrisy is foolishand futile. Jesus said
who we really are will be “made known”. The truth will come out. Pretenders
will be exposed. Abraham Lincoln is credited with saying,
“You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of
the time, but you cannotfool all of the people all the time.”
It is hard to keepliving a lie. Eventually the truth will reveal itself.
Arthur ConanDoyle of Sherlock Holmes fame used to playfully tell a bogus
tale about how he sent a telegramto eachof twelve friends, all men of great
virtue, reputation, and considerable positionin society. The messagesimply
said: “Fly at once, all is discovered.” Within twenty-four hours, Doyle says, all
twelve had left the country![1]
You may be here today hiding a truckloadof secrets. Youmay have done
such a goodjob of burying your “otherlife” that people don’t have a clue.
Here’s the harsh reality friend: you cannot keepyour true self hidden forever.
You will be found out! It is much better to run to Jesus, confesswhatis really
going on, and ask Him to cleanse youand make you truly into a new personin
Christ. He alreadyknows the truth about your life . . . and He loves you
anyway. The message ofthe gospelis this: Jesus came into the world to save
flawed people like you and me.
The opposite of hypocrisy is sincerity or genuineness. A genuine person
admits their failures, struggles, fears and misunderstandings. They ask for
help when it is needed. Genuine people tell themselves the truth about
themselves. They face the struggles insteadof trying to bury them.

A few weeks back anumpire by the name of Jim Joyce made the wrong call
on the last out of a perfect game that was pitched by Armando Galarraga of
the DetroitTigers. A perfectgame is when a pitcher gives up no hits, no
walks, and there are no base runners of any kind during the game. It is very
rare. Joyce calledthe runner safe when replays showedhe was clearly out. It
was a bad call. Jim Joyce proved himself to be a genuine and sincere person.
When the game was over he watchedthe replay. To His credit he went to the
Tigerlockerroom and apologizedfor missing the call. He made no excuses.
He did not plead any extenuating circumstances.He saidhe was wrong and he
was sorry. He said the same thing to the media. On the other side the pitcher
who was denied the recordbook was equally gracious and kind. This mistake
led to one of the finest expressions of sportsmanship we have ever seen. This is
the kind of characterJesus encourages us to pursue.
The place to start being genuine is with the Lord Himself. Admit your
failures. Seek His grace. Discoverthe freshness offorgiveness.
FearGod- Be Reverent
The secondpiece of advice is found in verses 4-7
4 “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after
that can do no more. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fearhim
who, after the killing of the body, has powerto throw you into hell. Yes, I tell
you, fear him. 6 Are not five sparrows soldfor two pennies? Yet not one of
them is forgotten by God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all
numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Jesus knew the leaders of Israelwere plotting to kill Him. Things were going
to get rough. Jesus knew that things were not only going to be rough for Him,
they were going to be rough for the disciples as well. These followers ofJesus
were going to face persecution. Mostofthese men were martyred because of
their faith.
At a time when hostility towardChristians is increasing (especiallyas Islam
aggressivelyexpands throughout the world), these words become extremely
relevant. We may not be in immediate danger of executionbecause of our
faith, but we may face economic persecution, legalpersecution, and certainly
the persecutionof public ridicule due to our faith. Acceptable speechno
longerallows talk of “sin”, judgment, accountability and evenright and
wrong. When we stand up for Christ we become a targetfor many.
Jesus does not guarantee that he will protect our physical life. He does not
deny that there may be hardships. Godsometimes requires martyrdom of his
disciples. Jesus is telling us that we must keepperspective. To compromise
what is eternal to maintain what is temporary is foolish. Jesus reminds us that
the world can only kill us. They cannot take our true life or keepus from
eternity in Heaven. We should live our lives not looking at our enemies but at
our Lord!
I think we canexpand this even further . . . not only should we not fear the
people that can kill the body, we shouldn’t fear diseasesthat candestroy our
body, or fear situations that can make our lives difficult. Paul had the right
perspective:“Forme to live is Christ, to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21)
We have many examples from history. The disciples chose deathrather than
deny the Lord. Martin Luther fearedGod more than the august Councilwho
told him to recantof his teachings. His famous words,

Unless I am convictedby Scripture and plain reason—Ido not acceptthe
authority of popes and councils, for they have contradictedeachother—my
conscienceis captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant
anything, for to go againstconscience is neither right nor safe. Godhelp me.
Amen.
Luther fearedGod more than the men of power. He knew that he could be
burned as a heretic (others already had been so punished). Yet, Luther also
knew that He would rather have this life takenfrom him than forfeit eternal
life by denying His Lord.
Martyrs die every day throughout the world. Missionaries willingly go into
countries and neighborhoods that are hostile to the gospeland those who
proclaim it. Students take a stand in secularuniversity lecture halls even
though they know they may be vilified. Others refuse to compromise their
faith on the job even though they know they may be fired….they all do this
because they fear or respectGod more than the power of men.
Jesus quickly reminds us that God cares about us and loves us. God keeps
track of the birds and he even knows how many hairs are on our head (an
easiertask for some than others). We are to fearand submit to Him because
He loves us.
The advice is simple: Don’t compromise your obedience to the Lord of life
To be popular with your friends

To make more money
To keepfrom being punished
To indulge a temporary pleasure
To garner the applause of men
To save your life
When the Scottishreformer John Knox was loweredto his grave, it was
declared:“Here lies one who fearedGod so much that he never feared the
face of man.” Oh that this might be said of us as well!
Take a Bold Stand with Christ – Be fearless, Trusting
The third piece of wisdom from Jesus is found in verses 8-10
8 “I tell you, whoeveracknowledgesme before men, the Son of Man will also
acknowledge him before the angels of God. 9 But he who disowns me before
men will be disownedbefore the angels of God. 10 And everyone who speaks a
word againstthe Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes
againstthe Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

These words are a warning to those who might think of “toning down” their
professionto escape persecution. If we are not willing to stand with Jesus on
earth . . . we should not expectHim to stand with us in Heaven.
Think about this. If someone pretends not to know you when they are with
their friends will you continue to think of them as your friend? No. If a person
is not willing to acknowledgeyour friendship at all times . . . they are not your
friend at all. In the same way Jesus says thatthose who do not stand with Him
in public are not truly devoted to Him even in private. These words are meant
to make us stop and think.
The words that follow talk about the “blasphemy againstthe Holy Spirit”. We
are told that people may be forgiven for speaking againstChristbut those
who blaspheme againstthe Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. This is obviously a
serious sin. It is the unforgiveable sin. Therefore, it is important we
understand what this sin is.
There are differences of opinion on what this unpardonable sin could be. Let
me give you my conclusion. I believe this sin is a final and persistentrefusal to
respond to the Holy Spirit’s convictionof sin and summons to faith. In order
to be forgiven a personneeds to be truly sorry; they need to repent. The
person being talkedabout here is the one who has become callous and hard
toward the things of God. Their sin is unpardonable because they are
steadfastlyunwilling to do what leads to pardon.
The goodnews is: every other sin is pardonable. No matter what you have
done in the past, if you are willing to confess thatsin with true sorrow and
turn to the Lord for forgiveness and a new direction for your life, you can be
forgiven. This warning is serious . . . it is possible to pretend for so long, to
resistfor so long, to be indifferent for so long, that you no longer are able to

respond to the summons of God’s Spirit. The fact that you are here today
probably means you have not reachedthat point. Do not take the warning
lightly. Turn to Him while you can still embrace God’s pardon.
Don’t Worry: Be Confident
One final word from the Lord,
“When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not
worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, 12 for the
Holy Spirit will teachyou at that time what you should say.” [11-12]
I suspectthe disciples were like you and me. As we hear His words we think,
“I don’t know if I cando this. I don’t know if I will have the courage and I’m
pretty sure I won’t have the right words to say.” To us Jesus says, “the Holy
Spirit will give you the words”.
Jesus is not saying, “Don’t worry about your test. . . I’ll give you the
answers.” He is not saying “Don’t worry about preparing for your sermon or
your lessons forSunday Schoolbecause I will give you the right words when
the time comes.” The Lord does not reward laziness!We have an obligation
to “study to show ourselves approved a workmanthat does not need to be
ashamedand who correctlyhandles the Word of Truth” (2 Timothy 2:15)
What Jesus is telling us that in those times when we are suddenly and
unexpectedly called before the courts (like Luther) or suddenly find ourselves
standing before opponents of faith, God will give us the words we need. In the
times when you have a chance to testify to your faith but you don’t know what

to say, Jesus said, “Don’tpanic, the Holy Spirit will give you the right words
to say”.
One time I was on jury duty and an attorney questioned me about my ability
to be “impartial” in a drug case since I was a Pastor. He askedme if my
Christian beliefs would impact how I viewedthe case. Outof my mouth came
these words, “If you are asking me if I can separate my faith from my
thoughts and actions - you need to understand: being a Christian is not
something I do . . . it is who I am.”
I don’t know where those words came from exceptfrom the Holy Spirit. They
were so goodI wrote them down when I got out to the car!!! (Incidentally, I
was dismissedfrom hearing the case). The Lord promises that in those times
when we are put on the spot He will give those who are His true followers the
right words.
Conclusions
Jesus has given us some very practical and wise counselthis morning. He’s
told us to
Be Genuine rather than hypocritical.
FearGod rather than be controlledby people and organizations that cannot
impact our eternal destiny

When you are asked(or forced)to choose. . . stand with Jesus. He is the One
who will never leave us or forsake us.
Prepare faithfully and speak boldly in confident that God will give us the right
words at the right time.
Jesus calls us to a radical(rather than a casual)commitment. His words are
admittedly a little unnerving. When we are genuine we become vulnerable to
those who are quick to criticize. No one wants to be rejectedby others. It is
threatening to speak up as a believer because we don’t know what the
consequencesmaybe. However Jesus isn’t asking us to do these things in our
strength, but in His. Ask God to help you to serve Him boldly.
It is important to get goodcounsel. However, that advice is valuable only if
you are willing to take it and apply it to your life. So today we stand at a
crossroads. Youhave heard the advice of Jesus. Now the question is: will you
shrug it off (as if you knew better) or will you ask Godfor the courage to
apply it? If we take the path of courageousobedience we will discovera new
intimacy with God, a new peace, a new joy, a new beginning, and yes . . . even
a new life.
MATTHEW HENRY
The instructions which he gave his followers, in the hearing of this auditory.
1. He began with a cautionagainsthypocrisy. This he saidto his disciples first
of all either to the twelve, or to the seventy. These were his more peculiar

charge, his family, his school, and therefore he particularly warned them as
his belovedsons they made more professionofreligion than others and
hypocrisy in that was the sin they were most in dangerof. They were to
preach to others and, if they should prevaricate, corrupt the word, and deal
deceitfully, hypocrisy would be worse in them than in others. Besides, there
was a Judas among them, who was a hypocrite, and Christ knew it, and would
hereby startle him, or leave him inexcusable. Christ's disciples were, for aught
we know, the best men then in the world, yet they needed to be cautioned
againsthypocrisy. Christ said this to the disciples, in the hearing of this great
multitude, rather than privately when he had them by themselves, to add the
greaterweightto the caution, and to let the world know that he would not
countenance hypocrisy, no, not in his own disciples. Now observe,
(1.) The description of that sin which he warns them against:It is the leavenof
the Pharisees. [1.]It is leaven it is spreading as leaven, insinuates itself into the
whole man, and all that he does it is swelling and souring as leaven, for it puffs
men up with pride, embitters them with malice, and makes their service
unacceptable to God. [2.] It is the leaven of the Pharisees:"It is the sin they
are most of them found in. Take heedof imitating them be not you of their
spirit do not dissemble in Christianity as they do in Judaism make not your
religion a cloak ofmaliciousness, as they do theirs."
(2.) A goodreasonagainstit: "Forthere is nothing coveredthat shall not be
revealed, Luke 12:2,3. It is to no purpose to dissemble, for, sooneror later,
truth will come out and a lying tongue is but for a moment. If you speak in
darkness that which is unbecoming you, and is inconsistentwith your public
professions, it shall be heard in the light some way or other it shall be
discovered, a bird of the air shall carry the voice (Ecclesiastes10:20), and
your folly and falsehoodwill be made manifest." The iniquity that is
concealedwith a show of piety will be discovered, perhaps in this world, as
Judas's was, and Simon Magus's, atfurthest in the greatday, when the secrets
of all hearts shall be made manifest, Ecclesiastes12:14;Romans 2:16. If men's

religion prevail not to conquer and cure the wickednessoftheir hearts, it shall
not always serve for a cloak. The day is coming when hypocrites will be
stripped of their fig-leaves.
2. To this he added a charge to them to be faithful to the trust reposedin
them, and not to betray it, through cowardice orbase fear. Some make Luke
12:2,3, to be a caution to them not to concealthose things which they had been
instructed in, and were employed to publish to the world. "Whethermen will
hear, or whether they will forbear, tell them the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth what has been spoken to you, and you have talkedof
among yourselves, privately, and in corners, that do you preach publicly,
whoeveris offended for, if you please men, you are not Christ's servants, nor
can you please him," Galatians 1:10. But this was not the worstof it: it was
likely to be a suffering cause, though never a sinking one: let them therefore
arm themselves with courage anddivers arguments are furnished here to steel
them with a holy resolution in their work. Consider,
IVP NEW TESTAMENTCOMMENTARIES
Hypocrisy will not work, because everything is revealedbefore God. The
secrets ofpeople's hearts will be revealed(Rom 2:15; 1 Cor 4:5). God's
omniscience means that there is nothing concealedthat will not be disclosed,
or hidden that will not be made known. This includes words saidin the dark
or whispered in private rooms. A private room (tameion) was the innermost
apartment in a house. So even things said deep within one's home and mind
are knownto God. Even these things will be proclaimed from the housetops
one day. What is done in the basement will be revealedon mountaintops. We
may divide our activities into public and private, visible and unseen, but there
is no such division with God's vision. The walls we build up to protect our
psyche and rationalize our behavior cannot keepout the eyes of God.

JOHN MACARTHUR
And why should you fear God? Three reasons. Number one, God will
uncover what is hidden. Godwill uncover what is hidden. Look at verse 2,
"There is nothing coveredup that will not be revealedand hidden that will
not be known. According to whateveryou 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." Prettysimple, isn't it? No one escapes
exposure. No one escapesexposure. Everybodyis revealed.
By the way, this is a favorite saying of our Lord. Luke 8:17 has the same
statement, "Nothing coveredthat won't be uncovered, nothing hidden that
won't be brought to light." He also said it in Matthew 10:26. That was up in
Galilee. A parallelpassage in Matthew 10 occurredearlier in His ministry in
Galilee, same truth. It's also in Mark 4:22. And it really is a principle drawn
out of the Old Testamentbecause atthe end of the book of Ecclesiastesthe last
verse of the last chapter, chapter 12, verse 14, "Godwill bring every actto
judgment, everything which is hidden whether it’s goodor evil." Nobodygets
awaywith anything. Hypocrites may be successfulhere, but this is it. Not all
hypocrites are successful. I've often said time and truth go hand and hand.
And in most cases ifyou're a hypocrite, generallyit will come out. Time and
truth go hand in hand. Given enough time you know the truth about someone.
But for sure if you can coverit up, and some men's sins, as Paul wrote to
Timothy, some men's sins are knownhere, 1 Timothy 5:24 and 25. But some
men's sins won't be knowntill the future but they will be known. Matthew
16:27, "The Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Fatherwith His
angels and will recompense everyman according to his deeds." And Romans
2 and verse 6 says the same thing, "He's going to render every man according
to His deeds." Verse 16, "Onthe day when according to My gospelGodwill

judge the secrets ofmen." And 1 Corinthians 4:5, "He's going to revealnot
only the secrets ofthe heart but the motives."
“Whateveryou saidin the dark is going to come out in the light,” verse 3
adds, which is just a metaphoric way of saying it's all going to be exposed.
And He talks about an inner room, which just as a note, houses in those days
were made out of dirt, basically. And you remember when Jesus talkedabout
thieves digging through and stealing? Becauseyou basicallydug through the
wall made out of mud. And so there was normally built inside the house in the
middle of the house, away from the outer wall an inner room. And that's
where all the valuables were kept. That's what He's talking about. It was a
greatplace to keepyour valuables and it was also the place where you went to
whisper when you didn't want anybody to hear you. So He says, "Whatever
you have said in the dark is going to be heard in the light, whatever you were
saying when everybody was asleepis going to be heard in the light, and
whateveryou were whispering in the inner room is going to be proclaimed
upon the housetops." The housetops were flat. They had a little short wall
around them and they were patios. But it was the place where
announcements were made. Back in Matthew chapter 10 the disciples were to
go on the housetops and preachthe gospel. That's where you made public
announcements. And Jesus is saying you may have thought you could keepit
hidden in the inner room, and I'm telling you it's going to be broadcastfrom
the housetop. And if not in this life, in the life to come when you stand before
the judgment seatand the Lord recompenses youfor what you've done,
everything is going to be made known. Revelation20:11 to 15: The books are
going to be opened and every man is going to be judged out of those books and
the recordwill be complete and the truth will be known.
So, you want to fear God because He's going to reveal the truth. You're not
going to get awaywith it. The truth of what you are is going to come out and

hypocrites will be seenfor what they really are and especiallyif they name the
name of God and the name of Jesus Christ. How horrible will be their
judgment. FearGod because youcan't hide anything from Him.
RICH CATHERS
Introduction
Jesus’ministry is wellunder way, and the people have been amazed not just
at the things He’s been teaching, but the things He’s been doing.
Over the lastfew studies we’ve followedJesus to a dinner party being hosted
by a Pharisee.
Pharisees were goodat pointing out the faults in others, but they were equally
goodat finding excuses fortheir own faults.
Jesus beganto challenge the Pharisees to learn to deal with the inner issues of
their heart instead of only being concernedwith what others saw on the
outside.
12:1-3 Hypocrisy
:1 In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered
together, so that they trampled one another, He beganto say to His disciples
first of all, “Beware ofthe leaven of the Pharisees, whichis hypocrisy.
:1 an innumerable multitude of people had gatheredtogether
As Jesus has been confronting the Pharisees,a huge crowd gathers. The
people are stepping on top of eachother.
The things He’s going to sayto His disciples are in light of the huge popularity
that Jesus is experiencing at the moment.

When there are a lot of people around, a lot of admirers, there canbe a
temptation to “play to the crowd”.
You can start to pretend to be something that you’re not in order to keepthe
attention up.
:1 He beganto say to His disciples
Jesus is aiming this next teaching at those who are following Him. He is not
aiming it at the Pharisees.
:1 Beware ofthe leavenof the Pharisees
Lesson
Contagious
Leaven is any kind of agentthat, when added to bread dough, causes the
dough to rise, making it lighter and better tasting.
The most typical type of leavenis yeast, a biologicalagentthat reacts to the
sugars in the bread dough and converts the sugarinto carbondioxide and
ethanol.
Here’s an experiment you canactually try at home:
Video: Active Yeast
You could say that yeastworks through corruption or decay.
When leaven is discussedin Scripture, there are two distinct ideas involved:
Big Effect
It only takes a pinch of yeastin a bit lump of dough to affectthe entire lump.
Sometimes this is a goodthing, like when you’re trying to bake a cake.
Jesus usedthis idea when He said,

(Matthew 13:33 NKJV) Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of
heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures ofmeal
till it was all leavened.”
Sin
Leaven works by decaying the thing it’s put inside.
Sin does the same thing, causing decayin our lives.
When you put these two pictures together, you get a disturbing image.
Just like leaven, a little bit of sin in our lives cancause huge damage, both to
our own selfas well as affecting others.
Video: WeatherChannel Chain-reactionSkiCollision
Sin’s like that. When one goes down, it affects others.
When Joshua and the Israelites conqueredthe city of Jericho, a man named
Achan took some things that were forbidden from the city and hid it in his
tent.
When the Israelites moved on to conquer the next city, Ai, they had a
humiliating defeatbecause of this hidden sin. God told them why…
(Joshua 7:13b The Message)… There are cursedthings in the camp. You
won’t be able to face your enemies until you have gotten rid of these cursed
things.
Whether or not you will acknowledgeit, your sin affects those around you.
When Paul was rebuking the Corinthian church for allowing an immoral man
to go unchallenged, he wrote,

(1 Corinthians 5:6–8 NKJV) —6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know
that a little leavenleavens the whole lump? 7 Therefore purge out the old
leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For
indeed Christ, our Passover, wassacrificedfor us. 8 Therefore let us keepthe
feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but
with the unleavenedbread of sincerity and truth.
When a family celebrates Passover, theyare carefulto make sure there is no
leavenin the house. It’s a picture of a life without sin.
Don’t misunderstand me here – I am not saying that we need to remove all
sinners from the church.
The church would be empty if we did that.
The issue is that we don’t hide our sin and leave it undealt with.
We need to help eachother lovingly wage the battle over sin in our lives.
:1 which is hypocrisy
This is the “leaven” ofthe Pharisees.
hypocrisy – hupokrisis – the acting of a stage player; hypocrisy
An actorwas calledan hupocrites.
In ancient Greece, acting wasn’tas refined as it is today.
Instead of an actor being goodat expressing their feelings or emotions, they
simply held masks up over their faces when they read their lines to show
whether or not they were happy or sad.

The essenceofhypocrisy is trying to be something that you’re not. It’s hiding
behind a mask.
Video: Masks
Don’t forget the thing about leaven – that it’s “contagious”.
When one person starts acting like a hypocrite, those of us aware of it can
become “infected” and start to think that it’s okayto pretend to be something
that you’re not.
Lesson
Why do I pretend?
I think that one of the issues at the heart of hypocrisy is that of acceptance.
Perhaps I am afraid that if others saw the realme, they would be upset and
probably not acceptme.
Perhaps I have a hard time accepting myself for what I am, so I pretend to be
something else to make myself feel better.
Warren Wiersbe: Hypocrisy does to the ego what yeastdoes to bread dough:
it puffs it up.
The other night I had a strange dream and when I woke up I felt like I had
two things that God wanted me to tell eachof you.
Or rather, two things that I wish eachof you would tell yourselves.
Greatly Loved
You are greatly loved by God, even with all of your flaws.
(Romans 5:8 NKJV) But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that
while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

(John 3:16 NKJV) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoeverbelieves in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
(1 John 3:16a NKJV) By this we know love, because He laid down His life for
us.
I’m not saying God doesn’t want you to change or dealwith your sin, but the
Bible says that despite your sin, God loves you.
Video: The Passion– Cross and Communion
I can’t help but think of the joy Jesus felt that even at the cross, one ofthose
He loved was being saved.
Worth It
When you watch what Jesus wentthrough on the cross for us, do you ever
wonder if He thinks you’re worth it?
In God’s eyes, you were worth the sacrifice ofJesus.
Otherwise, why would He have allowedJesus to die for your sin if He didn’t
think that you were worth the costHe had to pay?
It’s easyfor me to saythis to eachof you because I too have a sense that this is
true for eachof you.

You are greatly loved.
You are a person that Jesus thought was worth dying for.
What I actually find difficult from time to time is thinking that these two
things are actually true of myself.
In my dream, I felt like God wanted me to saythese things to myself in the
mirror – face to face with myself. That’s not easyto do.
This is not some sort of “positive confession”orpop psychology, but
something to admit as truth despite all of my sins and weaknesses.
It’s not something I should say after I’ve gottenall cleanedup, shaved, and
looking goodfor the day, but when I’m at my ugliest, at my weakest, atmy
most sinful condition. (that’s about the ugliestpicture of me I could find –
when I was having a “sleepstudy” done five years ago).
Don’t do it when you look like this, but like this… That’s you without the
“mask”.
Here’s what I would like you to try for me this morning.
Do you have the ability to take a “selfie” on your phone right now? Send it to
yourself and add this text: “Greatlyloved” and “Worth it”.
Or … you could try writing those two phrases on two 3x5 cards and taping
them to your bathroom mirror.
When I grasp the truth that God loves me and Godthought I was worth dying
for, perhaps I will stop feeling like I need to pretend to be something I am not.
It is a wonderful motivation to want to change, to do it in response to God’s
love for me.
:2 For there is nothing coveredthat will not be revealed, nor hidden that will
not be known.
:3 Therefore whateveryou have spokenin the dark will be heard in the light,
and what you have spokenin the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the
housetops.

:2 there is nothing coveredthat will not be revealed
That’s kind of a scarything, isn’t it?
It seems that every few weeks some new scandalis being uncovered.
Ashley Madison
Last summer 32 million names were releasedof people who were a part of the
Ashley Madisonwebsite, a website that promotes infidelity. Their motto was
“Life is short. Have an affair.”
Among the names was a pastorwho ended up committing suicide because of
the shame he was afraid would occurwhen his involvement was uncovered.
The Panama Papers
Last week a set of papers were releasedto the media of those who were hiding
money from their own governments in order to not pay taxes on those funds.
Hundreds of world leaders were among the names.
Some, like the Prime Minister of Iceland have already resigned, and others
are under pressure to step aside.
D.C. Madam
Back in 2007 a prostitution ring in WashingtonD.C. was uncoveredthat
exposedsome of Washington’s elite to scandal.
The lawyerof the “madam” is now threatening to release allthe names and
phone numbers which were never released, claiming that it will impact the
upcoming presidential election.
Video: D.C. Madam’s Attorney wants to release records
As of April 5, the Supreme Court has denied the lawyer’s requestto lift the
“gag order”, but the lawyerhas threatened to release the documents anyway.
Is there something to this? Or is he just someone who wants attention?

Even if your name has never been linked to any of these scandals, there will be
a day when eachof us will stand before God, and if you haven’t dealt with the
issues in your life, your “records” willbe uncovered by God.
Lesson
Growing in truth
It is possible to live your life under the mask of hypocrisy.
We don’t like certainparts of our lives, so we make up stories or just try to
put on a goodface.
Ananias and Sapphira had been living a lie. They sold a piece of property and
made it sound as if they were giving every penny to the church. In reality,
they had kept some of the money for themselves while pretending to give
everything. Petertold them,
(Acts 5:4 NKJV) While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was
sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceivedthis thing in
your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”
God was so serious about keeping hypocrisy from getting a foothold so early
in the church that they both died.
When David had hidden his adultery with Bathsheba and even tried to cover
it up by having her husband Uriah put to death, he found out that God knew
his secret.
God even shared the secretwith the prophet Nathan who confrontedDavid on
his sin.
In David’s psalm of confession, David wrote,
(Psalm 51:6a NKJV) Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts…
God wants us to be honest with ourselves.

When I don’t live my life in a transparent way, in an honestway, without
secrets, I’m actually just cheating myself.
The Greek wordfor “truth” in the New Testamentis aletheia, which means
literally “uncovered”.
God wants us to live our lives in truth. No secrets.
(Ephesians 4:15 NKJV) but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all
things into Him who is the head—Christ—
Learning to be honestwith eachother is how we grow up and mature.
In the twelve step programs, they have a phrase that I like. They call it
“rigorous honesty”.
To be honest, some people are a little too honest… like these kids…
Video: The Honesty of Children
Sometimes we are reluctant to be honestwith others because some people
won’t know what to do with your honest.
Video: A Few Good Men– You Can’t Handle the Truth
There are some people who can’t handle the truth.
You need to be a little careful who you start to share the “truth” with.
You might not need to share the “truth” with the entire room, but you might
want to start with someone who can handle it.

It might be a leaderat church, it might be a counselor, it might be a good
friend if they are someone who knows the Lord.
Whether everyone can handle the truth is not an excuse to hide the truth.
Living in the truth is like being in a room with the lights on.
As long as the lights are out and the room is dark, I can ignore certain things
that I can’t see.
But when the light comes on, and I look in the mirror, I can’t ignore what is
before me.
(1 John 1:7 NKJV) But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have
fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus ChristHis Son cleansesus
from all sin.
Video: Truth Project – Dark Closet
I want to challenge you today to let a little more light into your life.
Open the closetdoora little wider.
It’s better to be honestnow than to wait for the time when everything is
shouted from the rooftops.
Luke: The Leaven of Hypocrisy
Sermon by J. Ligon Duncan on August 1, 2010
Luke 12:1-3

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The Lord’s Day Morning
August 1, 2010
Luke 12:1-3
“The Leaven of Hypocrisy”
Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III

If you have your Bibles I’d invite you to turn with me to Luke chapter 12.
We’re going to look at a brief passagethis morning, just the first three
verses of Luke chapter 12. As you
turn there you may want to allow your eyes to roam back over Luke 11.
The lastthree times we were togetherin Luke we were looking at what
started as a very awkwarddinner conversationbetweenJesus anda Pharisee.
A Pharisee had welcomedJesus into his home for a public dinner.
At the very outset, apparently, the Pharisee had let it be knownthat he
was somewhatstunned and shockedand dismayed and disappointed that
Jesus had
not gone through the man-made Pharisees’rites of ritual hand washing before
the
meal, which was consideredby the Phariseessomething that every truly godly,
truly holy person would do, though it’s not commanded in God’s Word.
And the Pharisee had at leastwith his heart, and maybe with his tongue,
judged Jesus forJesus’not doing this.
And Jesus lit him up in conversation.
If we had been sitting around the dinner table we would have all be
looking down into our plates, moving food around awkwardly, hoping not to
be
drawn into the conversation. And
that conversationbegins an extended discussionof the problem of the religion
of the Pharisees.And after that

conversation, you remember, Jesus takes His disciples aside and He begins to
pronounce woes orcurses upon the Pharisees andthen upon the scribes or the
lawyers – not those who practice law for a vocation, not attorneys, but scribes
or lawyers, those who were experts in the Torah, the law of the Hebrews, who
were responsible for interpreting it and explaining it to people.
And so Jesus pronounces a series of woes onboth Pharisees and lawyers.
Now that actually continues into Luke chapter 12.
You’re going to see it in this exchange.
Jesus has now left the setting of a dinner and He’s out getting ready to
engage in public ministry and they’re actually a bunch of people around Him
but
He’s still zeroing in on the conversationthat started with the Pharisee.
And it has to do with the essenceofthe problem of Phariseeism, whichHe
identifies here as the leaven of the Pharisees whichis hypocrisy.
So He’s still on the subject of hypocrisy.
Well, we’ll read God’s Word and ask for His blessing on it in prayer.
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, we come before You now and we ask that You would open
our eyes
to behold wonderful things in Your Word.

EspeciallyLord as we read Your Word and as we mark it and pay heed to it
and hear it proclaimed, we ask that You would give us the grace today, by
Your
Holy Spirit, to apply this Word to ourselves, to not think about how it applies
to other people, but to think about how it applies to us and then to seek the
Savior and His grace, who alone can forgive us and enable us to walk in the
ways
of righteousness. Thesethings we
ask in Jesus’name. Amen.
This is God’s Word. Luke 12
beginning in verse 1:
“In the meantime, when so many thousands of people had gathered together
that
they were trampling one another, He began to sayto His disciples first,
‘Beware
of the leavenof the Pharisees,which is hypocrisy.
Nothing is coveredup that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not
be known. Therefore whateveryou
have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered
in the private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.’”
Amen, and thus ends this reading of God’s holy, inspired, and inerrant Word.

May He write its eternal truth upon all our hearts.
Did you catch how Luke introduced this little exchangedbetweenJesus and
His
disciples? Did you catchthe
setting? Jesus is readying for
public ministry; He’s in a large space;there are thousands of people there to
hear Him. There are so many people
there to hear Him that they’re trampling one another.
Does that prompt you to ask a question about why Jesus, looking ata vast
multitude trampling on itself, so desirous are they to hear what He says, does
it prompt you to ask the question — What in the world could have been so
important to Jesus that He would have ignored that multitude and spokento
His
disciples first? Did you catchhow
Luke said that? Look at verse 1
again— “He began to say to His disciples first.”
The multitude’s there, there’re thousands of them, they’re on top of one
another, they are ready to hang on His every syllable, and He “says to His
disciples first.” Does that setyou
thinking, “Whatin the world was so important to Jesus that He didn’t
address
that vast multitude but first turned to His disciples and said something?”

Well I’ll tell you what was so important to Jesus — hypocrisy.
Hypocrisy was on Jesus’mind.
He had just been engaging with the Pharisees andtheir colleagues, the
scribes, the lawyers, very respectedreligious leaders in Judaism, and He had
said among other things that at the very heart of their practice of religion was
hypocrisy. And Jesus is deeply
concernedthat His own disciples not be infected by the same spirit.
And so even with a vast multitude around Him, He zeros in on His
disciples, who themselves are going to be shepherds.
They’re going to do things like write the New Testament, pastorthe first
generationof Christians, become ministers in localchurches, apostles for
whole
movements of church planting, and at the very outsetJesus is concernedthat
they not be infected with the same religious problem that the Pharisees are
infected with.
And so if you look at the first three verses ofLuke chapter12, Jesus addresses
very directly this problem. He
deals with the fruit of hypocrisy, the future of hypocrisy, and the failure of
hypocrisy. You see this in verses one, two, and three.
The fruit of hypocrisy is that it spreads — “Bewareofthe leavenof the
Pharisees.” The whole point of the

illustration, of the fermented dough being incorporatedinto the next bunch
when
you’re making the batch of bread is that it’s designed to spreadthroughout
the
whole. And He’s saying, “Don’t be
infected by the leavenof the Pharisees, whichis hypocrisy, because their kind
of religion infects everything that it touches.
It infects the body.”
And then He wants to, in verse 2, put before their eyes the future of hypocrisy.
He points them to the final judgment and He says that in the final
judgment there’s nothing that’s hidden that’s not going to be revealed.
So if hypocrisy seeksto what? — coverup what’s inside and make the
outside look better than the inside is, Jesus is saying, “Let me tell you what
the future of hypocrisy is — everything’s going to be revealed.
Nothing’s going to be hidden that’s going to stay coveredup.
It’s all going to be revealed.
That’s the future of hypocrisy.”
And therefore, see it in verse 3, here’s the failure of hypocrisy.
It lets you down when you need it the most.
It fails to deliver what people who practice it want to getout of it.
It fails to achieve the ends of its user.

Becausethere will be no secretsin the end, all hypocrisy will be in
vain because hypocrisyoperates on the principle that “I cancover up what’s
worstabout me, and minimize to myself what is worstabout me, and put on a
good
exterior to fool others, and then I canget by with nobody knowing what I’m
really like.” And Jesus says in the
end everything is going to be opened up and so that strategywill not work.
I. Leavenand hypocrisy.
Well let’s think about this just a little bit together.
Why was Jesus so concernedto talk about hypocrisy with His own
disciples? Well, let me zero in on
three words in verse 1 — first, leaven, and hypocrisy.
As we’ve said, vast multitudes are around Jesus but He wants to address
His disciples primarily. Why?
BecauseJesus didn’t care about the hearts and lives of the multitude
around Him? No, no, no.
Becausethe temptation of the Pharisees is not unique to them.
Jesus didn’t put Luke 11 in so that we could come to church on Sunday
morning and say, “Thank God I’m not like the Pharisees.”
You remember the Pharisee who went into the temple and he lookedover at

the tax collectorand he said, “Thank God I’m not like that tax collector”?
Well, Jesus didn’t put Luke 11 in so that we could say, “Whew, gladwe’re
not like those Pharisees!” One of
the things this week I’ve been wrestling with is, I’ve been wrestling with
giving illustrations of prominent, especiallyreligious, hypocrisy.
And I ran into two problems.
One is, there are so many illustrations of that I don’t have enough time to
illustrate it. Two is, some of the
illustrations I give you are so shocking in nature that your response would be
to them, “Well, I’ve done a lot of bad things, but at leastI haven’t done
that!” And that is not what Jesus
wants you to get out of His engagementwith the Pharisees.
The very reasonthat He turns to His disciples first is because His
disciples are perfectly capable of this hypocrisy and so, and so are you and
me.
We are capable of this kind of hypocrisy.
And that’s why it’s important that Jesus addressesthis.
Secondof all, notice the word leaven.
He is concernedthat this kind of hypocrisy cannotsimply be contained in
the heart of one person, especiallywhen that person is a religious leader.
It always infects the rest of the body.
So one reasonJesus pauses anddoesn’t engage the multitude but the

disciples first is He knows that their lives will have an effecton the lives of
His people. They’re shepherds and
their lives are going to affectthe lives of the sheep.
A religious leader whose life is fundamentally a hypocrisy has nothing to
commend to the people of God but hypocrisy.
The very core of that person’s religion is hypocritical.
He has nothing real or genuine to offer to the people of God.
And so Jesus pauses and He says, “Disciples,it is vital that you get
this.”
And then the last word of course is hypocrisy itself.
Hypocrisy deals with the problem of sin by downplaying it.
It does not adequately understand how serious and pervasive sin is.
And so it attempts to deal with sin by ignoring and covering up our own
sin and then minimizing it and then putting on a goodexterior so that others
don’t see it. And thereby it thinks
that it has dealt with the fundamental problem.
And Jesus says, “Youunderstand that I want nothing to do with that kind
of religion. I don’t want disciples
or shepherds that are fostering that kind of religionbecause that kind of
religion doesn’t deal with the fundamental problem.”
You see, underneath all religious hypocrisy, underneath all religious

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