What Is the Leaven of the Pharisees? (Luke 12:1)
Hi. I'm Clyde Kilo, and this is Verse by Verse, a short podcast all about exploring the insights and lessons of the inspired word of God. Today, we're taking a look at an important concept Jesus addressed with his disciples, which we read about in Luke 12 verse 1. In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together so that they trampled one another, he began to say to his disciples first of all, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. Now before continuing, Matthew's account of this event tells us the disciples had forgotten to take bread as they were traveling.
Speaker 1:And when Jesus said this, they took it literally and thought he was talking about real bread. But Jesus wasn't issuing a warning on behalf of the local health department to avoid getting any bagels, buns, or biscuits from local bakeries operated by Pharisees. As we finish the verse here in Luke, we see Jesus was talking about spiritual dangers. Beware the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Now what comes to your mind when you hear the word hypocrisy or hear it applied to a person as being a hypocrite?
Speaker 1:The Merriam Webster dictionary website gives some interesting history to this term. It says the word hypocrite ultimately came into English from the Greek word Hippocrates, which means an actor or a stage player. The Greek word itself is a compound noun. It's made up of 2 Greek words that literally translate as an interpreter from underneath. That bizarre compound makes more sense when you know that the actors in ancient Greek theater wore a large mask to mark which character they were playing, and so they interpreted the story from underneath their mask.
Speaker 1:It goes on to say the Greek word took on an extended meaning to refer to any person who was wearing a figurative mask and pretending to be someone or something they were not. This sense was taken into medieval French and then into English, in 13th century religious texts to refer to someone who pretends to be morally good or pious in order to deceive others. Now, pretending to be good, talking about being good, is not the same thing as actually being good. Hypocrisy can exist anywhere, in politics, business, civil rights, parenting, etcetera. But hypocrisy is at its worst expression when it's in the field of religion, our spiritual beliefs.
Speaker 1:It's one of the most common reasons people bring up when they talk about why they are disillusioned with religion. What a shame. Now truth be told, sometimes the judging and finger pointing at Christians is harsh and unfair, because every one of us slips up. We We sin. We do things that conflict with the way of life we profess and want to live.
Speaker 1:And, yes, that opens the door for anyone to accuse us of hypocrisy. But being a hypocrite is more a term that denotes a character trait, a way of life that one commonly practices because they are fake. It's a terrible character flaw. A hypocrite is not one who proclaims to be a Christian and who struggles with sin, but is working to overcome. First John 1 8 says, if we say we have not sinned, we deceive ourselves.
Speaker 1:If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. God has endless patience and loves to work with those who are honest and open about their weaknesses, and he doesn't consider them hypocrites. But for anyone not interested in coming face to face with their sins, for those who are more interested in hiding them while trying to maintain righteous appearance, he detests that form of spiritual play acting. You know, Abraham Lincoln famously stated, you can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. But god is never fooled.
Speaker 1:And Jesus went on to say, 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. Now notice, he first warned them about the leaven of the Pharisees, but then he said whatever you, not the Pharisees, whatever you have tried to hide and cover will be revealed. He made it very personal, warning us that hypocrisy can also creep into our lives. He's asking each of us to always examine our motives, our hearts, our character.
Speaker 1:You know, interestingly, the apostle Paul later wrote to the church in Corinth about observing one of God's annual holy days, his festivals, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and instructed them, let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Sincerity and truth, the opposite of hypocrisy. That's the bread to eat.
Speaker 2:Verse by Verse is a companion podcast to the daily bible verse blog, which you can find on the Life, Hope and Truth Learning Center. Check out the show notes for more.
