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This week is on Luke 12:1-3:
Jesus tells his disciples "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." He has the whole crowd there, but he talks to them first. He trusts them and knows their secrets. They have a true relationship with one another. The crowd doesn't have a true relationship with them because they're the crowd. People can only track so many people and know them.
Who even knows why the crowd was there? Maybe everyone else was going. Maybe they heard there was food. Maybe they were interested in what Jesus had to say. Nobody knows. All people saw was their outsides, not the individuals they were. The disciples knew why they were there.
The yeast of the Pharisees is hypocrisy. How is hypocrisy like yeast? A little bit of yeast spreads through whatever it's in and devours its sweetness. Hypocrisy is pretending to be someone you're not, acting all spiritual, acting like you are better than others, higher up, more advanced, etc. When someone encounters you, they feel like they have to be better too, because all they see is your outside, but they can't because it's all fake. So they start putting on a show too, because they can't be as good or as perfect as the movie you're showing them. And so it spreads.
While all of this is going on, it kills relationship. The sweetness of Christians gathering together is spoiled and you end up with a bunch of cliquey people acting all spiritual and no genuine two way relationships. People arrive in the church and are presented with a fork in their path: be seen as a failure or become one of the hypocrites. Consider that image for a minute and compare it to the beautiful path offered by God himself, where grace and humility welcome us along. How can this dead zombie horde of hypocrites present God's kingdom? Run!
Jesus says to be on guard against this hypocrisy. It doesn't just kill relationship. It also kills grace. A person who won't admit to sin can't be forgiven by the people around them. It's th proverbial elephant in the room. And if there's no forgiveness in the body, how can people understand God's forgiveness? If the store has no display models, who is going to buy?
People show up to see a resurrected Christ, and instead they're presented with a rotting zombie. Yes, arguably it's died and come back to life, but who wants to "live" like that?! When encountering a church that has been overrun with hypocrisy, visitors smell decay when they're promised renewal. They either leave, or they join the pack, grimly lurching towards the promised resurrection, neither alive nor dead.
Jesus tells the disciples to be on guard. Of course he does! The end result is grotesque! It's also pointless. Ultimately we're not hiding anything. Whatever we hide now will come out later anyway. We're only hindering the arrival of God's kingdom in our lives and our community. By not allowing our sin to be acknowledged, we refuse grace and teach others to do the same, despite what our mouths may say to the contrary.
How can we be on guard against hypocrisy? Be honest even when it presents you in a negative light. Admit to problems. Ask people for help. Answer accusations with truth, not spin. Don't perform. Imagine the thing you're trying to hide being broadcast in front of a large crowd, including loved ones. Picture them finding out not just the hidden thing but the fact that you deceived them all along! Isn't it better to be open while sin is young and grace is on offer?
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, saying: “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.
Jesus tells his disciples "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." He has the whole crowd there, but he talks to them first. He trusts them and knows their secrets. They have a true relationship with one another. The crowd doesn't have a true relationship with them because they're the crowd. People can only track so many people and know them.
Who even knows why the crowd was there? Maybe everyone else was going. Maybe they heard there was food. Maybe they were interested in what Jesus had to say. Nobody knows. All people saw was their outsides, not the individuals they were. The disciples knew why they were there.
The yeast of the Pharisees is hypocrisy. How is hypocrisy like yeast? A little bit of yeast spreads through whatever it's in and devours its sweetness. Hypocrisy is pretending to be someone you're not, acting all spiritual, acting like you are better than others, higher up, more advanced, etc. When someone encounters you, they feel like they have to be better too, because all they see is your outside, but they can't because it's all fake. So they start putting on a show too, because they can't be as good or as perfect as the movie you're showing them. And so it spreads.
While all of this is going on, it kills relationship. The sweetness of Christians gathering together is spoiled and you end up with a bunch of cliquey people acting all spiritual and no genuine two way relationships. People arrive in the church and are presented with a fork in their path: be seen as a failure or become one of the hypocrites. Consider that image for a minute and compare it to the beautiful path offered by God himself, where grace and humility welcome us along. How can this dead zombie horde of hypocrites present God's kingdom? Run!
Jesus says to be on guard against this hypocrisy. It doesn't just kill relationship. It also kills grace. A person who won't admit to sin can't be forgiven by the people around them. It's th proverbial elephant in the room. And if there's no forgiveness in the body, how can people understand God's forgiveness? If the store has no display models, who is going to buy?
People show up to see a resurrected Christ, and instead they're presented with a rotting zombie. Yes, arguably it's died and come back to life, but who wants to "live" like that?! When encountering a church that has been overrun with hypocrisy, visitors smell decay when they're promised renewal. They either leave, or they join the pack, grimly lurching towards the promised resurrection, neither alive nor dead.
Jesus tells the disciples to be on guard. Of course he does! The end result is grotesque! It's also pointless. Ultimately we're not hiding anything. Whatever we hide now will come out later anyway. We're only hindering the arrival of God's kingdom in our lives and our community. By not allowing our sin to be acknowledged, we refuse grace and teach others to do the same, despite what our mouths may say to the contrary.
How can we be on guard against hypocrisy? Be honest even when it presents you in a negative light. Admit to problems. Ask people for help. Answer accusations with truth, not spin. Don't perform. Imagine the thing you're trying to hide being broadcast in front of a large crowd, including loved ones. Picture them finding out not just the hidden thing but the fact that you deceived them all along! Isn't it better to be open while sin is young and grace is on offer?
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