Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops. - Luke 12:1-3
Jesus began this portion of scripture (Luke 11:14 - 12:12) responding to the blasphemous accusation of the Pharisees, who accused him of casting out Demons by the name Belzeebub. The Lord responded by saying that a Kingdom divided against itself could not stand, and that, If Satan was divided against himself, his Kingdom would not stand. Jesus truly casted out the demon in power, but this was done by the finger of God, for the Kingdom of God (himself) had come. He overcame the enemy and divided his spoils, demonstrating the power of God over the evil one.
It is a great concern how religious men who are fully convinced of their Knowledge and standing before God, could not recognize him, though he stood in front of them. If they had been shaped by the word of God, and their hearts learning from him, they would have loved Jesus (John 8:42). Yet they uttered the most blasphemous thing they could have, revealing the darkness of their own heart.
The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. - Luke 11:34
The eye is the lamp of the body, and if the eye is good the whole body will be full of light, but if the eye is bad, the whole body will be full of darkness. Observing what Jesus taught he was constantly pointing people to himself, teaching that, if people had eyes to see and ears to hear, they would realize that He was the Kingdom of God, and that through him they could be saved (Matthew 13:44, Matthew 13:45-46, Luke 11:20, John 6:26-27, John 6:32-40, John 10:7-11, Matthew 11:28-30, Luke 17:20-21, Luke 18:15, Matthew 19:13, Matthew 21:28-32, Matthew 21:43)[There are more, but I think you get the point]. The religious leaders of his day, claiming to be teachers of God, stumbled right over him. They created rules, establishing their own righteousness which in many cases damned themselves and those who heeded their words.
If the blind lead the blind, will not both fall into a ditch (Matthew 15:14)? Our Lord Jesus did not shy away from rebuking them and calling out their hypocrisy: Woe to you pharisees who make the outside of the cup clean but, inwardly are full of greed and wickedness (Luke 11:39) . Woe to you Pharisees, who tithe mint and rue, but ignore the Justice of and the love of God (Luke 11:42). The Pharisees loved the praise of men (Luke 11:43). They were like graves which are not seen and the men who walk over them are not aware of them (Luke 11:44); full of hypocrisy, deceit, and greed, they were blind men teaching others, yet could not see themselves. Woe to you lawyers for you load men with burdens that you don't carry (Luke 11:46). Woe to you lawyers, you have taken away the key of knowledge (Luke 11:52). Their teaching pointed men away from God, rather than to him. They blinded men and made them worse than before; for before they were lost, but now they are blind and claim to see.
When Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God, he was referring to himself. He is the light of the world, the bread of life, the Good Shepard, and the resurrection. It is the Lord himself, who sets men at liberty from the guilt of sin, shame of dishonorable experiences, the fear of death, and the oppressive rule of the Pharisees. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the Messiah, the savior, the chosen one of God. Jesus is God. He is what the soul needs, and he alone can satisfy the soul. What a great evil it is to preach and teach that which does not point people to Christ. Let it be known, that all such doctrine is from the Devil himself, the father of lies.
Jesus warns his disciples to beware of the Pharisees' leaven, which is hypocrisy, and this warning is just as necessary today for those who follow him. A little leaven, leavens the whole lump. The Lord loved his own, and warned them not to heed the Pharisees' teaching. If we ignore his words of warning, and give credence to similar modern day teachings, we are in danger of following the blind and being lead off course as well. What profit is hypocrisy? None! For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be made known. Whatever is spoken in the dark will be heard in light, and what you have spoken in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops (Luke 12:1-3).
However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you. - John 16:13-15
If your faith is not in Jesus, ditch it.
It is a great comfort to the believer that Jesus is our life, however the sincerity of the Gospel always seems to be under assault. The clarity and belief that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, must be the bedrock upon which we stand and live. He is our hope, and our righteousness; we live to honor him and serve him, some go abroad to proclaim his name among the nations, that salvation is found in no one else, for there is no name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12); and we follow him no matter what the cost. We are to follow Jesus, no matter what the cost; not considering our own lives precious:
If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? - Matthew 24-26
I pray that I can draw nearer to him today! We cannot be merely hearers of the word, but must be doers as well:
Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. - John 13:16-17
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. - James 1:22-25
Finally, bearing the name of Jesus will bring suffering and persecution to his followers, and we are often tempted by the enemy to fear men. But the Lord gives us solemn truth: "Do not fear those who after they kill the body, can do nothing. But I will tell you whom you should fear, fear him who after he has killed has power to cast into Hell."
I do not disregard the grace of God, that I am saved by the finished work of Jesus Christ, nor do I believe a believer can fall away from the Lord. We must, however, all take heed that our eye is good, and the light within us is not darkness. It is a beautiful thing when God's grace enables us to point people to our precious savior, he is worthy beyond what words can describe. I want to be part of that work: making disciples, pointing people to Jesus and if they are saved, teaching them to observe all that he commanded. I do not want to make people religious Americans. If Jesus is your only hope and you are utterly banking on him as your savior and Lord, and you follow him in love and gratitude, seeking to do his will; rest assured, he will not forsake his own, for he has said: " I will be with you always, even to the end of the age."
We must apply this first by examining ourselves. Is our eye good, are we trusting in Jesus and are we following him as his disciple? Or are we exchanging Jesus for religion, rituals, or teachings of men?
When the enemy tries to use fear of man to cause you to succumb to temptation, and no longer faithfully proclaiming the Gospel, do not fear! Instead remember the words of the Lord, that "five sparrows are sold for two copper coins, yet none of them is forgotten by God. But the hairs of our head are numbered, we are of more value than they." Confess Christ, and do not deny Jesus before men. Do not fear men, for their worst can only expedite your home going. Rather, in love, confess Christ to those whom God has placed in your circle of influence. God saved you when you were lost and without hope, and he has given us a mission: to share the Gospel with those who need Jesus, make disciples, and love them. Do not be ashamed of the one who gave himself for your eternal life, which is to know the Father (John 17:3) and be with him in Heaven when our time here on earth is over.
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