In the Lion’s Den
We’ve been in a section of Luke where Jesus is publicly slandered by the Pharisees, who said that his miracle of casting a demon out of a man was only possible because he was working for Satan (11:15). Jesus calmly and logically gives them seven reasons why that’s not possible (vv. 17-26). A lady in the crowd doesn’t agree with their assessment and blurts out public gratitude for Jesus (v. 27). In his response, Jesus praises those whose lives match their profession (v. 28).
Then Jesus talks about the danger of not responding to his message with faith and repentance like the Queen of the South and the Ninevites (vv. 29-32). He tells people to be careful because what they think is light in them may actually be darkness (v. 35).
Then Jesus goes to dinner with the Pharisees – into the lion’s den, where he does a real-time application of what he’s been saying. He basically says to his host and all this friends, “Hey remember that thing I said about being careful that the light in you isn’t darkness, I was talking about you.”
It was probably the most awkward dinner party ever for people there not named Jesus. Because he loves the truth and the people of God so much, he tells these religious leaders that until they deal with their inner darkness and stop playing religious games, they’re in grave danger of missing the very thing they claim to be experts in: God.
Team Huddle
As we move into chapter 12, as these events are unfolding and the opposition toward Jesus from the religious establishment is growing, something strange continues to happen. Despite the harsh and direct and very public denouncements of Jesus by the religious leaders, people are flocking to him. People sensed something different about Jesus and wanted to get as close as possible to him. So they literally ran over each other to get near him.
But as the momentum around Jesus grew, Jesus calls a team huddle with his closest friends (v. 1). He pulls the disciples aside from the crowd and lays out several realities and warnings and promises. In verses 1-12, Jesus prepares his disciples for the battles ahead.
The Leaven of Hypocrisy
The first reality he tells them about is the way the opposition will spread. He says, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (v. 1).
The disciples need to watch out that the poison of the Pharisee’s hypocrisy doesn’t spread among them. He says if they’re not careful, hypocrisy will spread like leaven among them too. Paul uses the same analogy when speaking to the church at Corinth about their need to remove sinful people from the church, saying, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump” (1 Cor. 5:7).
To understand Jesus and Paul’s point, we need to understand what leaven is. Leaven is a substance, typically yeast, that’s used to make dough rise. Leaven, or yeast, is a living thing, a fungus. It eats the starch in the dough and as it does, it releases a gas and that’s what creates the air pockets in the dough that make it rise. This is why unleavened bread is thinner. Dough, by itself, won’t expand and rise. But when you add the leaven, the dough expands. And it only takes a little leaven to make a lot of dough rise. Through the chemical processes of fermentation, the leaven works its way through the dough thoroughly and decisively.
Jesus says hypocrisy is like leaven. What’s the connection between leaven and hypocrisy?
The connection is that with leaven and hypocrisy, a little bit goes a long way. A teaspoon of leaven is enough to raise two loaves of bread. A little bit of leaven, like a little bit of hypocrisy, has great effects. Has the leaven of hypocrisy effected you?
Another connection is that you don’t know the leaven is there until you see the effects. For example, if you forget to add the leaven, you would only know that much later when the bread doesn’t rise. And if you added too much leaven, you won’t see it till later. The point is that hypocrisy, like leaven, has delayed effects. It works slowly through the dough of the human heart, creating all sorts of visible results eventually. Things like a critical spirit, deceitful tongue, acting one way in public and another way in private, publicly calling for righteousness while harboring hidden sin, and so on.
Why does he call out hypocrisy? Why not greed or lust? Because it’s the sin that all the other sins hide behind. It’s the costume that hypocrites were. Remove the costume and you can see all the rest.
He also calls it out because he knows that hypocrisy can spread thoroughly and decisively through his people. The leaven of hypocrisy is so dangerous because Jesus knows it’ll find something in our hearts to easily attach itself to, a spiritual “starch” if you will, namely, our desire to justify ourselves apart from God. We instinctively assume that we can be righteous without God. But we also intuitively know that we’re not righteous. So what do we do? We pretend. We play religious games. We learn the lingo and do the rituals and read the books and act nice. The desire to cover our shame-full hearts is so strong that we go all-in with religious pretending: we tithe all our herbs, for example, even the ones we’re not commanded to, to show how righteous we are. But there are clues that should alert us to our condition. There will be glaring inconsistencies that show themselves eventually. This is one of the things Jesus was saying in last week’s text. He says, “Great job tithing all your herbs, but you forgot the things that actually matter” (11:42). A scrupulous attention to detail doesn’t matter if you don’t do the things that matter most.
The leaven of hypocrisy lives in all our hearts, even those who want to follow Jesus. That’s why Jesus says this to his disciples first (v. 1).
In verses 2-3, Jesus points out the danger of this leaven. He says it feels hidden but it’s not. He says it may be buried in our hearts and in our private conversations, but it will come to light. As Hebrews says, “No creature is hidden from (God’s) sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (4:13).
Killing Disciples
Then, in verses 4-7, it’s like Jesus moves in closer to give his friends some special encouragement. He says not to worry about people who can kill you. In this context, he’s referring to the hypocritical Pharisees he’s just been talking about.
That’s a pretty crazy escalation in the conversation if you think about it. Jesus goes from, “Make sure you don’t become hypocrites like these guys,” to, “Don’t worry about it when they try to kill you!”
Why does Jesus go there? Why would Pharisees want to kill disciples? Lots of reasons.
Because darkness hates light. Because weakness feels intimidated by strength. Because those who crave control are threatened by anyone who doesn’t get in line. Because those hiding are afraid of those who can unmask them. Because silencing dissent through threats, coercion, and violence is what self-absorbed people have always done.
But could it also be because the Pharisees see the disciples’ freedom and love and joy and peace and want to have it too, but they don’t want to do what’s necessary to have it, so they want to take it away from those who do have it? Another word for this is envy. The sin of envy is one of the most insidious and deadly sins. What is it? It’s similar to covetousness and jealousy, or wanting what others have. But it goes a step further. Envy isn’t just wanting what someone else has. It’s resenting someone else for having it. It’s a resentful awareness of someone else’s joy. It’s discontentment fully bloomed. You’re not just unhappy about your life, you resent those who are happy.
Could it be that the Pharisees were so trapped in their religious system and their minds were so warped by sin that when they saw people who were free from the burdens they lived under, they wanted that, and they wanted it so badly that their jealousy turned to envy and they began to resent the disciples for having what they desperately desired? Out of this envious rage will come unspeakable violence.
By the way, many theologians believe that the first sin ever committed, or why Satan was kicked out of heaven, was envy, not pride. The mighty angel Satan began to envy instead of enjoy God. Because of his resentment of God, he was removed from heaven. If that’s so, it’s not surprising that the children of the devil would still be in bondage to their father’s sin.
More Valuable than Many Sparrows
Jesus tells the disciples that, though the Pharisees want to kill them, they shouldn’t be afraid of them, because all they can do is kill them (v. 4). He says there are things worse than dying (v. 5). He says going to hell is way worse than being killed by hypocrites, so they need to make sure their fear is rightly placed.
But then in verses 6-7 Jesus gives these beautiful promises. Jesus says God intimately knows and highly values his followers. He’s saying, “Just as God knows all the birds in the world (around 50 billion!), and just as he knows how many hairs are on your head (around 100,000), he also knows you.” And not only that, he values you more than any created thing. Being known and loved by God creates the kind of fortitude and courage that disciples facing death will need.
More Warnings and Promises
In verses 8-9, he gives another warning and promise. He says those who acknowledge him on earth will be acknowledged by him in heaven. And that those who deny him on earth will be denied by him in heaven.
Verse 8 is another promise to strengthen the disciple’s faith as they prepare for the battles ahead. He’s saying, “If you don’t give in to their fear tactics and keep following me, you’ll be okay.” And, “Those who deny me will be denied by God.”
What we do with Jesus on earth has eternal implications. Reminds me what Maximus says in Gladiator, “What we do in life echoes in eternity.” God is sovereign and our decisions have real consequences.
Notice that he calls his disciples to acknowledge him “before men,” or publicly. What does this look like? In the last couple hundred years in American evangelicalism, many have taught this to mean something like coming down an aisle at the end of a service. But “altar calls” aren’t in the Bible, don’t show up in church history till the end of the 19th century, and are confusing at best. Historically, the church taught that someone’s public profession of faith was their baptism. It was then that they publicly told the world that they’re with Jesus and Jesus’ people, the church.
And then in verse 10 Jesus lays out yet another warning for those who’re opposing him and his followers. What is the “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?” It’s more than just saying those words. It’s not a one-time event. It refers to a settled opposition to and rejection of what God is doing through Jesus, whether it’s because of fear of people’s response (Luke) or by attributing Jesus’ work to Satan (Matthew and Mark).
Professor Darrell Bock explains the difference between rejecting the Son and Man and rejecting the Holy Spirit:
“The difference between blaspheming the Son of Man and blaspheming the Spirit is that blasphemy of the Son of Man is an instant rejection, while blasphemy of the Spirit is a permanent decision of rejection…Once the Spirit’s testimony about God’s work through Jesus is permanently refused, then nothing can be forgiven, since God’s plan has been rejected.”[1]
This warning is for those like the Pharisees who’re persistently rejecting Jesus’ lordship.
But there’s good news for those who’re on the receiving end of the envious rage of the religious leaders. When they’re falsely accused and don’t know how to defend themselves, Jesus tells them in verses 11-12 not to worry because the Lord will defend them.
Jesus is preparing his disciples for the battles that are ahead for them. Just as hypocrites have opposed and threatened, and will ultimately kill, him, the same will happen to them as well. Like a good friend, Jesus encourages his friends as they approach hard times.
What about Us?
What can we do to prepare for the fight? We must guard against hypocrisy, live courageously, and remember God’s care.
One of the best ways to guard against hypocrisy is by developing deep friendships. If you aren’t known by anyone, it’ll be easy to hide and play the religious game. Pray that God would make you a friend.
And we live with courage, not worrying about what people who don’t know God may do to us. The worse they can do is kill us (v. 4)! So take risks to serve and give and proclaim Christ.
And remember God’s care for you (vv. 6-7). You are valuable to God: he made you and redeemed you. Like a good Father, he sees his children as precious and delights in them. And he comes to rescue them from danger. This is what the cross is about: God rescuing his children from the dangers of sin, Satan, and death. A God who’d do that is worth following.
[1]Darrell L. Bock, Luke, Volume 2: 9:51-24:53, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1996), 1143.