Luke 11:37-12:7 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now when He had spoken, a Pharisee asked Him to have lunch with him; and He went in and reclined at the table. ³⁸ When the Pharisee saw this, he was surprised that Jesus had not first ceremonially washed before the meal. ³⁹ But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish; but your inside is full of greed and wickedness. ⁴⁰ You foolish ones, did He who made the outside not make the inside also? ⁴¹ But give that which is within as a charitable gift, and then all things are clean for you.

⁴² “But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithes of mint, rue, and every kind of garden herb, and yet you ignore justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. ⁴³ Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the seat of honor in the synagogues and personal greetings in the marketplaces. ⁴⁴ Woe to you! For you are like unseen tombs, and the people who walk over them are unaware of it.”

⁴⁵ One of the lawyers said to Him in reply, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us too.” ⁴⁶ But He said, “Woe to you lawyers as well! For you load people with burdens that are hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers. ⁴⁷ Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and it was your fathers who killed them. ⁴⁸ So you are witnesses and you approve of the deeds of your fathers; because it was they who killed them, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹ For this reason also, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill, and some they will persecute, ⁵⁰ so that the blood of all the prophets, shed since the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, ⁵¹ from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be charged against this generation.’ ⁵² Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.”

⁵³ When He left that place, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to interrogate Him about many subjects, ⁵⁴ plotting against Him to catch Him in something He might say.

12 Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. ² But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. ³ Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.

⁴ “Now I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. ⁵ But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed someone, has the power to throw that person into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! ⁶ Are five sparrows not sold for two assaria? And yet not one of them has gone unnoticed in the sight of God. ⁷ But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not fear; you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.

In today’s text Jesus says:  “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.”  Many people quoted and claimed this scripture regarding political things in this country, believing that hidden things would be revealed.  Jesus was speaking here of hypocrisy. The truth is hypocrisy is being revealed before our eyes. It is plain to see, but it is a matter of whether we choose to see it. In our society it is no longer the religious leaders who control or dictate the standards of the culture. It is the hypocrisy of those who “cancel” anyone or anything that does not align with their views that we need to be ware of. This is the hypocrisy that is plain to see, for anyone who chooses to see it. One group is punished, while other, more evil, people and regimes is lauded and rewarded.   Those who influence and control our society through their hypocrisy, do it by causing fear in the minds of people organizations and corporations; fear that if they do not submit, they will be cast out and eliminated.

In today’s text Jesus says:  “Now I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed someone, has the power to throw that person into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! Are five sparrows not sold for two assaria? And yet not one of them has gone unnoticed in the sight of God. But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not fear; you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.”  We need to not fear what those who are the power behind cancel culture can do. Their hypocrisy is not hidden from God. In Psalm 23:4, the psalmist says: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.  We need not fear the cancel culture, they have no true lasting power over us. Even death is merely a shadow when we are guided and protected by God. Come what may, regardless of what people say or do against us, like the psalmist we can be confident that:  Goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

Jesus says:  “Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.”   The greatest key to knowledge that is being taken from our society today is truth. Rather than teaching history, we are rewriting it. Political science was the study of politics. Now all science has become political. Because science depends on money, it is driven by those who will pay for the results.  Knowledge that is not based on and in truth is not knowledge at all, but rather it is foolishness. A lie that is repeated, while it may become accepted by the culture, does not become truth. Hypocrisy may remain hidden in this world at this time because people choose to believe the lies, but it is true that: There is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.  God knows all and sees all, those who hinder others from abiding in the truth will be accountable before God. Revelation 22:12-15 says:  “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit, I will not let fear of man be what influences my life, but rather my truth will be based in the wisdom that begins with the fear of God. I know that even the hairs of my head are all counted. I do not fear; because I know I am more valuable than a great number of sparrows. I am confident, that come what may, regardless of the hypocrisy of the world;  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever. Amen.