Well, last Sunday we heard about how Jesus was invited to the house of a Pharisee for dinner.
! And after foregoing the ritual washing, to the surprise and scorn of the Pharisees, Jesus began to rebuke the Pharisees and to call them out for their hypocrisy.
And we saw Jesus respond to them with very passionate and strong words.
Then we heard a little bit about what happened after this.
When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to beseech him with questions.
Waiting to catch him in something he might say.
So after saying those things, Jesus exits the house and out come the hornets.
And they are mad.
Can you imagine them besieging Jesus with questions?
And they weren't even looking for the answers.
These were attacking sorts of questions.
Probably they weren't even giving Jesus hardly a chance to respond or to answer.
They were just sort of piling them on and maybe in an attempt to humiliate him.
Or to get him to trip up in his words.
Maybe twisting some of his replies.
And as this is happening, the crowd of witnesses begins to grow.
People passing by stop to watch and to listen.
Some of the crowds of people that maybe left off of Jesus so that he could go in and have dinner with the Pharisees begin to return.
And the number of people, Luke tells us, grows into the thousands.
Luke 12 verse 1.
Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another,
Jesus began to speak first to his disciples.
So can you imagine this?
Can you picture it?
Everybody wants to get closer to see and hear what's going on.
So much so that they're stepping on each other.
They're knocking each other over as they push in towards Jesus.
According to Luke, Jesus begins in this moment to speak to his disciples.
I guess the conversation with the Pharisees was going nowhere.
They aren't really there to listen or to learn.
And so Jesus now turns to his disciples and begins to speak to them.
And the first thing that he says is this.
Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
So Jesus has already been rebuking them privately about this in the house.
Now he's doing it publicly.
It's not behind their backs because they're there.
And now he is warning his disciples not to follow or become like the Pharisees.
Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
Now why the metaphor of yeast or leaven?
And I think there's two characteristics of yeast that factor into Jesus' meaning.
First, yeast spreads.
It multiplies.
As the Apostle Paul says in Galatians and in his letter to the Corinthians,
a little yeast leavens the whole lump.
And if you've ever made bread, it's quite something, isn't it?
It doesn't take much of those little yeast pellets.
But that whole loaf, that whole batch of dough is soon affected by it.
It begins to rise as the organisms multiply and give off gas.
So yeast is potent stuff.
It spreads.
And then the second thing about yeast is,
once it's mixed into the dough, it's invisible.
You can't even tell the difference between a leavened lump of dough
and an unleavened lump of dough right after the moment it's been done.
It's a thing that happens behind the scenes, slowly and gradually.
And I think these are maybe the things Jesus is emphasizing about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.
Their hypocrisy has the same characteristics.
It's contagious.
It spreads as people imitate them and follow their teaching.
And it's subtle.
It's insidious.
There's things going on that are hidden beneath the surface.
It's kind of what we heard Jesus talking about last Sunday
when he said that they clean the outside of the dish.
The part that people see, they polish that.
But inside, what's hiding in there?
They're full of greed and wickedness, said Jesus.
So hypocrisy can be insidious.
It's kind of like the solid oak bed frame that I bought one time off of Kijiji.
The pictures weren't all that clear online.
But it looked good.
Well, after examining it more closely,
it was actually just a thin oak-like veneer on particle board.
Don't be fooled by them, says Jesus.
Don't be sucked into following their ways.
Don't do as they do.
Their religion of rules is a show of external righteousness.
Meanwhile, on the inside, they do not love God.
They're neglecting what is just.
What is right.
They're doing things that look righteous,
but it's only for the attention
and for the praise of others,
for the benefit that it brings to them.
Be on your guard against that attitude,
against that kind of behavior.
It's tricky.
It's subtle.
But its effect is powerful.
Don't let yourself slip into the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.
And then Jesus gives us this very sobering truth
to help us see why faking our religion is utterly foolish.
Let me just read it all in one go
so that we can get the flow of thought here.
He says,
Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees,
which is hypocrisy.
There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed
or hidden that will not be made known.
What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight,
and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms
will be proclaimed from the roofs.
What a powerful and sobering truth.
It's very proverbial the way Jesus says it.
It's kind of got that poetic parallelism
that we're used to seeing in the book of Proverbs.
There's nothing concealed that will not be disclosed
or hidden that will not be made known.
What you have said in the dark
will be heard in the daylight,
and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms
will be proclaimed from the roofs.
All the secrets we try to keep,
all the things we try to hide,
they will all come out in the end.
They will all be known eventually.
And the first application of this, I think,
is to the Pharisees themselves.
Jesus is basically saying,
whatever they're hiding with their hypocrisy,
they won't get away with it.
It's all going to come out.
But then the second application is
for Jesus' followers,
the ones that he's talking to right now,
the ones he's warning.
He's saying to them,
and by extension to us as followers of Jesus,
don't be like the Pharisees in their hypocrisy,
because anything you try
to hide or keep secret
is going to come out in the end.
And the way Jesus says it,
it's powerful.
What you have whispered in the ear
in the inner rooms
will be proclaimed from the rooftops.
That word for inner room
was used to describe the storeroom of the house.
And so you almost get this picture here
of someone pulling another person
into the storage closet
to whisper some things to them,
closing the door,
speaking in a hushed voice
so nobody else inside
can hear what's being said.
But then imagine that
as you do this with someone
only to find out
that somehow
somebody heard everything that you said,
and then they proceed
to shout that out loud
for everyone to hear.
There is nothing concealed
that will not be disclosed
or hidden
that will not be made known.
The attitude
and the behavior
of the Pharisees
was,
I'm going to call it
religious
fakery.
And Jesus is saying,
don't be like them
because your fakery
will eventually
be exposed.
In fact,
in reality,
God already sees
and knows
the things
that we are hiding
and the secrets
that we are keeping.
Listen to these words
from Hebrews 4,
verse 13.
Nothing
in all creation
is hidden
from God's sight.
everything
is uncovered
and laid bare
before the eyes
of him
to whom
we must give
account.
So in a manner
of speaking,
there is a recorder
recording
everything
that we do
and say.
Even the thoughts
and attitudes
of our hearts,
God is taking
it all in.
And one day
we will have to
answer to him
for all of it.
He knows,
he sees
all that we try
to hide
and keep secret.
Everything
we think,
everything
we do,
even in private.
and according
to Jesus,
it's just
a matter
of time
before God
brings all
those things
to the full
light of day
and goes
public with
them
in a
spectacular
way.
In Jesus'
words,
they will be
proclaimed
from the
rooftops.
That's a
pretty sobering
thought,
isn't it?
And as
we've said,
it's first
a warning
to those
who are
engaged
in
religious
fakery,
but it's
also a
motivating
truth
for us
who are
Jesus'
disciples.
Jesus is
helping us
see
that if we
choose the
way of
religious
fakery
like the
Pharisees,
it's not
going to
work out
for us
in the
end.
there's
going to
be a
massive
public
exposing
of all
that we
work so
hard to
hide
to our
great shame
and
embarrassment.
And if
we are
wise,
we will
listen to
Jesus'
warning
and we
can be
spared all
that.
We can
choose the
way of
sincerity
and
integrity
and true
faith.
Of course,
the timing
of this
great
public
exposing
is the
final day
of judgment.
Jesus
isn't saying
here that
most of the
time people
will get
caught
and their
secret sins
will become
known.
No,
it's bigger
than that.
It's far
more certain
than that.
Jesus
says there
is nothing
concealed
that will
not be
disclosed.
Everything
we have
thought,
said,
or done
in secret
will come
out.
And here's
where this
is going.
Because
this is
true,
Jesus
is essentially
in a way
saying you
need to
stop caring
so much
about what
other people
see and
think of
you
as in
trying to
impress
them
or be
liked by
them
or be
respected
and praised
by them.
And you
need to
start caring
about where
you stand
with God.
Listen to
how Jesus
says it
in the next
verses.
He says,
I tell you,
my friends,
do not be
afraid of
those who
kill the
body,
and after
that can
do no
more.
But I
will show
you whom
you should
fear.
Fear him
who after
your body
has been
killed
has authority
to throw
you
into hell.
yes,
I tell
you,
fear him.
Now there's
a lot in
these words.
We're going
to unpack
it.
Some of
you are
maybe shocked
that I
just read
this in
public,
said the
word hell
out loud
in public.
Others of
you are
maybe shocked
and wondering
if God
is cruel
or if
Jesus is
insensitive
to be
talking about
throwing
people
into
hell.
But let's
just sort
of unpack
this.
Let's take
it from
the top
here.
The first
question is
why might
some of
Jesus'
disciples
fear
being
killed?
So he's
talking about
do not
be afraid
of those
who kill
the body
and after
that can
do no
more.
Why might
some of
Jesus'
disciples
fear being
killed?
Well,
Jesus,
the one
that they're
following,
he just
lambasted
the Pharisees
and the
religious
lawyers.
The
disciples
of Jesus
see how
angry
they are
becoming.
How furious
they are.
They know
that given
the right
opportunity
they would
kill Jesus.
And so
the temptation
for the
disciples
of Jesus
is
to
compromise,
to
submit
to the
Pharisees
and their
teachings.
Otherwise,
the way
things seem
to be
going,
they fear
not only
that Jesus
will be
killed,
but that
they'll be
next
for following
him.
And Jesus
says,
don't be
afraid
of
them.
The
worst
they can
do
is kill
your body.
But there
is a far
worse thing
that can
happen to
a person,
says Jesus.
I will
show you
whom you
should fear.
There is
one who
after your
body has
been killed
has authority
to throw
you
into hell.
he's
the one
you should
fear.
Jesus
basically
says,
don't worry
about what
those
hypocrites
might do
to you.
Worry
about what
God might
do to
you.
If you
should live
for their
approval.
If you
should live
wickedly
as they
do.
And by
this point,
I think it's
pretty clear
that Jesus
is talking
about
judgment
day.
That's
the time
when all
the hidden
things,
when all
the secret
sins
will be
revealed.
God
will be
our judge
and Jesus
says he
has authority
to throw
you
into hell.
Jesus
had no
problems
speaking the
truth
about
hell.
In this
moment,
he's
surrounded
by a
crowd
of
thousands
and he's
not afraid
or ashamed
to warn
people of
what truly
awaits
if they
persist
in ignoring
God.
God is
the judge
and he
has authority
says Jesus
to throw
you into
hell.
Let's
talk about
hell for a
moment.
What is
hell?
Hell is
a place
of punishment.
It's
the ultimate
place of
punishment.
And God
doesn't throw
people in
there because
he is
cruel.
Hell
exists
because God
is just.
It exists
because God
is good.
he will
not allow
evil to
go unchecked
forever.
He will
not allow
people to
just get
away with
the wrongs
they have
done or
to persist
in doing
evil because
he is
good.
People who
have done
wrong,
which is
all of us,
will either
have their
sins atoned
for by
receiving the
merciful gift
of salvation
that God
offers through
Jesus,
or they
will receive
what their
sins truly
deserve,
which is
to be
thrown into
hell,
that place
of ultimate
punishment
after being
judged
on judgment
day.
We as
human beings
sometimes
criticize God
for sending
people to
hell.
We think
or even
say that
hell is
too harsh.
But when
we say
things like
that,
basically
we're
setting
ourselves
up as
judge
over God.
We're
saying that
we know
better than
he does
the seriousness
of our
sin and
what punishment
fits the
crime.
well that's
ridiculous.
That's us,
the creature,
criticizing the
creator.
That's us
finding fault
with him
when the only
fault is
with us.
no,
God is
just.
He ensures
in his
justice that
the punishment
fits the
crime.
If we do
not receive
his forgiveness
and mercy
which is
the way
out of
that punishment
through
Jesus,
then God
ensures that
we are judged
fairly for
what we
thought,
did,
and said.
And God
sees to it
that we get
no more
than we
deserve
and no
less.
According
to God,
hell,
a place of
terrible
punishment,
is what
our sins
deserve.
What we
often fail
to understand
is that any
rejection,
any
rebellion,
any
disobedience
against our
glorious
creator
is
unimaginably
evil.
And so
hell is
the fitting
punishment
for our
sins.
The good
news
is that
this story
of Jesus
goes on
from here
until he
offers himself
as a
sacrifice
on the
cross
to
atone
for our
sins,
to take
away
our
guilt.
And so
God,
because he
is a
loving and
merciful God,
has provided
a way of
escape
from hell.
And it's
through
receiving
Jesus.
It's through
repenting
of our
sins
and putting
our
faith in
him.
But let's
get back
to Jesus'
point here.
All of
what he's
saying here
is aimed
at a
particular
point.
Why is
he telling
us about
hell?
Because
Jesus wants
his followers,
he wants
us,
to fear
God.
We really
have only
two choices.
We can
fear man,
or we can
fear God.
we can
care so
much about
what others
see in
us and
think of
us,
or we can
care so
much about
what God
sees in
us and
thinks of
us.
We might
be tempted
to compromise,
to avoid
persecution,
or to
avoid becoming
unpopular.
But Jesus
wants us to
be stirred by
this truth,
that there is
something far
worse than
being persecuted,
far worse than
being unpopular,
and that's
getting what we
truly deserve
from God
for our
sins.
Do you
fear God?
Do you
fear God?
Do you
fear God?
Some of you
may feel
convicted by
the Spirit
of God
in this
very moment,
to the
point that
you're even
now admitting
to yourself,
no,
I haven't
been fearing
God.
I haven't
been taking
Him seriously.
Others of
you might be
wondering,
I think I
fear God,
I agree with
this,
I know
that's the
right thing
to do,
but how do
I know
if I truly
fear God?
And the
Bible's
answer to
that is
kind of
simple.
Are you
making a
conscious,
daily effort
to walk in
obedience to
God's
commandments?
Obedience
is the
evidence that
the fear of
God is
present in
your heart.
It's kind
of like
fire.
if you
have a
genuine
fear of
fire,
then it
changes how
you behave
around it.
You're
careful near
it.
You won't
just plunge
your hand
into the
flame.
Neither
will you
make a
fire in
your living
room,
because you
fear it.
You know
what it
can do
when it
gets out
of control.
And that
reality,
it controls
you,
it influences
you in a
good way.
way.
It's the
same with
God.
If we
really fear
Him,
the reality
of who
He is
controls
us.
It
influences
us in
a good
way.
We
become
careful
to obey
Him,
because we
believe the
truth of
His word.
That doing
otherwise would
be dangerous,
there would
be consequences.
I'll just
switch over
to this.
back to
the question,
are you
making a
conscious,
sincere,
daily effort
to walk in
obedience to
God's
commands?
Do you
fear God?
If your
answer to
that question
is no,
then hear
these words
of Jesus
again.
You need
to change
that.
You
should fear
Him,
says Jesus.
He has
the authority
to throw
you into
hell.
will you
continue to
disregard
Him?
Or will
you submit
yourself to
Him?
This
teaching of
Jesus is
heavy,
and it's
hard.
And so,
it might
surprise us
what Jesus
says next.
Jesus
turns on a
dime,
actually on a
penny,
and He
begins
reassuring
His
followers
of how
much
they
mean
to
God.
Look at
the next
couple
verses.
Are not
five sparrows
sold for
two pennies?
Yet not
one of
them is
forgotten
by God.
Indeed,
the very
hairs of
your head
are all
numbered.
Don't
be afraid.
You are
worth more
than many
sparrows.
I love
these words.
It's like
Jesus is
saying,
don't come
to the
wrong
conclusion
here.
You should
fear God.
He does
have
authority
to cast
you into
hell,
but that
doesn't
mean He
doesn't
care about
you.
He cares
about you
a lot.
And Jesus
gives this
analogy of
sparrows.
What's a
sparrow
worth?
You can
buy five
of them
for two
cents.
There's
not a
whole lot
of certainty
about why
sparrows were
even bought
and sold
in the
first place.
Some are
suggesting that
it wasn't
really
sparrows,
but another
type of
small bird
that poor
people would
eat.
They would
buy it and
sell it in
the marketplace.
But it's
implied here
by Jesus'
statement that
the birds were
so small and
worth so
little that
you could get
five of
them for
two of the
smallest coins
in circulation.
And so if we
do a little bit
of math,
each of them
was worth
less than
half a penny.
And yet
Jesus says
not one of
those little
birds is
forgotten by
God.
God takes
notice of
every single
one of
them.
Think about
that the next
time you look
out the window
and you see a
little sparrow
hopping around.
But now
what's Jesus'
point here?
If God
cares that
much about
each of the
smallest,
most insignificant
little birds,
how much
more does
he care about
each one of
us?
human beings
specially made
in his
image.
In fact,
says Jesus,
God cares so
much for you
that he
pays attention
to the
number of
hairs on
your head.
Indeed,
the very
hairs of
your head
are all
numbered.
even we
don't know
or care
about
ourselves
that much.
But God
does.
He knows
even the
littlest
details
about us.
He cares
about those
things.
When you
take a hat
off where
you brush
your hair
and a
hair comes
out and
falls to
the ground,
God
notices the
change.
That's how
precious and
valued we
are to
him.
And so
after telling
us to fear
God, like we
have never
heard it before
maybe from
Jesus,
Jesus does
this crazy
thing and he
says the
very opposite
just a moment
later.
fear.
He says
don't be
afraid.
He says
fear not.
You are
worth more
than many
sparrows.
Now we
might see
that as a
contradiction.
Fear.
Don't be
afraid.
But it's
probably more
of what I'm
going to
call a
relational
complexity.
Some
relationships
are complex
and ours
with God
is one
of them.
We should
fear him
and yet at
the same
time we
don't need
to be
afraid.
It's
right to
fear him
and yet
because of
his love
and care
for us,
so long
as we're
walking
closely with
him in
obedience,
we don't
need to
be afraid.
A guy
named John
Piper gave
a great
analogy of
this and
I'm actually
going to
just take
steal from
him the
core element
of it and
tell it
differently,
but a
German
shepherd is
a fearsome
creature,
especially if
we do
things to
provoke
that German
shepherd.
Maybe we've
all heard
or seen
stories of
police dogs
chasing down
the bad
guys,
just sort
of running
after them,
jumping on
them,
sinking their
teeth into
them and
taking them
down to
the ground.
If you
do what
is right,
then you
have nothing
to fear
from the
police dog.
That German
shepherd might
even jump
into the
lake to
save you
if you're
out there
in trouble.
But hit
the officer
in the face
and that
dog will
be all
over you,
growling,
barking,
biting,
until you're
curled up
like a little
ball on
the ground.
Our
relationship
with God
is kind
of like
that.
If we
ignore
him,
if we
defy
him,
if we
provoke
him,
doing what
we know
is wrong,
then watch
out.
He is
the God
who will
bring
justice
and has
authority
to throw
us into
hell.
But if
we listen
to him,
if we
draw near
to him,
if we
humble
ourselves
before him
and submit
to him,
then we
have nothing
to fear.
He is
the God
who loves
us deeply
and notices
even when
a hair of
our head
falls to
the ground.
And so
I want to
leave you
with this
question
today.
Where are
you at
in your
relationship
with
God?
Whatever
your answer
is to
that,
let me
encourage
you.
Draw
near to
him.
Come
close to
him.
Listen
to him.
Humble
yourself
before
him.
If
you've
got
sins,
if you've
got even
secret
sins,
like we
talked
about
earlier,
we have
all
sinned.
confess
those
things
to
him.
He
is
merciful.
He
is
eager
to
forgive.
The
day of
judgment
is
coming.
We
can't
get
away
with
faking
it.
And
God
loves
us
dearly.
So
why
shouldn't
we
give
ourselves
completely
to
him?
Let's
pray.
God
in
heaven,
thank
you
for
your
word.
I
pray
that
you
would
open
our
hearts
wide
to
it.
Stir
in
us
that
right
and
good
fear
of
you.
Let
it
influence
us.
May
our
lives
change
because
of
it.
But
I
pray
also,
Lord,
that
you
would
take
our
fears
away.
As
we
remember
your
grace
and
your
kindness
that
you
have
shown
through
Jesus
to
us.
Please
stir
in us
a
right
response
to
your
words.
We
ask
in
your
name
and
for
your
honor.
Amen.