Luke 12:1-2

Luke, chapter 12, reading the first two verses. In the meantime, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, in so much that they trod upon one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples, first of all, beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, neither hid, that shall not be known. May God bless to us the reading of His holy and sacred word this morning. It was a man that was raised in western Pennsylvania, who spoke of how sometimes the best of dogs would be taken with the fever of killing sheep. And the killing would be always done at night. The dog would try to tempt some of the other dogs to go with him. But he said during the daytime, the dog around the barn and around the house would be the most be the most genius. and most kind, friendly dog there was. But he was a pure-blooded killer. And so it was all outward show during the day. What he really was, was shown at night. In the latter part of the previous chapter, our Lord has eaten at the house. of a Pharisee and he dined with them during which time Christ rebuked the scribes and the Pharisees for their hypocrisy. Our Lord has been speaking out very plainly and probably more plainly than ever before as matters were coming to a head between him and his enemies. He does not spare them but boldly he has called out their blatant heresy and he warms everyone about it in the meantime while Jesus Christ was engaged in denouncing the scribes and the Pharisees a vast multitude of people were gathering around the house or at least the property of the this Pharisee and they were outside the house. And there were literally myriads, according to the Greek here, of people, pushing forward trying to get close enough to hear Christ and what he was saying evidently. And Christ, as he comes out, I guess, from the dinner, begins to address, his disciples. In the midst of this group of people that are there, he speaks to them in them in particular. And that’s what we want to look at this morning. He talks about the same thing. He talks about the dangers of hypocrisy. Now, you see, a great interest. in hearing the divine truth here in verse 12. In the meantime, when there were gathered together innumerable multitude of people in so much that they trod upon one another. It’s a good sign when people are eager to hear the preaching of the Word of God. Sadly, this is a good sign when people are eager to hear to hear the preaching of the preaching of the Word of God. sadly this is rather a rare case most people have no interest in hearing the faithful preaching of God’s word many are like the Jews in Isaiah’s day who said prophesied not unto us right things speak unto us smooth things prophesied deceits Isaiah 30 in verse 10 they didn’t want to really hear the mind of the will of God tell us some comforting words despite the wickedness of our sins. In the Intertasable, we have a very familiar, it’s a very familiar theme as well. For in 2 Timothy 4, 3 and 4 we read Paul writing, For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lust, shall they keep to themselves teachers having itching ears and they shall turn away their own. ears from the truth shall be turned on the fables. They didn’t want to hear the truth either. Not too many people are like Cornelius and his family and his friends in the book of Acts chapter 10. For we read about him when Peter came to speak to him, he had gathered them. Now therefore we are all here present before God to hear all the things. that are commanded thee of God. Peter, tell us everything. We want to hear the whole message of God. How many people do you have want that? It’s not common to have such a great interest to hear the word of God. In Acts chapter 13, we have another example of this. Because when Paul and Silas spoke at the tab, or not the synagogue, we find that it created such excitement that the next week the whole excuse me, the next day, the whole city came out. Antioch and Visidia, the area of Turkey. They all came together to hear the Word of God. That’s unusual. Even the Greeks, the Gentiles did. Not just Jews. Now, friends, we have to realize it is God who creates an interest in people’s hearts to go and hear the Word of God. It’s not a natural thing. The natural thing is to shun it. In Christ’s case, this interest was created by God and it fulfilled the prophecy about the Messiah. All way back in the book of Genesis Chapter 49, Jacob prophesied. this. On to him,, speaking of Shiloh, or Christ’s the Messiah, shall the gathering of the people be. And we read also the promise of the Gentiles coming to Christ in the book of Isaiah 60 in verse 8. Who are these that fly as a cloud as the doves to their windows? Who are all these people gathering around? It’s the Gentiles that God has caused to come and hear the word. Remember how some Greeks came to the Passover feast and said to Philip and John 12th, we would see Jesus. So much so that even the Jewish religious leaders are all upset, now the whole world was gone after. It’s bad enough that Jewish people were listening to them, and now you’ve got Gentiles, the Greeks coming to hear. My friend, this isn’t a coincidence. This is the hand of God. However we know, sadly, only a small group of these people who came to hear Christ preach actually received some saving benefit from it. This is a common case. It’s good that the malo people come to hear the word of God, that that isn’t enough. The grand object of gospel preaching is that one obtained faith unto salvation. If you were among the multitude who come to hear the preaching of the word of God, good, but ask yourself, am I receiving with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save my soul? Have you espoused Jesus Christ as the Savior? Are you trusting in Him for the salvation of your soul? soul from sin because this should be the outcome of the gospel message you’re hearing if you receive it right. It’s good, it’s a good sign when you see people eager to hear the preaching of the Word of God. These multitude of people were trampling over one another to hear Christ speak. Would the God we had it in our own day. You hear God your, excuse me, you God overcoming all the opposition of the scribes and the Pharisees to move these people to hear the Word of God. Despite every effort of the scribes and the Pharisees to keep the people from coming to listen to Christ, they did not prevail. They could not prevail. Even after charging Christ with casting out demons by Bielze above the prince or the devils the devils the people were not deterred. In fact, an immense multitude. trod upon one another to get close to hear enough to hear Christ because they admired Christ. They appreciated the power he had to heal the sick. They ignored the prejudices of the Jewish religious leaders. When God moves people to do something, no opposition, no slander can prevent his purpose. I like that proverb, 262, as the bird by wondering as the swallow by flying so the curse causeless shall not come. My friends, the curse they put on Christ did not light upon him because it was causeless. He wasn’t guilty of any of these things. There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord. My friends, man is utterly powerless to prevent God’s will from being carried up. And so the people flock to hear Christ as the locust flocked to Egypt and covered the ground. God would have multitudes of people of Israel to hear Christ’s gospel message, and so they did. So you find God overcoming all the opposition of the scribes and the Pharisees to move people to come to hear the Word of God. None of something else from this text. It’s proper for you to sometimes address part of your audience. Now you’ll notice here he says he began to say unto his disciples first of all. Jesus Christ particularly addressed his disciples. I mean, the midst of this great multitude, it’s his disciples, he’s focused. Now, I’m not sure if he means just the apostles. or the 70, or in general all his disciples. I’ll take it as all. Well, you can make it as wide as we want it to be, I think, here. But he specifically provided a warning for them as his beloved people. Jesus knew that there would be some hypocrites. Even among his own people, Judas is a prime example of one. And our Lord is indicating here he is not going to tolerate hypocrite. among his people. If you profess to be one of his disciples, hypocrisy must not be part of your life. But there are times, and the minister will have to direct his remarks specifically to a portion of his audience. No matter how large it is, it may be to the downcast believer. It may be to the unconverted in the audience. It may be to the unconverted. It may be to the backslid and saint. It may be to the children. It may be to those men who were preparing for the ministry. It may be for husbands. It may be for wives. It may be for the married. It may be for the unmarried. It may be for the young. It may be for the old. It may be focused upon the hypocrite or the false professor. It may be focused on the babe in Christ. Who knows? because it’s good for everyone to hear what has said, even though it may be specifically related to one individual. I one time preached about Judas Ascariot betraying Jesus Christ. And a man in the audience had come a couple weeks. He said he came from the Arab religion. We weren’t too sure about him. and I talked about being a hypocrite. And I preached on it. And you used to, you know, in the case of the Jews, that may and never came back again, wouldn’t even answer my phone calls after that. You never know. Sometimes, you know, it just happened to be part of the text as far as I was concerned, it’s something I should warn people about, and it seemed to strike home in his particular case. And so God may lay it on the minister’s heart to focus on a particular situation, a particular group of people. So it’s proper for you to sometimes address one part of your audience. Now you often need to hear God’s word repeated. Christ in his preaching often use the same words, even the same kind of parables, to teach his people on different occasions. It’s clear that Jesus taught, some lessons repeatedly in order to drive home these important messages. All teachers and ministers should repeat their lessons over and over again, especially the important issues they have to. In order to impress them on the minds of people. Peter writes in 2 Peter 112, wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know, them and be established in the present of truth. I know you know them. I know you’re established in the truth, but it’s necessary for me to keep emphasizing these points. Truth is worth repeating. It’s always good to get it fixed in your mind so you don’t forget it. You know, if you’re a parent, you do this all the time with your children. If you’re learning memory verses, you keep going over those. verses. If you’re giving them a warning, maybe about crossing the street or the railroad track, the rule is stop look and listen, look both ways before crossing. You keep telling them, and you drive that home, do they remember it? Now, I mention this, because the main taint is some do, some do, that look, that chapter, is only stringing together for convenience sake, passages that he took from Matthew and Mark, our Lord spoke on previous occasions, is wrong. This is an irreverent way to deal with God’s inspired work. Luke writes by inspiration. He doesn’t need to deal with God’s inspired work. He writes what the Spirit gives him the right. Yeah, he may give him the same words the right, because it’s important that we go over these same truths. Some of the parables you’ll find in all four Gospels. So let us keep this in mind. Don’t think that somehow or other, oh, he’s just copying. He’s not copying. He’s been given this by God. He writes it for our instruction. So you see, a great interest here in hearing divine truth. And that can be a wonderful thing. If God’s spirit works and works salvation in people. Sometimes God brings people under the sound of the word to hold them accountable. They will have no excuse on the day of judgment. Secondly, you are given an important warning here about hypocrisy and religion. He says, beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy, for there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, neither hid that shall not be known. You find hypocrisy acts like leaven. Now the Lord uses the word leaven here to signify doctrine. Their doctrine, their doctrine, they’re teaching. Take heed and beware of the word leavened here. the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees and as Christ explained, he bade them not to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees of the Sadducees. And the comparison here is an apt one because it gives us a very vivid picture. Now, children, it’s interesting. Your mother cooks and you make sardough bread because that’s we’re actually talking about here when you take leaven, take the sire dough, and you mix it in with the other flour and water, and what happens? It rises, it causes, it mixes in and begins to affect the whole loaf of, and then it rises up, and then she cooks it, bakes it, doesn’t you? As Paul put it, a little leaven, leaven if the whole lump. The doctrine of the scribes and the Pharisees, which produces hypocrisy insinuates itself in a whole person. False doctrine corrupts you in many different ways. It infects all aspects of your life, like leaven false doctrine lies hidden and covered for a period of time, but then corrupts the whole of a person’s principles and practices. And our Lord bids his disciples to beware. of hypocris, lest they also become infected. You find hypocrisy acts like leaven. You must avoid the hypocrisy of the scribes and the Pharisees. The Pharisees. Hypocrisy is a sin which dominates these religious leaders. Now the hypocrite pretends to be what he is not. sort of like an actor. You’re not your real self. You’re acting as somebody else. You remember in the Old Testament the story about Jacob. How he disguised himself as his older, well, slightly older brother, Issa, that he might steal the birthright blessing from him. And he put on some of Esau’s clothes, which had the smell, outdoors and of the fields. And when his aged and poor-sighted father sniffed clothes, he said, see the smell of my son is as a smell of a field which the Lord have blessed. Now Jacob was worried when he said to his mother, well, if I put on his clothes, and what if my father feels my arms and my neck? You know, my brother is a hairy man and I’m a smooth. man. I don’t have that hair as he’s really hairy. So Jacob put on goat skins, some around his neck and some on his arms. So when his dad touched him, he would feel that hair and think, gotta be Esau. The one thing Jacob couldn’t disguise was his voice. Dead was a little suspicious when he said, you know, he seemed like he seemed like he he saw, but he talked like Jacob, but he still fooled his father, and he stole the birthright blessing. In doing this, Jacob pretended to be what he was not. That’s what the hypocrite is doing. He’s pretending to be what he is not. Jesus says to his disciples, take heed not to imitate these Jewish religious leaders. your Christianity as a cloak of maliciousness to do as they are doing with Judaism. Now, Jesus has pointed out several aspects of their hypocrisy. Hypocrats’ actions don’t match their words. That’s one thing you can always begin to realize. He tells, the hypocrite tells others, they must obey the law. but he himself doesn’t really obey the law. He finds loopholes. He finds excuses in order to justify his breaking of the law. Remember what Jesus said to the Pharisees about caring for their parents? He says, you violate the Fifth Commandment. You satisfy God’s commandment by your little traditions and rules and regulations. Because you say, if a person gives the most of the law, you say, you say, if a person gives the most of your little traditions by your little traditions, you say, that he would use to support his aged parents to the synagogue, then he’s released from any obligation to care for his parents and not honor his parents. That’s what we’re talking about here. Finding a loophole to violate the law yourself. Is this the case with you? Do you give lip service to obeying God’s law but excuse your disobedience? Talk is easy. Walk is hard. Secondly, the hypocrite. does good works to be seen of men. He doesn’t do good works to be glorifying God. No, no, no. He does good works to be glorified himself. The hypocrite sounds the trumpet before giving alms. Why? Why would he blow a trumpet before he gave alms or money to the poor people? Because he wanted to make sure a big crowd watched him do it. it. Isn’t that why he blew the trumpet? Get people’s attention. He chooses a busy street corner to say his prayers publicly so all can hear him pray, right? The applause of men is what motivates him. Is this the case with you? Do an honest assessment of your heart here. Are your prayers offered in the secret of your closet? Is your charity work done quietly? So as not to draw attention to yourself. The hypocrites want the attention. Thirdly, hypocrites neglect internal religion and observe only outward religion. The hypocrite makes clean the outside of the cup of the platter, but within is full of corruption. We’ve talked about this. His religion is all show, but what he lacks is the washing of regeneration, the renewing of the Holy Ghost. He has an unclean heart. And if you have an unclean heart, what happens? It spoils everything you do. It taints everything you do. If your heart isn’t right before God, everything gets corrupted. So ask yourself, have I been born again? have I passed from death unto life? Have I been translated into Christ’s kingdom? Am I trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ to save me from my sins? Have you prayed, create in me a clean heart? Do you hate and forsake sin? Are you clothed with humility? Do you hunger and thirst after righteousness? Do you seek to please Jesus Christ in your life? Is there true sincerity when you come to worship the Lord? These are the kinds of things we should be looking at. Hypocrats also do not apply their religion to the whole of their life. A hypocrite has his religious life, but he lives his life as a heathen and everything else. He compartmentalizes his life. Well, this is, you know, Sunday, you know, Sunday, you know, in the morning and the evening, so forth, I give that to God and maybe an hour in the morning, devotions but the rest of the time is for me is that what the Bible says about how we’re supposed to live so you may faithfully go to church and rub through your devotions and prayers but does that translate into a change life is your life has your life been changed? Are you still thinking like a world-linked thanks? Are you still selfish and prideful and hateful and greedy and malicious and distrustful? Dish honest. Job says this, Job 278, what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained when God taken the way of his soul? What are you gaining about what you’re doing? Nothing. Let Job’s question lead you to seriously think about yourself. Are you indulging a hypocritical spirit? A false hope. Because whatever you gain in this life, you may gain the praise of men, I guarantee you, you’re not going to profit from it in the long run because you’re going to lose your soul. Hypocrisy entails not only disappointment but eternal rule. You may fool me, you never fool God. If you’re living in a state of hypocrisy, you need to repent of it because you need to forsake that life. Christ can save you from hypocrisy. hypocrisy just so as he can save you from any other sin. But you need to throw yourself on his mercy and plead for grace. Lastly, ultimately, all your hypocrisy will be exposed. Verse 2. It is of no purpose to carefully hide your hypocrisy because sooner or later it’s going to come out in the open. You know, you can be ever so secret about your sin, but eventually it gets exposed. sometimes he gets exposed in this life. Sometimes you like Aiken who thinks he can steal the wedge of gold and the Babylonian garments and the pieces of silver and so forth from the city of Jericho when he’s told Montas take anything from it and hide it in his tent and bury it and no one’s going to know but God knows and he gets exposed, doesn’t it? Can’t hide it? Judas thought perhaps Perhaps he could hide his covetousness, his thievery from the treasury of the disciples for the Lord’s work. He got exposed to. Covenousness was his undoing when he took the 30 pieces of silver to betray our Lord’s Savior, Jesus Christ. Oh, you may not get caught in this world, but Christ reminds us there’s a judgment to come. you’re going to have to stand before everyone and God’s going to open the book of works and you’re going to be exposed then. There’s going to be a public declaration and all shall hear. As Paul writes to Timothy, some men’s sins are open beforehand. We know them. We can see them. It’s obvious. Going before to judgment. you know that they’re in doom when they get before God. Some men they follow after. Ah, you don’t see them in this life. They still follow them and eventually they’re going to come to light and the judgment afterwards. The secrets of all hearts shall be made manifest. Ecclesiastes 1214, the day is coming when the hypocrite will have his mask ripped off and he will be exposed for who he really is. may come in this life often it does but not always may come in a life to come when we stand before the Lord so you’re giving an important warning here against hypocrisy in religion hypocrisy is even found in animals like I said that one dog that he’s so friendly and genial during the day but night he was a cold budded killer of sheep fool people in the religious realm hypocrisy is very common and there’s a great need to beware of the dangers of hypocrisy. Hopefully you’ll weigh your own heart in light of what we said this morning. Let’s close before the prayer.