Luke 12:1–3 Hypocrisy

Beware of the hidden agenda that mask itself in hypocrisy. Jesus had the most to say about the religious right in the Jewish judicial system.

All things hidden are exposed in the light of God’s truth.

Mark 8:15 Then He charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

By entering our world to become human like us, by overcoming sin through becoming sin for us, Jesus restored the relationship that God intended for us to have with Him. Jesus is now seated "at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him" (1 Peter 3:22). In other words, God has "put all things under his feet" (Psalm 8:6). All that was intended by God in the creation of humanity was ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

This same Jesus who rules from the heavens wants to be an integral part of our lives because He values us. Thinking of that reality overwhelms my heart and gives me peace. First5 

“Ultimately, we have just one moral duty,” Etty Hillesum wrote. “To reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves, more and more peace, and to reflect it towards others. And the more peace there is in us, the more peace there will also be in our troubled world.”

Thank you Etty. And let us remember, Etty did not write that sentence from a dispassionate distance. Speaking of a world tilting, Etty was a young Jewish woman who lived in Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation and who died in Auschwitz, one of the millions of victims of the Holocaust. We didn’t know about her meticulous diary until decades after her death. From the day when Dutch Jews were ordered to wear a yellow star, up to the day she boarded a cattle car bound for Poland, Etty consecrated herself to the wholehearted task of bearing witness to the inviolable power of love. To honor the sacred present with sensitivity to human suffering and gratitude for beauty in the everyday. SabbathMoments 

Luke 12:1–3

12 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, which is hypocrisy. 2 For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. 3 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. The New King James Version

The Greek word used here refers to fermented dough that was mixed in with new dough and used as a rising agent. The small amount used in baking would permeate the entire batch of new dough. Leaven serves as an apt metaphor to describe the widespread effects of the Pharisees’ hypocritical teachings and actions.

Jesus seems to be referring to the Pharisees’ hidden sins, which will be exposed at the final judgment. Faithlife Study Bible

Leaven here represents the presence of corruption. Unleavened bread is what the Jews ate at Passover. The corruption in view here is hypocrisy. Practicing hypocrisy is senseless because eventually all deeds—both good and evil—will be exposed. All secrets will be revealed by God. The NKJV Study Bible

Matthew 10:26 Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.

Matthew 16:6 Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”

Mark 4:22 For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.

Luke 8:17 For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.