“In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, He began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.” Luke 12:1–3
The setting for this verse was when Jesus was speaking to His disciples and an innumerable multitude of people. In these verses Jesus is specifically talking about the leaven of the Pharisees; we know that the leaven of the Pharisees refers to the spirit of the Pharisees. The specific sin of the Pharisees which is being referred to in these verses is the sin of hypocrisy. In verse two we see that all the secret sins that the Pharisees attempted to cover over with their cloak of self-righteousness would be revealed in the Day of Judgment. This is a warning from Jesus, not only to the Pharisees of His day, but to people of all ages who show the same spirit as the Pharisees. In verse three, it is seen that even the words which we have spoken in secret will be pro-claimed publicly. Therefore, whether we have spoken uplifting words which have edified our fellow man or discouraging words that have brought others down, it is seen by God, and He will give everyone their just re-ward in due time. The main principle which Jesus was bringing out in saying these words was that a person’s outward appearance is of much less importance than the state of his heart. One way we come to this conclusion is that this is the main principle being brought out by Jesus is by looking at the context of these verses.
In the previous chapter Jesus was invited to dine with a Pharisee. At this dinner Jesus did not wash His hands before dinner and the Pharisee was quite surprised by this. In response to the Pharisee’s surprise, Jesus re-proves him as well as others present by use of symbol-ism, which we see in Luke 11: 39. “Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.” The verse refers to the Pharisees making clean the outside of the cup, which really symbolizes them making their own outward appearance clean and holy. And in the next part of the verse it is brought to light that, although their outward appearance appeared very upright and holy before all men, nonetheless their inner being was filled with wickedness.
Also, Luke 11:44 is closely linked to Luke 12:1–3. “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.” This verse again refers to the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and compares them to graves. This comparison is a reference to the lack of any spiritual life or activity inside of them, there-fore referring to them being spiritually dead. It mentions that the men that walk over them are not aware of them, a reference to the fact that the common people believed the Pharisees to be very holy and righteous and were not able to discern the true state of their heart.
The words spoken at the start of Luke chapter 12 by Jesus are a warning against the Pharisees; the reason the warning was given at this time was due to the experience of dining with the Pharisee, made by Jesus in the previous chapter. The disciples needed to hear the warning at this time because they had witnessed the reproof that Jesus had given to the Pharisee that he had dined with. Therefore, they needed reinforcement in their own mind of how Jesus and the heavenly Father viewed the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. Also, the people were very deceived at this current time by the false front put forward by the Pharisees; therefore the warning given to the multitude was very relevant and this was an issue that needed to be addressed.
An interesting thing to note in regards to the context of Luke 12:1–3 is that it uses the repetition of an idea to emphasize the point being made. Verse two presents the idea that every secret thing will be found out in two different ways using different wording, however having the same meaning. Similarly in verse three, it presents the idea that every word spoken in private will be made public; and again this idea is repeated using different wording, however having the same meaning. In addition, it is interesting to note that the principle of repeat and enlarge is used in these verses of Luke Chapter 12. In the previous chapter Jesus makes specific reference to the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, and His discourse is addressed to the Pharisees who are attending the dinner. In chapter 12 He also makes direct reference to the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, however in this scenario His discourse is addressed to the multitude which had gathered, and to His disciples.
The concept mentioned here in Luke of things done in secret being made open and plain in the Day of Judgment is also mentioned in the Old Testament. We see a very close link between Luke 12:1–3 and Ecclesiastes 12:14. “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” This verse makes reference to the fact that our every work will be brought into judgment, including all secret things. Therefore, our every thought, and our every word and action which is done in secret will be brought into judgment. Both the good and the evil which we have done during our lives will be brought into consideration, according to this verse. The word “secret” used in this verse comes from the Hebrew word “Alam,” which means to veil from sight, there-fore, to conceal something. We may try to conceal our thoughts, words, and actions from people, but God but reads our hearts and our motives. Everything we attempt to conceal and to veil from the sight of God will be revealed in the Day of Judgment.
Also, we see this concept in the Old Testament in Psalms 44:20–21. “If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god; Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.” It is clear from these verses that God knows all the secrets of the heart, and that He will search what is in our hearts. The Hebrew word for the word “secrets” as used in this verse is “Taalummah,” meaning a thing that is hid or secret.
The principle of First occurrence can also be applied to Luke 12:1–3 because we see the concept of Luke chapter 12 in Genesis 3:8-13. “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.” When Adam and Eve heard the voice of God after they had sinned, they hid themselves. A major reason why they hid themselves was because they were ashamed of the sin that they had done, and were seeking to hide this sin in order that they might not receive the judgment of God. Also, when the man blamed the woman for the sin that he had done and the woman blamed the serpent, they were making excuses for their sin. By making excuses for their sin they were attempting to cover the true nature and awfulness of their sin. It was an attempt to hide the fact that they had freely chosen to do this sin, and that it was their own doing. God read their innermost thoughts and the motives of their hearts and they received a just judgment for what they had done.
From the three texts in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament which have been mentioned in this article, the weight of evidence principle can be applied. In order for a verse of the Bible to be fit for doctrine there must be at least one or two other verses which convey the same idea or concept. All these verses convey the same idea or concept, therefore the principles found in these verses can be used as pure doc-trine.
Richard Eaton