Jesus was saying all secrets will be revealed

JESUS WAS SAYING ALL SECRETS WILL BE REVEALED
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
LUKE 12 2 There is nothing concealedthat will not
be disclosed,or hidden that will not be made known. 3
Whatyou have saidin the dark will be heard in the
daylight, and what you have whisperedin the ear in
the inner rooms will be proclaimedfrom the roofs.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Hidden Things
Luke 12:2, 3
W. Clarkson
Our Lord's affirmation implies that there is a greatdeal which has been long
beneath the surface, and we naturally ask - Does Godhide? And the answeris
- Yes, truly, "thou art a God that hidest thyself." He hides his own glory, that
we may not be dazzled thereby; he hides the bliss of the beatified, that we may
not be discontentedthereby. Like as a father hides from his children many
things which they will better learn a little later on, or had better make out for
themselves, so God hides many things from us for the very same reasons. But
he has so hidden treasures of truth and wisdom from us, that we have every
possible inducement to searchfor them, and fall capacity to find them.

I. THE PROVISION MADE FOR OUR TEMPORALWELFARE. Did he not
hide the coal, the copper, the iron, the lead, the silver, the gold, that we might
discover, might raise, might refine, might shape them to our use? And the
corn which he gives us to eat, the raiment to wear, the music to enjoy, - these
are only to be had by searching, by inquiry, by study, by endeavor. The
powers of steam, of electricity, were long hidden from the knowledge of
mankind, but they, with the other secrets ofthe world, are being known.
II. HIS SAVING AND SANCTIFYING TRUTH. Paul speaks much of "the
mystery hidden from the generations," i.e. God's greatpurpose to redeem, not
a nation from political bondage, but the whole human race from spiritual
servitude and degradation;his purpose to accomplishthis by coming to the
world in the Personof his SonJesus Christ. This was hidden in Old Testament
promises, and in the Law given by Moses;it was there, undiscovered by any
but a few discerning souls;and it was "not revealedunto the sons of men"
until, enlightened by the Spirit of God, the apostles made knownthe riches of
his grace. There are still some things in connectionwith Christian doctrine
which may be said to be hidden, but which soonerorlater will be revealed
and known.
III. HUMAN CHARACTER AND HUMAN LIFE. There are depths of
secrecyin these human hearts of ours. Evil thoughts may hide there unknown
to any but to those that entertain them; nay, may lurk and work within the
soul unsuspectedeven by that soul itself. For men are both better and worse
than they know themselves to be. What purity and gentleness andself-
sacrificing love may stealsilently through life, and may pass and be forgotten!
what deeds of truest heroism may be wrought which no pen records and no
tongue recites]Yet the wrong shall be exposed, and the right be understood
and honored; human charactershallbe read in the light of truth; the guilty
shall be humbled and the upright be exalted "in that day."

1. Our duty. It is that of:
(1) Exposure. Tearthe mask from the hypocrite; let the covering be torn off
the false man, the charlatan, the betrayer of the soul, with a firm and fearless
hand; make him stand out before his fellows stripped of his pretences;make it
true that "there is nothing covered," etc.
(2) Disclosure. Live to teach, to enlighten, to enlarge. Let the secretofhealth,
of wisdom, of usefulness, be published on every hand. Tellall you canreach -
the children in the school, the sick by the bedside, the loiterers by the wayside,
the congregationin the cottage,orthe hall, or the church - the secretof pure
and lasting joy, of real and true success.
2. Our danger. Since God will cause the hidden things to be known, since he
will "bring to light the hidden things of darkness, andmake manifest the
counsels ofall hearts," since he "will judge the secretsofmen," well may the
guilty shudder, well may we all ask - Who shall abide that solemn hour? But
there is an alternative. "The blood of Jesus Christ cleansesfrom all sin." True
penitence and genuine faith will secure for us such a covering that nothing
shall be revealed. There is a Divine forgiveness whichswallows up and hides
for everthe wrong that we have done.
3. Our hope. "And then" - at that day - "shall every man have praise of God;"
i.e. every man who is, in the true sense, praiseworthy; every man to whom
Christ will be free to say, "I was hungry, and ye gave me meat; for
inasmuch," etc. He who does good"to be seenof men" has his rewardnow;
his recompense is exhaustedhere. But he who works for Christ and for men in
the spirit of his Masterhas not his reward now; he has only a foretaste ofit.
The best of it has yet to come. And it will come;for there is nothing hidden
that shall not be revealed. Blessedis the quiet, humble life of unpretending

goodness,whichis like the silent spring that makes the meadows green;from
such lives as these come deeds of loveliness and usefulness to be made mention
of by the lips of the Lord himself, when the things that are coverednow shall
be revealed, and the things which man overlooks Godwill own and honor. - C.
Biblical Illustrator
Nothing covered, that shall not be revealed.
Luke 12:2, 3
The revealing process
W. Neill.
There is a tendency in things everywhere to manifest their natures, and make
themselves known. Seeds that are buried, seek the light; shells deep in the sea
grope their way to the shore;the processes ofnature are to bring things to the
surface. What is true in matter has certainly its counterpart in mind. Human
character, notwithstanding all efforts to keepitself back, also tends to
development; what is not seenat once is found out in a lifetime. The strong
passions ofthe soul, like smothered fires or hidden springs, at last burst their
way through, and become known. There is certainly going on around us in the
operations of nature, and in the unfolding of events, a revealing process, as if
creationand Providence had determined to let light into all dark places, and
at last uncover human hearts. This, we suppose, is the generalidea taught in
the text.
I. THERE ARE REVEALING PROCESSES GOING ON IN THE WORLD
AROUND US, AND UNDER CIRCUMSTANCESWHICH MAKE IT
EXCEEDINGLYPROBABLE THAT, IN THE WORLD TO COME, THEY
WILL CONTINUE TO GO ON WITH ACCELERATED AND
OVERWHELMING POWER. One factoften discloses a greatdeal, when
brought into connectionwith anotherfact, which, when it stoodby itself, told
nothing. The ancient kings of the Eastwere aware of this, when they sent
messages fromone to another on business which they wished to be kept secret

from all but themselves. The message waswritten upon a piece of parchment,
but so written that it could not be deciphered unless first bound upon a staff,
which contained a counterpart and keyto that which was sent, and eachking
kept one of these staffs;hence, if the messengershouldlose the scrip, the
secretwould not be divulged, because notintelligible, unless wrapped round
the wood:the one was read by the help of the other, though eachspoke
nothing by itself. So with events in human life; they throw light on eachother
when brought together.
II. ALL THE HINDRANCES WHICH PREVENTED APERFECT
REVELATION OF THE CHARACTER IN THIS WORLD, WILL, IN THE
NEXT, BE REMOVED. If even in such a world as this, where the body, and
old associations, andfriends, and forgetfulness, and ignorance of the
consequences, contribute to quiet the goadings ofconscience, men are still
driven by remorse to give a detailed and minute accountof the evil they have
done, what may not be expectedwhen, with conscience allalive, and memory
quickened, the soul dismantled of its clay, stung by its sins, bereft of friends,
and hindered by nothing, meets the eye of its Makerwithout a veil? Surely
there is a provision in our nature, by reasonof which every one shall give an
accountof himself unto God.
III. MUCH OF THE BIBLE IS WRITTEN, AND ALL PROBATION
ARRANGED, WITH REFERENCETO A JUDGMENT IN THE MIDST OF
MINUTE AND AMAZING REVELATIONS. There is a foretokening all
along our earthly way. If the wickedhear a "dreadful sound," what does he
hear? If he sees a hand others do not see, what is it that he sees? The fear of
God is not before his eyes, and yet he is afraid. There was a sound, a rustle of
a leaf, yet to him a sound that spoke of discovery — a whisperof betrayal and
development; he sees things around him working to the surface. Evena stain
upon his robe, a paler hue upon his cheek, may have a voice to some one;
many things have come out in ways most unexpected and who shall say, after
all, he may not have been observed!Perhaps the words of the agedpreacher

peal againupon his soul — "Every work into judgment, with every secret
thing, whether it be goodor whether it be evil." "Forevery idle word which
men shall speak, shallthey give account";"Whatsoeverye have spokenin
darkness shallbe heard in the light"; and "The sea gave up the dead which
were in it, and death and the grave the dead which were in them, and they
were judged, every man according to his works," outof the things that were
written in the books.
IV. IF THERE WERE NO BOOKS WITH MAN'S NEEDS RECORDEDIN
THEM, NO CONSCIENCE IN THE SOUL TO URGE THEM FORTH, NO
WITNESSESTO TESTIFY, AND NO FORMAL SENTENCE TO BE
PRONOUNCED AND VINDICATED, STILL THE FUTURE CONDITION
OF THE SOUL WILL ITSELF POINT BACK TO SPECIFIC ACTS OF SIN
OR UNRIGHTEOUSNESSON EARTH, AS THE GROUND OF ITS
PECULIAR DESTINY.
(W. Neill.)
The inner world
H. Palmer.
I. Now, we believe that God has dealt with man according to his temperament.
He knows us far better than we know ourselves;and He would therefore work
upon us in a manner most likely to produce a goodeffect. It may be, indeed,
that the abstractidea of the Lord's coming to judgment, would have been in
itself too lofty for a man fully to appreciate;so that in order to make man
realize it, and thus to let it have a practicalbearing upon our conduct, it has
been necessaryto enter into the detail, and describe one of the scenes
connectedwith it. Or, to regardthe subject in another light, it is noticeable
that man feels no shame of God's knowledge ofsin. This may be proved from
the factthat we are guilty, all of us, of many secretsins, which we should

blush to ownto our dearestfriend, but which we are ready enoughto
acknowledge to God. On the other hand, we are not often content that our
gooddeeds should be known to God alone, but the majority of persons would
seemto wish that men should regardthem also. These considerationsmay
lead us to understand, that it was from a complete knowledge ofhuman
nature that Christ warned His disciples by the announcement of the truth —
that all secrets wouldeventually be brought to light. "Beware," He says, "of
the leavenof the Pharisees,whichis hypocrisy." For there is nothing covered,
that shall not be revealed;neither hid, that shall not be known.
II. By laying as de a 1 further reference to God's perfect knowledge ofhuman
nature implied in the text, we would leadyour minds to the doctrine which the
text conveys — and, indeed, it is a most important one. Christ here speaks of
the revealing at the lastday, of all that we now hide in the closestsecrecy. He
tells us that there is nothing, hide it as we now may from the knowledge of
others, which He will not reveal before the masses ofthe universe. The actions
of a single day, who can number them? Go, examine your own hearts. Each
man for himself must go down to the regionof his own soul, and find out what
is there going on. Thoughts and passions, motives and wishes, hopes and fears,
hatred, lusts and affections, intentions of good, and designs of evil; these are
the shadowydwellers of that weedwithin, whose name is legion, for indeed
they are many. At one time they prompt us to external deeds;at another time,
our external deeds are only the cloak beneathwhich they disguise themselves,
so that men perceive them not. Oh, who canturn the mental eye inwards, and
not marvel at, and fear the secretworld which toils and burns in the heart?
Yet we see it not all. He knows all things now, and there shall come a day
when they shall be knownno longerto God alone, but they shall be all
declaredto the gatheredmasses ofthe universe; for Christ has told us, that
"there is nothing coveredthat shall not be revealed."
III. And if this be true, does it not especiallybehove us constantlyto regard
the state of that heart which God so closelyinspects?

IV. And here we may notice a remarkable distinction betweenthe judgment
passedon our conduct by man on the one side, and by God on the other. Man
takes into accountour wickedactions only, while God often discerns matter of
condemnation, long before the wickedaction is committed. As viewed by an
earthly tribunal, it is of little accountwhat designs we may have had, if those
designs have never been put into execution. If we are placedin positions
where unavoidable circumstances reallydebar us often from those privileges
which the gospelof Christ affords to man, we may safelycommit ourselves to
the hands of God; He knows our hearts; and the day will come when it will be
proved that, although debarred from many privileges, it was not really our
own fault; our inclinations were good, and these inclinations shall be openly
declared;for "there is nothing covered," no secretwish, no concealeddesire,
"that shall not be revealed;there is nothing hid that shall not be known."
(H. Palmer.)
Christians weighedin the balance
W. Harris.
If we had eyes adapted to the sight, we should see, onlooking into the smallest
seed, the future floweror tree enclosedin it. God will look into our feelings
and motives as into seeds;by those embryos of actionHe will infallibly
determine what we are, and will show what we should have been, had there
been scope and stage for their development and maturity. Nothing will be
made light of. The very dust of the balances shallbe takeninto account. It is
in the moral world as it is in the natural, where every substance weighs
something; though we speak of imponderable bodies, yet nature knows
nothing of positive levity: and were men possessedofthe necessaryscales, the
requisite instrument, we should find the same holds true in the moral world.
Nothing is insignificant on which sin has breathed the breath of hell:
everything is important in which holiness has impresseditself in the painted
characters. And accordingly"There is nothing coveredthat shall not be

revealed;and hid that shall not be known." Howeverunimportant now, in the
estimation of man, yet, when placedin the light of the Divine countenance,
like the atom in the sun's rays, it shall be deserving attention; and as the
minutest molecule of matter contains all the primordial elements of a world,
so the leastatom of that mind shall be found to include in it the essential
elements of heaven.
(W. Harris.)
No secrecyfor sin
C. H. Spurgeon.
A man broke into a small church in Scotland, with the sacrilegiousintention
of stealing the communion plate. Hearing steps outside the building, and
expecting that he should be discovered, he hurried to the end of the church,
where, seeing a long rope depending to the ground, he laid hold of it for the
purpose of climbing out of sight. But it proved to be the bell rope, and his
weight rang the bell, which attractedhis pursuers immediately to the spot.
The man, of course, was caught;and thus wittily addressedthe unconscious
cause ofhis detection: — "If it had not been for thy long tongue and empty
head I should not have been in my present predicament." This is the story as
we get it from Mr. Gatty's book "upon the Bell"; but it has its lesson. Those
who sin are pretty sure, sooneror later, to turn king's-evidence against
themselves. There is a voice in wrong-doing; its long tongue will not always be
quiet. All unaware, the offender puts out his hand and pulls the bell which
tells againsthimself and summons vengeanceto overtake him. Let no man
dream that he cansecure secrecyforhis wickedness. Everytimber in floor or
roof is really to cry out againsthim, and before he is aware ofit, he will
himself be ringing out his own infamy. What will be his dismay when he
stands self-convictedbefore the assembleduniverse!
(C. H. Spurgeon.)

Guilt strangely revealed
ClericalLibrary.
Once, in a certain part of Germany, a box of treasure that was being sent by
railway was found to have been opened and emptied of its contents, and filled
with stones and rubbish. The question was, Who was the robber? Some sand
was found sticking to the box, and a clevermineralogist, having lookedat the
grains of sand through his microscope, saidthat there was only one station on
the railwaywhere there was that kind of sand. Then they knew that the box
must have been takenout at that station, and so they found out who was the
robber. The dust under his feet, where he had setdown the box to open it, was
a witness againsthim.
(ClericalLibrary.)
The quickening of conscience
Just as the manipulations of the photographer in his dark chamber bring
forth a picture which has been burnt into the plate by rays of light before, that
when completed it may be brought to light again, and set before men that they
may see what manner of persons they were; so, in the dark chambers of the
dead, in the hidden spirit-world, there shall be a quickening of conscience.
Many a dull picture, burnt into the mind amid the brightness of life shall be
made terribly clear, the whole to be exposedas a finished view in the light of
the judgment throne, and of Him who sits thereon. We are taught that we had
better cultivate this photography of life ourselves. Godhas given to us the
dark chambers of the night, no chambers of horror, but chambers in which,
awayfrom busy life, we may still be workers forHim, bringing forth the
pictures of the day that are imprinted on conscience, andthat may all be lost,
unless we thus draw them forth.
Everything is recorded
W. H. Baxendale.

It is related that, some time since, a gentleman visiting England calledupon a
gentleman there living in princely grandeur. After being passedfrom one
liveried servant to another, with almost as much ceremonyas if he were about
to be brought into the presence ofthe Queen, he was shown into a large and
elegantlyfurnished drawing-room, where he was receivedby the gentleman
whom he sought. He saw that there were two other persons seatedat a table in
the room, but not being introduced to them, proceededwith his business. At
the close ofthe interview, as he was about to leave, the gentlemanremarked,
"I am accustomedto have conversations with me recorded, and, that there
may be no misunderstanding, these my amanuenses will read to you what you
have said." The visitor was thunderstruck. He little thought, while sitting
there, that two pairs of ears were catching up every word he uttered, and two
pairs of hands were putting it into a permanent record. So with many in this
world. They seemnot to know that there is a Being about their path who
hears every syllable they utter, and who, "when the books are opened," will
bring everything to view. In a late work of fiction the Recording Angel is
representedas dropping a tear, just as he enters the celestialgates, uponan
oath uttered in haste by a favourite character, and blotting it out for ever. But
that is fiction, and not truth. A greaterthan man declares that "whatsoeveris
spokenin darkness shallbe heard in the light," and that "every idle word that
men shall speak, they shall give accountthereofin the day of judgment."
(W. H. Baxendale.)
Easternproclamations
Our Lord spent most of His life in villages;and, accordingly, the reference
here is to a custom observedonly in such places, never in cities. At the present
day, writes Thompson, localgovernors in country districts cause their
commands thus to be published. Their proclamations are generallymade in
the evening, after the people have returned from their labours in the field. The
public crier ascends the highest roof at hand, and lifts up his voice in a long-
drawn call upon all faithful subjects to give earand obey. He then proceeds to

announce, in a set form, the will of their master, and demands obedience
thereto.
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(2) For there is nothing covered.—Moreaccurately, but there is nothing . . .
The Greek conjunctioncannot possibly have the meaning of “for,” and the
latter word suggests a logicalconnectionwhichis different from that of the
original. What our Lord seems to say is, “Bewareye of . . . hypocrisy . . .; but,
whether ye beware or not, know that all that is now secretwill one day be
manifested.” On the verse itself, see Note on Matthew 11:25. The connection
in the two passagesis, however, very different. There the underlying thought
of a future day of revelation(see 1Corinthians 4:5) is made a motive to
courage in proclaiming truths that had been receivedin secret;here as a
motive to caution, lest we should be trusting in the counterfeits of truth and
holiness. The force of the two Greek words would, perhaps, be better
expressedby, There is nothing veiled that shall not be unveiled.
BensonCommentary
Luke 12:2-5. For there is nothing covered, &c. — All your actions shall be
brought to light, either in this world or in the next. Wherefore take greatcare
never to do any thing which cannot bear the light, but let the whole of your
behaviour be fair, honest, and good. This argument againsthypocrisy he
proceededto improve as a reasonfor their acquiring another quality, which
would serve all the ends they could propose by their hypocrisy, and to much
better purpose; an undaunted resolutionin the performance of their duty,
founded on faith in God, who now governs the world by a particular
providence, and in the end will rewardor punish every man according to his
deeds. I say unto you, my friends — With all possible seriousness, andtender

concernfor your everlasting welfare;Be not afraid of them that kill the body
— Let not the fear of man make you act the hypocrite, or concealany thing
which I have commissionedyou to publish: and after that have no more that
they can do — The immortal soul being entirely out of their reach. But I will
forewarnyou — Greek, υποδειξω υμιν, I will show you; whom you shall fear
— Whose displeasure you shall be afraid to incur; fear him, which after he
hath killed the body, hath powerto castinto hell — Is able to torment the soul
eternally, and whose displeasure, therefore, is infinitely to be dreaded. Yea, I
say unto you, Fearhim — And rather chooseto venture on the greatest
dangers, and to sacrifice your lives, than to do any thing which may offend his
Divine Majesty. See onMatthew 10:28. It is remarkable that Christ gives this
direction even to his peculiar friends: therefore the fearing of God, as having
powerto castinto hell, is to be pressedeven upon true believers.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
12:1-12 A firm belief of the doctrine of God's universal providence, and the
extent of it, would satisfyus when in peril, and encourage us to trust God in
the wayof duty. Providence takes notice of the meanestcreatures, evenof the
sparrows, and therefore of the smallestinterests of the disciples of Christ.
Those who confess Christ now, shall be owned by him in the greatday, before
the angels ofGod. To deter us from denying Christ, and deserting his truths
and ways, we are here assuredthat those who deny Christ, though they may
thus save life itself, and though they may gain a kingdom by it, will be great
losers at last;for Christ will not know them, will not own them, nor show
them favour. But let no trembling, penitent backsliderdoubt of obtaining
forgiveness. This is far different from the determined enmity that is
blasphemy againstthe Holy Ghost, which shall never be forgiven, because it
will never be repented of.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Nothing covered- See the notes at Matthew 10:26-32.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary

2. hid—from knowledge. "Tis no use concealing anything, for all will one day
come out. Give free and fearless utterance then to all the truth." (Compare
1Co 4:3, 5).
Matthew Poole's Commentary
It is a proverbial expression:those, and parabolicalexpressions,may be
applied in severalcases, andto severalsubjects:we have met with this before
variously applied, Matthew 10:26 Mark 4:22; and in this Gospel, Luke 8:17.
Here it is applied as an argument againsthypocrisy, or the concealing of
naughty and corrupt hearts under the vizor and disguise of demure looks, or
fair conversation. In the day of judgment sinners shall walk naked, and men
shall see their shame;God will in that day make known all the secrets of
men’s hearts, to be sure the secretsofall their hearts, whose iniquities are not
forgiven, and whose sins are not covered.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
For there is nothing coveredthat shall not be revealed,....No sin, be it ever so
secretor privately done, as nothing is more coveredthan hypocrisy, but what
shall be detectedsooneror later; if not in this world, which is often the case,
yet the last judgment, and in the world to come:
neither hid, that shall not be known; for how careful soevermen may be to
hide their vices from others, they are knownto God; who will bring every
thing into judgment, and make manifest the secrets ofall hearts. These were
generalsentences, whichwere used by Christ at different times, upon
different occasions, andapplied to particular cases;See Gill on Matthew
10:26.
Geneva Study Bible
For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall
not be known.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary
Luke 12:2-10. See on Matthew 10:26-33. The connectionis indicated by means
of the continuative δέ: “Ye must the more, however, be on your guard against
this hypocritical ζύμη, since your teaching is destined to the greatestpublicity
for the future.” Comp. Mark 4:22. Publicity which lies open to the world’s
judgment, and hypocritical characterwhich must shun disclosure, are
irreconcilable. If you would not dread the former, the latter must remain far
from you. According to Weiss, Luke has given to the whole saying only the
meaning, that everything concealedby hypocrisy nevertheless one day comes
to light, and therefore, even every word, howeversecretlyit is spoken, shall
come one day to publicity. But this supposition, without any ground for it,
attributes to Luke a complete misapprehension of the meaning.
Luke 12:3. ἀνθʼ ὧν] quare, wherefore. See Hermann, ad Viger. p. 710;
Schaefer, Appar. Dem. I. p. 846.
ὅσα ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ κ.τ.λ.]Everything which (in dread of persecutions)ye shall
have spokenin the darkness, i.e. shallhave taught in secret, shall(in the
triumph of my cause)be heard in the cleardaylight, i.e. shall be known in full
publicity by your preaching and the preaching of others. The expressionἐν τῇ
σκοτίᾳ usedof the apostolic agencyis not inappropriate (de Wette), since it
characterizes it not in general, but only under certaincircumstances (Luke
12:4). But certainly the original form of the saying is found in Matthew 10:27,
while in Luke it was alteredto suit the apostolic experiencesafterthese had
often enough proved the necessityof teaching in secretwhatat a later period
came to be publicly proclaimed before the whole world,[153]when the gospel,
as in Luke’s time, was triumphantly spread abroad.
ἐν τῷ φωτί] in the clearday; Hom. Od. xxi. 429;Xen. Cyr. iv. 2. 26; Wis 18:4.

Luke 12:4. If Jesus reminded His disciples by ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ and πρὸς τὸ οὖς …
ἐν τ. ταμείοις, Luke 12:3, of the impending pressure of persecutions, He now
exhorts them to fearlessness inpresence of their persecutors.
τοῖς φίλοις μου]for as such they were the object of persecution.
μετὰ ταῦτα]μετὰ τὸ ἀποκτεῖναι. The plural depends on the idea of being put
to death, comprising all the modes of taking awaylife. See Kühner, II. p. 423.
Luke 12:5 f. Observe the marked emphasis on the φοβήθητε.
Luke 12:8-10. Notan admonition for the disciples to remain faithful, for Luke
12:10 would not be appropriate to that, inasmuch as there was no occasionto
be anxious at all about their speaking againstthe Son of man, and it would
have been even inappropriate to bid them beware of the blasphemy against
the Holy Ghost;[154]but Jesus adds to the previous encouragements a new
one (λέγω δὲ ὑμῖν, comp. Luke 12:4), saying to them how momentous for the
eternal destiny of men is the apostolic work conductedby the Holy Spirit, how
even the decisionof the judgment on men would be given in accordance with
the result of the work of the apostles among them. Hence, Luke 12:10 has
been wrongly regardedas not pertinent to this (Kuinoel, de Wette); while, on
the other hand, Schleiermacherconsidersthe arrangementof Matthew 12 as
less appropriate, in that he introduces a contrastof the present time (in which
the Sonis resisted) with the future (when the more rapid and mighty agency
of the Spirit is blasphemed). In itself the saying is appropriate in both places,
nay, it may have been uttered more than once; but in Matthew and Mark we
have its closesthistoricalconnectionand position.
As to the blasphemy againstthe Holy Spirit, see on Matthew 12:31 f.

[153]According to Hilgenfeld, Evang. p. 192 (comp. his Zeitschrift, 1865, p.
192), and Köstlin, p. 147, this publicity is regardedas having been meant as a
contrastto the ministry of the Twelve, becausethey had chiefly limited
themselves to the circle of Judaism. It is not indeed in agreementwith this that
that which is secretshould so purposely be made prominent. The Twelve
neither limited their ministry merely to Judaism, nor did they minister among
the Jews in quietness and secrecylike preachers in a corner.
[154]Hofmann, Sehriftbew. II. 2, p. 342, insists on regarding the blasphemy
againstthe Spirit in this place as not distinct from the denial of Jesus. He says
that this denial, in the case of those, namely, who had not only had the earthly
human manifestationof Jesus before them, but had received the Holy Spirit,
is blasphemy againstthe Spirit. But it is very arbitrary to assume, in
contradiction to Matthew 12:31, Mark 3:29, that the blasphemy againstthe
Holy Spirit presupposes that the Spirit has already been received. The
blasphemers of the Spirit are malevolently conscious and hardened opposers
of Christ. They may certainly have alreadyhad the Spirit and have
apostatizedand become such opposers (Hebrews 10:29);but if such people
were to be understood in this passage,some clearerindicationshould have
been given. Still, how far from the Lord must even the mere thought have
been, that the disciples, His friends, ver. 4, could ever change into such
malignant blasphemers!
Expositor's Greek Testament
Luke 12:2 = Matthew 10:26, there connectedwith a counselnot to fear men
addressedto persons whose vocationimposes the obligationto speak out. Here
= dissimulation, concealmentof your faith, is vain; the truth will out sooner or
later.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
2. Forthere is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed]Rather, But (unless
with ‫א‬ we omit the δὲ altogether). This whole discourse, in its vividness and

compression, and the apparent abruptness of some of its causalconnexions,
indicates the tumult of emotion through which our Lord had been passing in
the lasttrying scene. The line of thought is—‘Hypocrisy aims at concealment;
but, &c.’ Hypocrisy is not only sinful but useless.
covered—revealed]Literally, “veiled over—unveiled.” You will be made
responsible for any part of my teaching which you concealorkeepback.
Bengel's Gnomen
Luke 12:2. Οὐδὲν δἐ, [for, Engl. Vers.] but nothing) All things, both bad and
good, shall be revealed:and they who revealthe truth, are removed (shrink)
from hypocrisy.—συγκεκαλυμμένον, coveredall over) removed from the eyes
of men: so, in darkness (ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ), Luke 12:3.—κρυπτὸν, hidden) removed
also from the knowledge ofmen: so, to the ear (πρὸς τὸ οὖς), Luke 12:3.
Pulpit Commentary
Verses 2, 3. - For there is nothing covered, that shall not he revealed;neither
hid, that shall not be known Therefore whatsoeverye have spokenin darkness
shall be heard in the light. The day would come when his estimate of this now
popular teaching of the Pharisees wouldbe found to have been correct. Its
real nature, now hid, would be revealedand fully known and discredited;
while, on the other hand, the words and teaching of his disciples, now listened
to but by few, and those of seeminglylittle account, would become widely and
generallyknown and listened to. Upon the housetops. These were flat, terrace-
like roofs, and, the houses generallybeing low, one who spoke from them
would easily be heard in the streetbeneath. "These words have a strong
Syrian colouring. The Syrian house-top (in Matthew 10:27 and here) presents
an image which has no sense in Asia Minor, or Greece, orItaly, or even at
Antioch. The fiat roofs cease atthe mouth of the Orontes; Antioch itself has
sloping roofs" (Renan, 'Les Evangiles,'p. 262, note 1).
Vincent's Word Studies
Coveredup (συγκεκαλυμμένον)

Only here in New Testament:implying close concealment.
COMMENTARIES ON VERSE 3
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(3) Therefore whatsoeverye have spokenin darkness.—SeeNote onMatthew
10:27. There is, it will be noted, a difference of the same characteras in the
last verse. As recordedin St. Matthew, it is “What I tell you in darkness, that
speak ye in light.” The disciples were warned of their responsibility and duty
as hearers, bound to teachpublicly what had been heard in secret. Here they
are told of their responsibility as teachers. Everyword, however secret,
spokenin darkness, in the closetorcabinet, which was the symbol of secresy
(see Note on Matthew 6:6); every whisper of false security or groundless fear,
spokenin the earof sinner or of penitent, would one day be made manifest, as
in the presence ofmen and angels.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
12:1-12 A firm belief of the doctrine of God's universal providence, and the
extent of it, would satisfyus when in peril, and encourage us to trust God in
the wayof duty. Providence takes notice of the meanestcreatures, evenof the
sparrows, and therefore of the smallestinterests of the disciples of Christ.
Those who confess Christ now, shall be owned by him in the greatday, before
the angels ofGod. To deter us from denying Christ, and deserting his truths
and ways, we are here assuredthat those who deny Christ, though they may
thus save life itself, and though they may gain a kingdom by it, will be great
losers at last;for Christ will not know them, will not own them, nor show
them favour. But let no trembling, penitent backsliderdoubt of obtaining

forgiveness. This is far different from the determined enmity that is
blasphemy againstthe Holy Ghost, which shall never be forgiven, because it
will never be repented of.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Shall be proclaimedupon the housetops - See the notes at Matthew 10:27. The
custom of making proclamationfrom the tops or roofs of houses still prevails
in the East. Dr. Thomson("The Land and the Book,"vol. i. p. 51, 52)says:
"At the present day, localgovernors in country districts cause their
commands thus to be published. Their proclamations are generallymade in
the evening, after the people have returned from their labors in the field. The
public crier ascends the highest roof at hand, and lifts up his voice in a long-
drawn callupon all faithful subjects to give earand obey. He then proceeds to
announce, in a set form, the will of their master, and demand obedience
thereto."
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
2. hid—from knowledge. "Tis no use concealing anything, for all will one day
come out. Give free and fearless utterance then to all the truth." (Compare
1Co 4:3, 5).
Matthew Poole's Commentary
We have something very like this Matthew 10:27, spokenby way of precept. It
seemethto be a sentence also variouslyapplied: it may be left indifferent to
the reader, whether he will understand it as a promise of the publication of
the gospel, (to which purpose it seems to be spokenin the form of a precept,
Matthew 10:27), or as a further enlargementof his former discourse, Luke
12:2.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
Therefore whatsoeverye have spokenin darkness,.... In the most private
manner, to one another:
shall be heard in the light; which makes all things manifest, the day shall
declare it:

and that which ye have spokenin the earin closets;whisperedto persons in
their bedchambers, and places of the most secretretirement;
shall be proclaimed upon the housetops;declaredin the most public manner:
in Matthew 10:27 these words are so expressed, as to carry in them such a
sense as this; that what was told the disciples by Christ, in the most private
place and way, should be published by them, in the most free and open
manner; See Gill on Matthew 10:27.
Geneva Study Bible
Therefore whatsoeverye have spokenin darkness shallbe heard in the light;
and that which ye have spokenin the earin closets shallbe proclaimed upon
the housetops.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Expositor's Greek Testament
Luke 12:3. ἀνθʼ ὧν, either = quare, inferring the particular case following
from the general statementgoing before, or = because, assigning a reasonfor
that statement. This verse = Matthew 10:27, but altered. In Mt. it is Christ
who speaks in the darkness, and whispers in the ear; in Lk. it is His disciples.
In the one representationthe whispering stage has its place in the history of
the kingdom; in the latter it is conceivedas illegitimate and futile. What you
whisper will become knownto all, therefore whisper not but speak from the
housetop.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
3. whatsoeverye have spokenin darkness]The application of the similar
language in Matthew 10:26, Mark 4:22, is different. See Luke 8:17.

in closets]Literally, “in the treasuries or storehouses,”i.e. in closed, secret
places.
upon the housetops]i.e. in the most public places of resort, so as to be heard in
the streets below.
Bengel's Gnomen
Luke 12:3. Εἴπατε, ye have spoken)with some degree of fear.
Vincent's Word Studies
Closets (ταμείοις)
The word has the same root as: τέμνω, to cut or divide, and means an
apartment where supplies are divided and apportioned: a treasury, magazine,
and therefore a secretand well-guarded place. There the steward (ταμίας), the
distributor, has his seat.
House-tops
See on Matthew 24:17.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCE HURT MD

Luke 12:2 "But there is nothing coveredup that will not be revealed, and
hidden that will not be known.
KJV Luke 12:2 For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed;
neither hid, that shall not be known.
Luke 8:17; Eccl12:14; Mt 10:26; Mark 4:22; Ro 2:16; 1 Cor4:5; 2 Cor 5:10;
Rev 20:11,12
Luke 12 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Luke 12:1-3 The Leaven of Hypocrisy - Greg Allen
Luke 12:1-12 Confessing orDenying Christ? - Steven Cole
Luke 12:1-7 A Certain Cure for Hypocrisy, Part 1 - John MacArthur
ALL WILL BE REVEALED
AND MADE KNOWN
This is similar to Jesus'words elsewhere in the Gospels
Mt 10:26 “Therefore do not fearthem, for there is nothing concealedthat will
not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.
Mk 4:22 “Fornothing is hidden, except to be revealed;nor has anything been
secret, but that it would come to light.
Luke 8:17-note “Fornothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor
anything secretthat will not be known and come to light.

Paul gave a similar teaching
1 Ti 5:24-25 The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to
judgment; for others, their sins follow after. 25 Likewise also, deeds thatare
goodare quite evident, and those which are otherwise cannotbe concealed.
Ro 2:6, 16 who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS
DEEDS:(2:16) on the day when, according to my gospel, Godwill judge the
secrets ofmen through Christ Jesus.
1 Cor 4:5 Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait
until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the
darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then eachman’s praise
will come to him from God.
But (term of contrast)Stands in contrastto the leaven of hypocrisy and begins
Jesus'teaching on how to avoid the leavenof hypocrisy. As the NLT
paraphrases it "The time is coming when everything that is coveredup will be
revealed, and all that is secretwill be made known to all."
There is nothing coveredup that will not be revealedand hidden that will not
be known - This is straightforward. God is omniscient. Pr 15:3 (note) says
"The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Watching the evil and the good."
The upshot is that nothing we think, do or say escapesthe omniscient eye of
God. It follows that no one escapesexposure and that everyone will be
revealed. If one is a hypocritical "white washed" tomb on the outside but full
of dead men's bones on the inside (Mt 23:27), he may fool men on earth, but
he does not fool God in heaven and he will be exposed. Eccl12:14 explains

"ForGod will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden,
whether it is goodor evil." (cf Eccl3:17, cf Mt 12:36)
John MacArthur asks in light of the danger of hypocrisy "How to avoid the
eternal disasterof being a hypocrite? In Luke 12:2-13 the Lord gives...three
necessaryrealities, three essentialobligations, if you want to avoid being
damned for being a hypocrite, if you want to make sure you're not in a false
religious system. Here they are. You ready? Honor God, honor Christ, honor
the Spirit. How about that? Godis mentioned in verse 5 as the One who after
He has killed has authority to castinto hell and He's also mentioned in verse
6. The Son is mentioned in verse 8 as the Son of Man who must be confessed,
and mentioned again in verse 10. The Spirit is mentioned in verse 10 and
againin verse 12. And here you have a magnificent trinitarian passageandin
the broad sense ofthings you cannotavoid hell if you're not a trinitarian.
That is to say you're going to hell if you're a unitarian. You cannot honor
God without honoring Christ and you cannot honor Christ without honoring
the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit points to Christ and Christ shows us the
Father. It's a package. The only wayyou'll ever avoid eternal disasteris to
honor God, honor Christ, and to honor the Holy Spirit. How basic is that?"
(A Certain Cure for Hypocrisy, Part 1)
NET Note on be revealed...be known-The passive voice verbs here ("be
revealed," be made known")see the revelation as coming from God. The text
is both a warning about bad things being revealedand an encouragementthat
goodthings will be made known, though the stress with the images of
darkness and what is hidden in vv. 2–3 is on the attempt to conceal.
Solomonwrites that "God will bring every actto judgment, everything which
is hidden, whether it is goodor evil." (Eccl12:14)

Rod Mattoon- Jesus warns that what the hypocrite has concealed, the true
condition of his heart, would eventually be exposedfor all to see. Whatever
corruption was hidden would be brought out into the open. What is on the
inside of the hypocrite would eventually come to light. Jesus is repeating a
warning that was written in the Pentateuchof the Old Testament. Numbers
32:23—Butif ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned againstthe Lord: and
be sure your sin will find you out." Since one's spiritual life is an inner
condition of the soul that no one can see, hypocrisyis always a spiritual
danger. Hypocrites say and do different things in public than they do in
private. Jesus warnedthat hypocrisy eventually gets exposed. People are not
goodenough at living a double life to fool everyone all the time, and they
never fool God. Nothing canbe hidden from the Lord. The lies of the
hypocrite will be revealed one day whether it is here in this life or on
Judgment Day....Concerning hypocrisy or deception, Abraham Lincoln put it
this way, "You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people
some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time." May we
also add, "You cannot fool God any of the time!"
Be revealed(601)(apokalupto from apó = from + kalúpto = cover, conceal,
English = apocalypse - see study of apokalupsis English= apocalypse)literally
means to remove the coverfrom and so the idea is to remove that which
concealssomething. Almost all of the NT uses have a figurative use, especially
to some aspectof spiritual truth that was heretofore hidden but now has the
"lid removed" so that it canbe seen(understood).
Will be revealedis future tense (speaks offuture judgment) passive voice
(revealedby an outside Source = God is the Revealer)indicative mood (mood
of reality = this is a certainty for every hypocrite! There is absolutely no
escape from this just judgment!)
In Luke 8:17-note Jesus said

For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secretthat
will not be knownand come to light.
Hidden (2927)(kruptos from krupto = keepsecret;English ~ cryptic, etc)
means concealed, secret, hidden either to protect it or for self-serving
purposes. Krupto describes something that is unknown because it is being
kept secretor hidden.
Be known (1097)(ginosko)means to acquire information through some
modality, as through sense perceptionand generallyinvolves experiential
knowledge, notmerely the accumulation of known facts.
The Lord Is Looking - There is nothing coveredthat will not be revealed, nor
hidden that will not be known. —Luke 12:2
Looking through his telescope, anastronomerwas making observations ofthe
setting sun. As he was adjusting his lens, he noticed the top of a hill several
miles away.
On the hill were two boys stealing apples from an orchard. One was shaking
down the fruit and the other was standing watch. They thought no one was
watching them, but the astronomersaw their every move.
How much more does the all-seeing eye of God behold everything we do—
whether in the open or in private. This is a disturbing thought that could lead
us to despair. But God not only sees and remembers, He also forgives and

forgets if we come to Him in repentance and confession. The Lord promises to
do these things with our sins:
Forgive them all (1 Jn. 1:9).
Castthem into the sea (Mic. 7:19).
Take them away(Isa. 6:7).
Coverthem up (Ps. 32:1).
Blot them out (Acts 3:19).
Put them away(Heb. 9:26).
Remember them no more (Heb. 8:12).
We can’t hide our sins from God. So let’s confess them and acceptHis
gracious forgiveness. ByM.R. DeHaan
O God, I have been guilty, I confess,
Thy Spirit has at last my sins made known;
Forgive me, Lord, and I will evermore
Devote myself to Thee and Thee alone. —Smith
God has an all-seeing eye—andan all-forgiving heart.
Luke 12:3 "Accordingly, whateveryou have said in the dark will be heard in
the light, and what you have whisperedin the inner rooms will be proclaimed
upon the housetops.

KJV Luke 12:3 Therefore whatsoeverye have spokenin darkness shallbe
heard in the light; and that which ye have spokenin the ear in closets shallbe
proclaimed upon the housetops.
Accordingly, whateveryou have said in the dark Job 24:14,15;Eccl
10:12,13,20;Mt 12:36;Jude 1:14,15
will be heard in the light - The houses in Judea being flat-roofed, with a
balustrade round about, were used for the purpose of taking the air, sleeping,
and prayer, and, it seems, forannouncing things in the most public manner.
So among the Turks, a crier announces the hours of public worship from the
minaret or tower of the mosque.
what you have whisperedin the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the
housetops Mt 10:27
Luke 12 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Luke 12:1-3 The Leaven of Hypocrisy - Greg Allen
Luke 12:1-12 Confessing orDenying Christ? - Steven Cole
Luke 12:1-7 A Certain Cure for Hypocrisy, Part 1 - John MacArthur
WHAT YOU SAY NOW
WILL BE HEARD
Accordingly, whateveryou have said in the dark will be heard in the light -
Jesus is simply amplifying Lk 12:2 using a more figurative description. If we
say something in the dark the picture is that no one hears what we say, but
that is sheerself-deception, but it will be obvious what we said in the light,
when we are exposed.

Accordingly (because of the reasongiven in Lk 12:2) - The point is knowing
what is coming in the future should impact our thoughts, words and conduct
in the present! Are you as convictedas I am? I hope so!
We should fear God (Lk 12:5) because He will revealthe truth. If you are a
hypocrite, it will be brought to the light!
MacArthur adds "The truth of what you are is going to come out and
hypocrites will be seenfor what they really are and especiallyif they name the
name of God and the name of Jesus Christ. How horrible will be their
judgment. FearGod because youcan't hide anything from Him."
And what you have whisperedin the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the
housetops - Whispered is a Greek idiom "spokenin the ear." And so againwe
see that Jesus uses anotherfigure to show how futile it is to think we can hide
what we sayfrom the omniscient Godsimply by "whispering!" This is a
dramatic picture for the housetops of those days were flat, so standing on
them and proclaiming what one said that he thought no one heard would in
fact be clearly heard by all. Hypocrites will one day be seenfor what they
really are.
The inner rooms - In Jesus'day most houses were made of dirt which could
be easily dug through allowing thieves to steal. To minimize this risk, an inner
room was often built in the middle of the house awayfrom the outer wall and
this is where one might keepvaluables. It was also a greatplace to "whisper"
if you did not want anyone to hear! Top secretconversations were also heldin
these rooms! Jesus said, "The secrets ofthese rooms would be proclaimed one
day from the housetops."
NET Note explains that proclaimed from the housetops "is an idiom for
proclaiming something publicly. Roofs of many first century Jewishhouses in

Judea and Galilee were flat and had accesseitherfrom outside or from within
the house. Something shouted from atop a house would be heard by everyone
in the streetbelow."
Mattoonon housetops - This was a common practice in that time.
Proclamations by localgovernors or masters from the housetops, in towns or
on farms, continue even in our time. These governors proclaimedtheir
commands from the roof to those under their authority. Masters would make
announcements to their workers when they returned from the fields. The key
point here is the fact that evil will be exposedone day. Nothing is hidden from
the Lord. This train of thought runs all throughout the Bible.
In fact in Matthew 10 Jesus directedHis 12 disciples (Mt 10:1) to proclaim
their message(GoodNews)from the housetops:
Therefore do not fearthem, for there is nothing concealedthat will not be
revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 “What I tell you in the
darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear,
proclaim upon the housetops. (Mt 10:26-27)
Darrell L. Bock - This figure of speechdescribes our most private practices.
This is a classic reversaltheme:the most private of acts and utterances
become the most public. It is this exposure that makes hypocrisy useless in the
long run and the heroic deed done in private an objectof admiration
eventually. The contrasts are strong: darkness versus light and private
whispering versus public preaching. (Luke 9:51-24:53, BakerExegetical
Commentary on the New Testament[Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996], 1135)
Mattoonapplies this section- May we heed the warning of Jesus and look out
for the leaven of hypocrisy. We cando this by scrutinizing our ownactions
closely, making sure our walk matches our talk. Be sure to not be harsh or

hard with other people and their faults. Be swift to admit your mistakes when
you make them. Look out for the leaven.
Spurgeon- It would be well if we all lived in such a fashion that we should not
be ashamed to have everything we did placardedon the very sky. I have heard
of one who said that he would like to have a window in his heart, so that
everybody might see what was going on. I think that, if I had such a window
in my heart, I should like to have shutters to it; and I question whether any
man really could wish to have his heart open to the gaze of all mankind. But,
at least, let our lives be such that we should not be ashamedfor the universal
eye to be fixed upon them. If thou art ashamedto have any one of thine
actions known, be ashamed to do it. If thou wouldst be ashamed to hear again
what thou was about to say, do not sayit. Check thy tongue; be cautious and
careful. Live ever as one who realizes God’s omniscience. While one of the
ancient orators was speaking, onone occasion, allhis hearers went awaywith
the exceptionof Plato; but he continued to speak as eloquently as ever, for he
said that Plato was a sufficient audience for any man. So, if there be no one
but the eye of God looking upon thee, be just as careful as if thou were in the
street, surrounded by thy fellow-creatures;nay, be more careful because thou
art in the presence of thy Creator.
ILLUSTRATION - THE TRUTH WILL COME OUT - Early in 1996, the
body of the former ambassadorto Switzerland (M. Larry Lawrence)was
buried in Arlington Cemetery, America's graveyard of war heroes. His
granite tombstone read, "S1C [SeamanFirst Class]U.S. MerchantMarine."
But according to Don Van Natta Jr. and Elaine Sciolino in the New York
Times, on December11, 1997, cemeteryworkershauled that tombstone away,
and they exhumed the casket. (READ THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE) The
reason:the man had lied. For years he told others he had served on the Coast
Guard ship Horace Bushnell during World War II. He said the Germans
torpedoed the ship, and he had been thrown overboard, sustaining a head
injury. In fact, records showedthat at the time he said he was serving in the

MerchantMarine he was actuallyattending Wilbur Wright College in
Chicago. The CoastGuardhad no recordof his serving in the Merchant
Marine, and of course he had never earned the rank of seamanfirst class.
Somehow his lie was not discoveredwhen the State Department investigated
his background, and he was approved as an ambassador. Somehow his body
was permitted to be buried in Arlington Cemetery with a tombstone engraved
with a lie, but to no surprise, the truth eventually came out. The truth always
will.
Mr. Lawrence's misrepresentations wentundetectedin his lifetime by almost
everyone, including President Clinton, who consideredhim a friend....Mr.
Clinton told the mourners how Mr. Lawrence had suffered a serious head
injury when he was thrown overboardfrom his ship, the Horace Bushnell,
after it was hit by a German torpedo in the lastdays of World War II. He
''showedthe same courage and resolve he had shown as a young merchant
marine during World War II,'' the Presidentsaid. It was not until last
weekendthat it became known that on the day the Bushnell was torpedoed,
Mr. Lawrence was in his native Chicago, attending classes atWilbur Wright
College. Now there are regrets and soul-searching. (Fromthe N Y Times -
very interesting reading, even for the liberal N Y Times!)
ALBERT BARNES
Verses 2-9
Nothing covered- See the notes at Matthew 10:26-32.
Luke 12:3

Shall be proclaimedupon the housetops - See the notes at Matthew 10:27. The
custom of making proclamationfrom the tops or roofs of houses still prevails
in the East. Dr. Thomson(“The Land and the Book,”vol. i. p. 51,52)says:“At
the presentday, local governors in country districts cause their commands
thus to be published. Their proclamations are generally made in the evening,
after the people have returned from their labors in the field. The public crier
ascends the highest roof at hand, and lifts up his voice in a long-drawn call
upon all faithful subjects to give ear and obey. He then proceeds to announce,
in a set form, the will of their master, and demand obedience thereto.”
BRIAN BELL
FEARING TO REVEAL YOUR TRUE SELF! (1-3)
Hypocrisy – “acting a part” It is one who is never genuine; he’s always play
acting.
The basis of hypocrisy is insincerity.
God would rather have a blunt, honestsinner, than someone who puts on an
act of goodness!(The Gospelof Luke. (W. Barclay, lecturer in the University
of Glasgow,Ed.). The Daily study Bible series, Rev. ed.)
Jesus chargedthe Phariseesw/hypocrisybecause they tried to hide what they
really were behind masks of outward religious practices. (Shepherd’s Notes;
pg.45.)
Often when you fear people, you start to hide the truth, & this leads to
hypocrisy.
When we fear people, then we are in danger of compromising in order to
please them. And then there we are “playacting” again!

Hypocrisy is like yeast because it “starts small, spreads, & eventually infects
the whole.”
Hypocrisy is destined to fail because eventuallyGod will revealall things &
God is the final judge.
JIM BOMKAMP
VS 12:2-3 - “2 “But there is nothing coveredup that will not be revealed,
and hidden that will not be known. 3 “Accordingly, whateveryou have saidin
the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner
rooms will be proclaimedupon the housetops.” - Jesus tells His disciples that
everything said or done will be revealedand bought to light
3.1. We see here the sobering warning of coming judgment by
Jesus. In these verses, Jesus is teaching His disciples about the fact that
though people in this life try their best to hide their evil deeds which they
perform that in the day of judgment that all of the evil things that anyone has
said or done shall be revealedand become a public matter.
3.2. As was mentioned concerning verse 1, this teaching has
followedJesus’condemnationof the Pharisees in which He condemned them

for having external righteousness only, not internal righteousness in their
lives.
3.3. Fearing the revelationof our sinful deeds in the day of
judgment ought to cause all people to live uprightly and thus to be found
having nothing to be ashamedof in that day.
3.4. For non-believers God’s judgment will be eternal separation
from God for eternity in the Lake of Fire (see Rev. 20), but for believers our
judgment will be before the “Bema Seat” ofChrist and will be a judgment of
rewards not of condemnation. However, even in the judgment of believers
eachof us as believers will have to give a full accountof our lives to the Lord,
including every idle word which we might have spokenin this life (see Matt.
12:36). Evidently, this judgment will be performed in public and everyone’s
deeds whether goodor bad will be made known.
THOMAS CONSTABLE
Verse 2-3
Nevertheless whatis now unknown because ofhypocrisy will one day become
known. This is a generalprinciple. On the human level there are exceptions to
this principle, but Jesus undoubtedly had God who knows all secrets in mind.

Luke 12:3 probably is a positive encouragementrather than an ominous
threat. Jesus usedit that way in the other contexts in which He made this
statement(cf. Luke 8:17; Matthew 10:26-27;Mark 4:22). If Song of Solomon,
He meant the goodwitness that the disciples might try to hide because ofthe
threat of persecutionwould come out into the open eventually.
BOB DEFFINBAUGH
The Lord’s First
Argument Against Hypocrisy
(12:2-3)
Having learned how a disciple would be tempted to be hypocritical, we will
now find the remainder of our Lord’s words more easilyunderstood. In verses
2 and 3 Jesus gave the first reasonwhy hypocrisy is foolish and futile:
There is nothing concealedthat 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 whisperedin the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed
from the roofs (Luke 12:2-3).
Summarized as a principle, Jesus’meaning would be something like this:
HYPOCRISY, HIDING THE TRUTH, IS FUTILE, BECAUSE THE TRUTH
CANNOT AND WILL NOT BE CONCEALED FOR LONG. Trying to
concealthe truth is something like attempting to conceala pregnancy: sooner
or later it will be obvious to all. Paul says this:

The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment aheadof
them; the sins of others trail behind them. In the same way, gooddeeds are
obvious, and even those that are not cannotbe hidden (1 Timothy 5:24-25).
Simply put, the truth cannotbe hidden for long. Some truth is more quickly
evident than others, but soonerorlater all truth will be evident to all.
Hypocrisy is foolishand futile because it seeks to avoid the inevitable.
The words of our Lord in verses 2 and 3 may be takenseveralways:
(1) Jesus may be saying that the evil men do will eventually be revealed.
(2) Jesus may be saying that the goodnews of the gospelwill inevitably be
revealed, in spite of our hypocrisy.
(3) Jesus may be saying that all truth, good or evil, will be revealed, so that in
essenceboth “a” and “b” above are true.
We cansee from Paul’s words that both options are true. Both the goodand
the evil which men do will eventually be made public knowledge. The question
is, which of these lines of thought is Jesus attempting to emphasize? I find the
evidence more heavily in favor of the secondoption. In the first place, Jesus is
speaking to His disciples, not to men at large. Notthat disciples would not sin,
but that this first option would be more appropriate when addressedto the
Pharisees.Second, the emphasis here is not on the disciple’s deeds (which Paul
emphasized above), but on their words. Third, almostthe same words are
used by our Lord for the gospel. Note the words of our Lord in the passages
below, both of which use the same imagery as we find in Luke chapter 12, and

both of which refer to the unveiling of the gospel, whichfor a time is
concealed:
BRUCE GOETTSCHE
The secondthing we learn is that hypocrisy is foolishand futile. Jesus said
who we really are will be “made known”. The truth will come out. Pretenders
will be exposed. Abraham Lincoln is credited with saying,
“You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of
the time, but you cannotfool all of the people all the time.”
It is hard to keepliving a lie. Eventually the truth will reveal itself.
Arthur ConanDoyle of Sherlock Holmes fame used to playfully tell a bogus
tale about how he sent a telegramto eachof twelve friends, all men of great
virtue, reputation, and considerable positionin society. The messagesimply
said: “Fly at once, all is discovered.” Within twenty-four hours, Doyle says, all
twelve had left the country![1]
You may be here today hiding a truckloadof secrets. Youmay have done
such a goodjob of burying your “otherlife” that people don’t have a clue.
Here’s the harsh reality friend: you cannot keepyour true self hidden forever.
You will be found out! It is much better to run to Jesus, confesswhatis really
going on, and ask Him to cleanse youand make you truly into a new personin
Christ. He alreadyknows the truth about your life . . . and He loves you
anyway. The message ofthe gospelis this: Jesus came into the world to save
flawed people like you and me.

The opposite of hypocrisy is sincerity or genuineness. A genuine person
admits their failures, struggles, fears and misunderstandings. They ask for
help when it is needed. Genuine people tell themselves the truth about
themselves. They face the struggles insteadof trying to bury them.
A few weeks back anumpire by the name of Jim Joyce made the wrong call
on the last out of a perfect game that was pitched by Armando Galarraga of
the DetroitTigers. A perfectgame is when a pitcher gives up no hits, no
walks, and there are no base runners of any kind during the game. It is very
rare. Joyce calledthe runner safe when replays showedhe was clearly out. It
was a bad call. Jim Joyce proved himself to be a genuine and sincere person.
When the game was over he watchedthe replay. To His credit he went to the
Tigerlockerroom and apologizedfor missing the call. He made no excuses.
He did not plead any extenuating circumstances.He saidhe was wrong and he
was sorry. He said the same thing to the media. On the other side the pitcher
who was denied the recordbook was equally gracious and kind. This mistake
led to one of the finest expressions of sportsmanship we have ever seen. This is
the kind of character Jesus encourages us to pursue.
The place to start being genuine is with the Lord Himself. Admit your
failures. Seek His grace. Discoverthe freshness offorgiveness.
FearGod- Be Reverent
MATTHEW HENRY

A goodreasonagainstit: "Forthere is nothing coveredthat shall not be
revealed, Luke 12:2,3. It is to no purpose to dissemble, for, sooneror later,
truth will come out and a lying tongue is but for a moment. If you speak in
darkness that which is unbecoming you, and is inconsistentwith your public
professions, it shall be heard in the light some way or other it shall be
discovered, a bird of the air shall carry the voice (Ecclesiastes10:20), and
your folly and falsehoodwill be made manifest." The iniquity that is
concealedwith a show of piety will be discovered, perhaps in this world, as
Judas's was, and Simon Magus's, atfurthest in the greatday, when the secrets
of all hearts shall be made manifest, Ecclesiastes12:14;Romans 2:16. If men's
religion prevail not to conquer and cure the wickednessoftheir hearts, it shall
not always serve for a cloak. The day is coming when hypocrites will be
stripped of their fig-leaves.
2. To this he added a charge to them to be faithful to the trust reposedin
them, and not to betray it, through cowardice or base fear. Some make Luke
12:2,3, to be a caution to them not to concealthose things which they had been
instructed in, and were employed to publish to the world. "Whethermen will
hear, or whether they will forbear, tell them the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth what has been spokento you, and you have talkedof
among yourselves, privately, and in corners, that do you preach publicly,
whoeveris offended for, if you please men, you are not Christ's servants, nor
can you please him," Galatians 1:10. But this was not the worstof it: it was
likely to be a suffering cause, though never a sinking one: let them therefore
arm themselves with courage anddivers arguments are furnished here to steel
them with a holy resolution in their work. Consider,
JOHN MACARTHUR
A Certain Cure for Hypocrisy, Part 1

Sermons Luke 12:1–7 42-168 Aug 15, 2004
A + A - RESET
We return to our study of the Word of God this morning and the bulletin that
you lookedat might have surprised you a little bit. If you were here last
Sunday you know that we finished chapter 11 and you might be a little bit
discouragedto think that we're going back. Don't be, we're not. That's a
misprint. In actuality we are now embarking upon chapter 12, another
relatively lengthy chapter, as many in Luke are, but one filled with wonderful,
wonderful truth. I am on a pace to finish the gospelof Luke in about the same
amount of time that I finished the gospelof Matthew. And that was many
years ago. Notmuch has changedas we have gone through the Word of God,
endeavoring to be as careful as we can and not miss anything the Lord has
prepared for us.
Just a little bit of backgroundbecause we're entering a new chapter and we’re
entering a new discourse by our Lord. We have been learning in chapter 11
that false religion is all hypocrisy. False religiondoes not truly know God. It
cannot bring someone to God. It cannot bring someone into His kingdom.
False religiondoes not provide forgiveness. Falsereligiondoes not provide
redemption. It does not empowerpeople to do what is right. It does not
please God. It does not lead to heaven. False religionis deception. It is all lies
and hypocrisy. It is people pretending to know God, pretending to know
truth, pretending to do good, and to do right to please Godand pretending or
imagining that they are headed for heaven. All false religion is hypocrisy.
And all the leaders of false religion are hypocrites who claim to know Godand
to know truth and to be able to lead others in the right way and are utterly
unable to do it.
The Judaism of Jesus'day was, of course, hypocrisy. It was a corruption and
a perversion of true Old Testamentworship. It was apostate. Thatis it had
defectedfrom the truth and it was hypocritical. If that was not clearbefore

Jesus came, it became very clearwhen He arrived. There's nothing like
having the truth in order to see where the lies are. And Jesus, ofcourse, not
only spoke truth, He was truth incarnate and He made it crystal clearhow
hypocritical the false religion of Judaism was.
Up to this point in Luke's history of the life of our Lord, he has pretty much
focusedon Jesus'ministry. Jesus coming, preaching the kingdom, preaching
the goodnews of forgiveness, the goodnews of salvation, giving people the
hope of heaven if they trusted in Him, calling people to repentance and faith
and acknowledging Him as Lord, Messiahand Savior. And He confirmed the
veracity and the truthfulness of that messagein a massive, extensive display of
supernatural miracles to make it very clearthat He was indeed God in human
flesh speaking the truth. However, in spite of the clarity of His message, in
spite of the truthfulness of it, in spite of the miracles to attest to it, the people
of Israel, both in Galilee, the more rural area in the north, and in Judea in the
south, around Jerusalem, the people in both places held tightly to their
hypocritical religion. Theyheld tightly to their form of apostate Judaism and
they held tightly to their self-righteousness,their works, their ceremonies to
the degree that they were increasinglyhostile towardJesus. And that hostility
was, of course, led, in fact orchestratedby the leaders of the Judaistic,
apostate religion, the Pharisees andthe scribes. Theyput a spin on everything
Jesus did. Ultimately to make the greatestimpacton the people in turning
them againstJesus, they told the people that Jesus actually was from Satan,
not God, and that what He did He did by the power of Satan, not the powerof
God. And, of course, remember that from chapter 11, verse 15, after Jesus
had done a miracle, they said He casts outdemons by Beelzebul, the ruler of
the demons. So the ultimate blasphemy, the opposite to the truth: They called
Jesus satanic, whenin fact He was divine. They said He did what He did by
the powerof Satan, when what He did He did by the powerof the Spirit. And
so they have rejectedtheir Messiah. As John put it, He came to His own and
His own receivedHim not. They, of course, are held tightly in the grip of an
apostate form of religion which is in the fabric of their lives. So strong is that
grip on them that they bought into the spin that the Phariseesand scribes put
on the ministry of Jesus and they too echoedthat it was in fact satanic. And

that's why back in chapter 11 verse 29 Jesus said, "This generationis a
wickedgeneration." Theywere headedfor divine judgment if they did not
acknowledge theirMessiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now in chapter 11 you will remember that things have reacheda sort of high
point, a kind of crescendo, a crisis time. The people, for the most part, both in
Galilee and in Judea have rejectedChrist. They're holding onto their false
religion. The architects of that false religionare the Phariseesand the scribes.
And so Jesus confronts them at a lunch, chapter 11 from verses 37 to the end
of the chapter. We remember how He confronted them. He pronounced upon
these religious hypocrites six curses, six curses which we have lookedat in
detail. And in so doing He pronounced a curse on their whole form of
apostate religionand in fact we can extrapolate from there He pronounced the
same curses on all forms of false religion, all forms. And I just remind you by
way of review that religion is not man at his highest, it is man at his lowest. It
is not man reaching the noble heights of his evolution; it is man going down to
the lowestdepths. Religionis not a noble attempt at being good. It is not a
noble attempt to reach God and to make ourselves better. Religionis just the
opposite. It is a descentinto satanic deception. And Jesus saidHe had more
in common with publicans and sinners — tax collectors, prostitutes and the
riff-raff and the scum of society — than He did with the religious leaders.
Next time you accessa culture and you look at that culture, and you see the
worstof it from the moral standpoint, the most base of it portrayed before you
on the televisionor in a book you read and you see how low people can go in
terms of immorality and how far they can descendinto the pit of crime and all
the restof the filth that goes with the dregs of immorality, and then on the
other hand you look at religion with all of its white robes and all of its attire
and all of its supposedassentto God, just remember this, they're worse than
the most wretchedof reprobate sinners. Religionis man at his lowest. The
descentin Romans chapter 1, man at the very bottom is inventing God.
Having rejectedGod, he has gone all the way to the pits of hell, if you will,
graspedthe satanic counterfeitof religion, invented a god...inventeda god of
his owndesign, aided and abettedby demons. John Calvin, looking at Roman
Catholicismas he did, being so powerfully instrumental in the Reformation,

said this. I read it in a letter this week that he wrote to some Christian
martyrs. He said he was writing about Roman Catholic priests who, of
course, are portrayed and were portrayed in his day as the best of men, the
most righteous, the most noble, at the top, if you will, and he says this in the
letter to those martyrs who will die at the hands of the RomanChurch:
"Their vows,” the vows of RomanCatholic priests, “are impossible," he said,
and priests take all kinds of vows. He said, "Theyare nothing but an insult to
God. Forinstance, when the monks and priests renounce marriage and that
generallythe whole of these vows are nothing but false inventions in order to
bastardize the service of God. We're not permitted to promise or offer to Him
anything except what is in accordancewith His Word. False vows made by
impotent people who don't know God and have not the powerto carry out
those vows bastardize the service of God." Pretty strong language. That's
false religion. And that's exactly what the Phariseeshad done. They had
bastardized the service ofGod with their false vows and their impotence and
inability to keepthem. But the people had become so entrenchedin their
religion, they had invested so much in it and it made them feel so goodabout
themselves — self-righteousnessdoes that — that they weren't about to
abandon that religion. Ratherthey would kill their true Savior, screamfor
His blood, not many months after this very occasion.
As we come to chapter 12, the people are becoming fixed in their resentment
and resistance andanimosity and rejection of Jesus. And, in fact, the...the
characterof the crowd has changed. In the early years of His ministry they
were really interested, they were peaked, they were curious, they were
hungry, they were excited, they were enthusiastic, they were coming off the
ministry of John the Baptist, they were eagerfor the kingdom, they were
eagerto find out if He was the Messiah. Theywere stunned and shockedby
the amazing powerthat He exhibited in all of His thousands of miracles which
He did day by day. He was very attractive to them. They were thinking
maybe He could be the Messiah. Butas the months went on, that beganto
change. And by the time we come into chapter 12, most of the crowdhas
sided with the Phariseesand the Sadducees and His enemies. Mostofthe
crowdis rootedand dug in and entrenched in their false religion and they see

Jesus now as the enemy. And so, from here on out there's a tone in Jesus'
ministry of warning and judgment that has escalated. Formost, the decision
has been made and Jesus now warns them of the coming judgment, not so
much the promises of coming blessing, although they will come, but the
warnings of judgment that fall on those who rejectHim.
It is warning that sets the tone in the text we're coming to. If you notice
chapter 12, I want to show you something interesting. Verse 1 says, "Many
thousands of the multitude gathertogether." Verse 13 says, "Someonein the
crowdsaid..." If you keepgoing, verse 54, He was also saying to the
multitudes. Chapter 13 verse 1, "Now on the same occasion,"and then verse
2, "He answeredand said to them." You say, "Why are you telling me that?"
Becausethat connects allof this to the same event. The crowdgathered. He
spoke to the crowd. Someone in the crowdinterrupted Him. Later Peter
interrupted Him. He went back and said more to the crowd in verse 54.
Chapter 13 verse 1, it was the same occasionwhensome folks were there and
they came and spoke and He answeredthem again. This is one discourse that
took place at one time and it runs from chapter 12, verse 1 to chapter 13 verse
9. It is a long discourse punctuated by a couple of interruptions. The
backgroundhere of all that our Lord says is judgment. Verse 5: "Fearthe
one who after he has killed has authority to castinto hell. Yes, I tell you, fear
Him." Verse 19, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come,
take your ease, eatdrink and be merry," verse 20, "but God said to him, 'You
fool, this very night your soul is required of you and now who will own what
you've prepared?'" Verse 35, "Be dressedin readiness. Keepyour lamps lit."
Why? Verse 40, "Be ready, the Sonof Man is coming at an hour you do not
expect." Verse 46, "The masterof the slave will come one day when he
doesn't expect him, at an hour he doesn'tknow, cut him in pieces and assign
him a place with the unbelievers." Chapter 13 verse 5, "I tell you, unless you
repent, you will all likewise perish." Verse 9: "If that tree bears fruit, next
year fine. If not, cut it down." And there's an escalating backdropof
judgment. Jesus now begins His ministry of warning, of warning.

There will be promises. There will be calls to follow Him. There will be
words of blessing to those who do. But primarily the note that He sounds is
warning of judgment. And with all the warnings that He gives, all the words
of judgment, don't really reachthe hard-hearted Pharisees andscribes, they
just make them angrier, and angrier, and angrierand angrier until finally
they getHim to the cross where they think they have silencedHim and
satisfiedthemselves. But contrary to that, those sons of hell will not escape
God's wrath.
Now as we come to this, there is a massive crowdthat is collectedaround
Jesus. This is in Judea in the south. They all know the conflict betweenthe
Pharisees,the scribes and Jesus. It is the most riveting, and compelling, and
fascinating, and interesting, and dramatic event that takes place anywhere
when Jesus and the Pharisees gettogether. And it happened a lot because
they were always coming to question Him, try to catchHim in His words.
And so the crowds begin to grow and grow and grow and verse 1 says, "Under
these circumstances, afterso many thousands of the multitude had gathered
togetherthat they were stepping on one another, He begansaying to His
disciples, 'First of all...'" Let me stop right there. That's the setting of this
section, that's the setting.
Let me just tell you a little bit about that setting. "Under these
circumstances,"enhois in the Greek, “meanwhile,”orduring this period, the
same period sortof initiated by that lunch when that hostility betweenthe
Pharisees andJesus had been escalatedto its fever pitch. You remember He
left the lunch at the end of chapter 11 and it says they were very hostile
toward Him and looking for ways they could pounce on Him and attack Him
and actually kill Him.
So while that was going on, the crowds beganto grow. The phrase "so many
thousands of the multitude had gathered" uses the word muriadōn. It's a

plural of murias, or murion. Murion means literally “ten thousand.” It's the
highest number that has a word in the Greek language. So that’s why when
you read about multitudes of angels, it's ten thousand times ten thousand
because there's not a word for anything more than ten thousand. They didn't
have a word for 100 thousand. And so what you have here is the plural of
that. It literally says, "So many ten thousands of the multitude." Multiply
tens of thousands. Well it wouldn't probably be twenty thousand. It could be
thirty, forty, fifty. This is a massive crowdthat's now collecting becausethis is
the biggestissue going on in Israel right now. Religiondominates their life.
The Pharisees andscribes dominate their religion and they are confronting
this Jesus, the miracle worker. I mean, there is no drama played out in their
life everlike this. Huge crowds drawn by the conflictand most of them are
hostile. Mostof them are entrenched in their false religion. Theyare a part
of the hypocritical, apostate, Judaistic system, mostof them. And it's so large
that they're stepping on eachother. What does that simply mean? Welllook,
they didn't have any electronics, theydidn't have any sound system. They
didn't have any microphones. And if the crowd is tens of thousands of people,
how are you going to hear the dialogue betweenJesus and the Pharisees?
How are you going to hear what Jesus says in response to these things unless
you getclose? And everybody trying to getclose and you have a mob scene
and they're literally stepping on eachother. Whateverdialogue was going on
ends at this particular point and Jesus speaks andessentiallywhat you have
from verse 1 right to chapter13, verse 9 is a long sermonby Jesus,
interrupted with a few questions.
And it should be helpful to you to note to whom it speaks. Go back to verse 1.
He began saying to His disciples, first of all," really important to point this
out, really important to point this out. He's not speaking to the crowd.
They're going to hear, but He's not speaking to them. He's speaking to some
within the crowd who would fall into the categoryofdisciples. Now the word
disciple in the Greek is mathētēs. It means a learner, a student. That's all. It
doesn't sayanything about their faith and whether they were born againor
whether they truly believed unto salvation. It doesn't saywhere they are, sort
of, it's just that they were learning. They... They're still on the fence, they're

still open, they're still interested, they're still curious. Maybe it's true, maybe
it's not. They still are there because they're attractedto Jesus. This is not the
hostile group. Some of them, of course, by now had become true believers and
some were in the process. Itis to them that He speaks. Itis to those who
haven't made up their mind, those who are...who are just coming to
understand who He really is, the learners, the real students. And it is to them
that He gives the warning. It is to them that He calls for a true response. Itis
to them that He calls to salvationand to faith.
And so that's why it says at the last part of the introduction, verse 1, He began
saying to His disciples, first of all. He's not going to castHis pearls before
swine. Those that are locked in an unbelief, you know, it's a Genesis 6:5, "My
Spirit will not always strive with men." There comes a point when you go
beyond and you're fixed in your unbelief. But in that crowdscatteredthere
are some still interested, verse 4. He says, "I sayto you, My friends." He's
talking to those that are friendly toward Him. Over in verse 32, it's not a
large group. "Don't be afraid, little flock." In the middle of this massive,
multiple of ten thousands there is this little flock who are believing and some
who are coming to believe and perhaps some who won't, like John 6.
Remember, there were many of His disciples who walkedno more with Him
and they went away. But it is to those that He speaks.
And what He wants to say to them in the opening twelve verses is this, verse 1:
"Beware ofthe leavenof the Pharisees,”whichis hypocrisy. I'm warning you.
Beware ofthe leavenof the Pharisees whichis hypocrisy. Don't getcaught up
in a damning, hypocritical, false religion. That's exactlywhat He's saying. Do
not getcaught up in a damning, false religion. That's His message. “Beware”
is actually “take heedto yourselves.” WhatHe's saying is, “watch
yourselves,” very personal. Protectyourselves. As Jesus says in Matthew
chapter 24, there are many out there who want to lead you astray. They're all
over the place. You better protect yourselves. And what you need to protect
yourselves from is the leaven of the Phariseeswhich is hypocrisy. Talk about

leaven, over in chapter 13 and verse 21, you have a little parable Jesus gives
there. He compares the kingdom of God to leaven. He said it's like leaven,
and here He describes what leavendoes. "Whicha woman took and hid in
three pecks of meal until it was all leaven." Now that's what leavendoes,
right? You take the leaven and you put it in the dough and it permeates. By
the way, the word for “leaven” is zumē, from which you get“enzymes.”
The idea is this leaven... You take this basic, fermented, old dough sitting in its
fermenting juices and you put it into new dough and it expands it, right? And
it permeates it. And Jesus is saying, beware, take heed, protectyourselves
from the permeating, fermenting influence of the Pharisees. Saveyourselves
from the damning influence of their apostate religion. Avoid all contactwith
it. It reminds me of Jude 23 where he says when we go to reachpeople in false
religions, we have to be careful unless we become corrupted by the garments
spotted or stained or corrupted from the flesh. And last Sunday night I told
you that is graphic, graphic language. It's so graphic you can hardly speak of
it in public. What He is saying is getting close to people in false religion is like
taking a hold, the word is “underwear,” stainedfrom bodily elimination.
Getting near people in false religionis like taking hold of that. You wouldn't
do that and stain your physical body, and stay awayfrom that as regards your
soul. So, it's the same thing He said back in chapter 11, you know. Getting
near a Pharisee is like walking across a tomb and being defiled by it. Beware
of the permeating, fermenting influence of false religion.
I'm telling you, that is tough. I mean, we live in a world today which is just
literally engulfed in false religion. By the way, in Matthew 16:6 Jesus said
this, also there but He added this, "Beware also ofthe leaven of the
Sadducees." And in Mark 8:15 He added: "And beware of the leavenof
Herod." With the Pharisees itwas fundamentalism, it was works, it was
legalism, it was materialism. With the Sadducees itwas skepticismand
rationalism and liberalism. And with Herod it was political ambition and

secularismand all of it corrupts. All of it corrupts. So He says this stuff
permeates everything.
There's a verse in 1 Corinthians 15:33 that's goodto know. It says, "Evil
company corrupts good morals." Rememberthat verse? "Evilcompany
corrupts goodmorals." Evil company... You think company, ah, yeah, stay
awayfrom those kinds of people. Listen to what it means. The word for
company is homilia, and that word in the Greek means, literally in its root, it
can mean in associationorcompany, but at its root it means a sermon or a
lecture or communication or conversation. And isn't that the whole point? I
mean, the reasonassociationwith evil people corrupts goodmorals is because
of what they say. Don'texpose yourself to a sermon, to a teaching, to a
lecture, to communication through media, to a conversationthat's going to
give you evil, deceiving lies. It will corrupt you. That's why the psalmist said,
"Blessedis the man who doesn'thang around the ungodly, doesn'tsit down in
the seatof the scoffer."
So to those who are still open, He says, you've got to avoid the hypocrisy that's
all around you. Then this: How do you do that? How does one avoid being a
hypocrite? And that's really the title of this message. If you wanted to write
one down, put down, "How to Avoid the Eternal DisasterofBeing a
Hypocrite." How to avoid the eternal disasterof being a hypocrite, how do
you do that? How do you avoid it? In verses 2 through 12 the Lord's going to
give you three things, three necessaryrealities, three essentialobligations. If
you want to avoid being damned for being a hypocrite, if you want to make
sure you're not in a false religious system, here are three essentialobligations.
Here they are. You ready? Honor God, honor Christ, honor the Spirit. How
about that? God is mentioned in verse 5 as the One who after He has killed
has authority to castinto hell and He's also mentioned in verse 6. The Son is
mentioned in verse 8 as the Son of Man who must be confessed, and

mentioned againin verse 10. The Spirit is mentioned in verse 10 and againin
verse 12. And here you have a magnificent trinitarian passageand in the
broad sense of things you cannot avoid hell if you're not a trinitarian. That is
to say you're going to hell if you're a unitarian. You cannothonor God
without honoring Christ and you cannot honor Christ without honoring the
Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit points to Christ and Christ shows us the Father.
It's a package. The only way you'll ever avoid eternal disasteris to honor
God, honor Christ, and to honor the Holy Spirit. How basic is that?
Let's just take the first one: Honor God. Escaping hell starts with honoring
God. Go down to verse 5, middle there: "Fearthe One who after He has
killed has authority to castinto hell." Fearor honor; this is where it starts,
folks. Godmust be honored. Godmust be feared. Let me tell you what
hypocrites are like. Theydon't fearGod, they fear men. And they live their
lives to please men. They live their lives for the outside, which is visible and
not the inside, which is invisible. Stop fearing men and start fearing God.
That's the point. Everything the Pharisees andscribes did, Jesus saidthey did
it before men, right? Remember the Sermon on the Mount? Everything they
did, they fasted to be seenof men, they prayed to be seenof men, they gave to
be seenof men. They lived their superficial morality to be seenof men. And
the truth was they were painted white on the outside, as Matthew 23 says, and
they were rotten like dead men's bones on the inside. It was all about a show
for men, “a fair show in the flesh,” Paul calls it in Galatians. FearGod.
And why should you fear God? Three reasons. Number one, God will
uncover what is hidden. Godwill uncover what is hidden. Look at verse 2,
"There is nothing coveredup that will not be revealedand hidden that will
not be known. According to whateveryou have said in the dark shall be
heard in the light. And what you have whispered in the inner rooms shall be
proclaimed upon the housetops." Prettysimple, isn't it? No one escapes
exposure. No one escapesexposure. Everybodyis revealed.

By the way, this is a favorite saying of our Lord. Luke 8:17 has the same
statement, "Nothing coveredthat won't be uncovered, nothing hidden that
won't be brought to light." He also said it in Matthew 10:26. That was up in
Galilee. A parallelpassage in Matthew 10 occurredearlier in His ministry in
Galilee, same truth. It's also in Mark 4:22. And it really is a principle drawn
out of the Old Testamentbecause atthe end of the book of Ecclesiastesthe last
verse of the last chapter, chapter 12, verse 14, "Godwill bring every actto
judgment, everything which is hidden whether it’s goodor evil." Nobodygets
awaywith anything. Hypocrites may be successfulhere, but this is it. Not all
hypocrites are successful. I've often said time and truth go hand and hand.
And in most cases ifyou're a hypocrite, generallyit will come out. Time and
truth go hand in hand. Given enough time you know the truth about someone.
But for sure if you can coverit up, and some men's sins, as Paul wrote to
Timothy, some men's sins are knownhere, 1 Timothy 5:24 and 25. But some
men's sins won't be knowntill the future but they will be known. Matthew
16:27, "The Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Fatherwith His
angels and will recompense everyman according to his deeds." And Romans
2 and verse 6 says the same thing, "He's going to render every man according
to His deeds." Verse 16, "Onthe day when according to My gospelGodwill
judge the secrets ofmen." And 1 Corinthians 4:5, "He's going to revealnot
only the secrets ofthe heart but the motives."
“Whateveryou saidin the dark is going to come out in the light,” verse 3
adds, which is just a metaphoric way of saying it's all going to be exposed.
And He talks about an inner room, which just as a note, houses in those days
were made out of dirt, basically. And you remember when Jesus talkedabout
thieves digging through and stealing? Becauseyou basicallydug through the
wall made out of mud. And so there was normally built inside the house in the
middle of the house, away from the outer wall an inner room. And that's
where all the valuables were kept. That's what He's talking about. It was a
greatplace to keepyour valuables and it was also the place where you went to

whisper when you didn't want anybody to hear you. So He says, "Whatever
you have said in the dark is going to be heard in the light, whatever you were
saying when everybody was asleepis going to be heard in the light, and
whateveryou were whispering in the inner room is going to be proclaimed
upon the housetops." The housetops were flat. They had a little short wall
around them and they were patios. But it was the place where
announcements were made. Back in Matthew chapter 10 the disciples were to
go on the housetops and preachthe gospel. That's where you made public
announcements. And Jesus is saying you may have thought you could keepit
hidden in the inner room, and I'm telling you it's going to be broadcastfrom
the housetop. And if not in this life, in the life to come when you stand before
the judgment seatand the Lord recompenses youfor what you've done,
everything is going to be made known. Revelation20:11 to 15: The books are
going to be opened and every man is going to be judged out of those books and
the recordwill be complete and the truth will be known.
So, you want to fear God because He's going to reveal the truth. You're not
going to get awaywith it. The truth of what you are is going to come out and
hypocrites will be seenfor what they really are and especiallyif they name the
name of God and the name of Jesus Christ. How horrible will be their
judgment. FearGod because youcan't hide anything from Him.
Secondly, fear God because Godwill punish hypocrites in hell. Look at verse
4. "I sayto you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and
after that have no more that they can do." Who's that? Who's that? Who
can kill the body? People. People cankill eachother. They do it all the time,
right? I mean, people go through life trying to prevent being killed. And
that's the extreme illustration. All that means is... "Do not be afraid of those
who kill the body" simply means don't be afraid of those people when the
worstthey can do is kill your body. It's not to say that you should only be
afraid of murderers. It's simply to say don't be afraid of people because,
illustration from the extreme, the worstthey can do is kill your body. And

that's not the worst that canhappen to you, right? You cankill my body.
Frankly that's a promotion. Right? "Farbetter to depart and be with
Christ," right? I'm better off. The worst you can do to me is usher me into
the bestthat could ever happen to me. But, you see, the characterof
hypocrisy is this: It fears men. Its preoccupationis what people think, what
men think. How I can gain their trust and gain their favor and gain their
confidence and how I can have them elevate me and think highly of me so I
can take their money. The Pharisees did what they did for money. They did
it for money. Jesus saidthat. Luke 16:14, the Phariseeswho were lovers of
money. Sure, all false teachers are lovers of money. They want the chief
seats, they want the high places, they want the accolades. Theywant all the
elaborate greetings in the marketplace. Theywant to wear all the fancy stuff
because they want to appear to be nobler, more spiritual, more erudite, more
elite, more elevated, more transcendent than everybody else and so that you'll
bow at their feet and give them all that you have so that they canconnectyou
to God, which is a lie.
But hypocrites...The whole designof a hypocritical religious system is to train
people to fear the leaders, to fear men, to put on a show for people. And that's
the heart of hypocrisy. But verse 5 says, I will warn you whom to fear. “Fear
the one who after he's killed has authority to castinto hell. Yes, I tell you,
fear Him." Who's that? Somebody might say, "Well, that's Satan." It's not
Satan. Satandoesn't castanybody into hell. Satanhimself is castinto hell.
He's not the king of hell. God is the king of hell. The one is God. He has the
powerto kill and the authority to castinto hell. Do you know there's nothing
in the Scripture that tells us ever to fear Satan? Nothing. You canrun
around in a panic, afraid of Satan, worried that Satan's coming in their house,
coming in their room, going to make them sick, going to kill their kids.
There's nothing in the Bible about that. I mean, the bottom line is if you're
not a Christian, Satan's your master, he's your lord. He's your father. You're
living totally in his world. But if you're a believer, you've been delivered from
Satancompletely. He's, as it were, under your feet. "Greateris He that is in
you than he's in the world."

Jesus was saying all secrets will be revealed

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