There is no reason to be a hypocrite.  That’s the overarching message of the first twelve verses of Luke 12.  Hypocrites are hypocrites because they care about themselves and the opinions of others more than they care about God, His love, or His judgment.  And while there are dire ramifications to this kind of duplicity and unbelief, Jesus makes it clear that it’s also a foolish choice even from a selfish perspective.  Selfish people living selfishly hurt themselves by settling for lives that are second best.  It’s the sincere believer living for his Redeemer rather than the hypocrite living for himself who finds fulfillment resting in the arms of a God who knows him intimately and loves and watches over him.

1
Jesus harshly rebuked the Pharisees for their response to His casting out the demon from the mute man (11:14), so they became even more hostile to Him hoping to catch Him saying something that could damage His reputation (11:53-54).  Their plans to make His life miserable and make Him look bad apparently have little effect, however.  The crowd following Jesus grows even larger after His exchange with them, and it becomes so large that people can’t keep out of each other’s way as they jockey to get close to Him.

It’s under these circumstances that Jesus warns the disciples to avoid the Pharisees’ bad example.  He tells them (and notice that He directs these words to the disciples first – even as those around Him likely listen in), “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (‘leaven’ in both the Old and New Testaments is almost always a metaphor for sin – it’s why Israel eats unleavened bread at Passover).  In Matthew’s account of a very similar statement (and possibly the same statement), the leaven is identified as the teaching of the Pharisees (Matt 16:12).  It’s possible that that’s what Jesus means here, in which case the Pharisees actually TEACH hypocrisy (which is an amazing thought).  It could also be that the leaven itself is hypocrisy.  Either way, the metaphor is apt because hypocrisy can seep into a life and spread until it permeates every action of its host, just as yeast spreads in dough.

2-3
Jesus goes on to warn about the ultimate end of hypocrisy.  All hypocrites will be exposed.  Nothing will be hidden on judgment day.  The hypocrite thinks he gets away with his secret sins and his lifestyle away from the public, but judgment will bring all things to light.  Those who serve only outwardly will be revealed for what they are.  Every hidden secret, every whispered word, every shameful activity done in private will be shown for everyone to see.  [In a similar statement in Matt 10:26-27, Jesus seems to say that the things spoken in secret that will later be revealed refer to the gospel message and teachings; however, that passage says nothing about hypocrisy, so this interpretation seems to make more sense within Luke’s context.]

It’s hard to know how to interpret this for the believer.  It makes sense that Jesus speaks primarily about non-believers as he warns about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees (who definitely don’t believe).  But we shouldn’t miss that He actually addresses the disciples.  Christians with an unrenewed mind can have the same bent toward hypocrisy as the Pharisees.  It’s easy to worry more about the opinions of men than of God.  When that becomes a way of life (meaning we stop repenting of our secret sins), we’re subject to the same warnings that Jesus explains here.  EVERYTHING will come to light eventually.    

4-5
The hypocrite fears man above all else.  His entire life is built around hiding things from others that might damage his reputation.  Nothing is more important than the esteem of others and nothing is more frightening than losing it. 

For the believer who wants to fight off hypocrisy, however, the opposite must be true.  The believer must remember that there is only One worthy of fear.  Man can kill, but God can damn.  Damnation is more to be feared than physical death, thus God is more to be feared than man. 

While this sounds somewhat draconian, it’s a proper and healthy perspective that actually benefits the believer.  Fear of God supplants fear of man.  When we fear God appropriately, we no longer fear man.  What can man do to me?  We can live courageously when our reverence and awe are placed correctly on God alone.

Fearing God rather than man is also an antidote to stress and worry.  Continually hiding things from others is exhausting.  There is always the danger of getting caught.  Fearing God and living sincerely before Him takes away that concern.  Our fear of Him causes us to live in plain sight.  There is no hidden person to conceal from others.

6-7
We have a healthy fear of our heavenly Father, but He IS our Father.  And just like any loving Father, He watches over us (a healthy father-child relationship includes both fear and love).  Fortunately, He’s not just loving and powerful, He’s also sovereign and omniscient.  He knows when a sparrow (that’s sold for pennies in the marketplace) falls and He numbers each hair on our head.  Thus He knows EVERYTHING about us and knows exactly what we need and when we need it.  We’re never alone and we’re never outside of His watchful eye.  He loves us, He knows all things, He controls all things, and He will never leave us.

The result of this truth?  We don’t need to fear!  It’s ironic that Jesus immediately follows His teaching about fearing God with instructions not to fear.  Fear God, and if you do, you don’t need to fear anything else.  It goes along with verse 5; the fear of God drives out all other fear.  But this teaching adds another element.  God loves us and cares for us and intimately knows us, thus we have nothing to fear because our heavenly Father watches over us.

Note that Jesus does NOT promise God will save us from death or physical suffering.  He controls what happens to the sparrows, but they DO fall to the ground.  The encouragement here is that nothing happens outside of God’s knowledge and control, and we will NEVER go through any persecution alone.  God’s loving sovereignty allows us to face even death without fear.  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for You are with me (Ps 23:4).

It comes down to trust – we don’t know the outcome of our trials, we don’t know when we will live or die, we just know that nothing is too small for His concern or too big for His power and that He loves us as our Father.

The sparrow metaphor has application for all of life.  Many times we don’t understand why life happens as it does but we know our Father SEES everything and CONTROLS everything.  We may not know what actions to take, what thoughts to think, what people to turn to, or how long it will be (if ever) before everything that’s upside down turns right side up.  What we DO know is that He lovingly watches over us, we can trust Him, and He’s worthy and good.

When we worry or when our actions signal a lack of trust, we’re like the Israelites who reached Canaan and refused to go in even after watching God miraculously deliver them from Egypt (Deut 1:32-33).  In response, God swore that none of them would enter the Promised Land.   We are called on to trust the One who knows when the tiniest sparrow falls and numbers each hair on our head.  When we don’t, we show that we don’t believe He is truly sovereign and truly good. 

8-10
If we fear God and thus don’t fear man, we won’t hesitate to confess Jesus before men.  The fear of persecution won’t overwhelm our confession.  If we confess Jesus before men, Jesus will confess us before the angels of God.  On the other hand, if we fear man and his persecution, then we’ll deny Jesus before men.  If we deny Jesus, then He’ll deny us before the angels of God.

Note that this goes beyond simply not witnessing.  This refers to actively denying Jesus and claiming no connection with Him out of fear of persecution or loss.  It also carries with it the idea of denying Him unrepentantly.  Peter obviously denied Jesus but repented.  Thus Jesus will confess him at judgment.  It’s the one who denies and never repents who Jesus will reject at judgment.

And judgment is what’s at stake with these words.  For those who confess Jesus, Jesus will stand with them at judgment.  For those who deny Jesus, Jesus will deny them and leave them to stand alone at judgment.

Verse 10 goes along with verses 8-9.  Rejecting God before men is rejecting the work of the Holy Spirit.  The ultimate rejection of the Holy Spirit leads to damnation.  It’s the unforgiveable sin because it is fundamentally a rejection of the gospel.  In Jesus’ life, it is exemplified by those who accuse Him of doing the works of Satan (11:15).  Those who attribute the miracles of Jesus to Satan blaspheme the power of the Holy Spirit.  This blasphemy won’t be forgiven because they call the Holy Spirit evil and reject His work.

Can a believer be guilty of this?  No.  A true believer can’t blaspheme what his life is based on.  The believer by definition believes the gospel.  The one who believes the gospel doesn’t blaspheme the Holy Spirit because that would require rejecting the gospel and calling it something other than the only way of salvation.  Blaspheming the Holy Spirit is unforgiveable because it’s a rejection of the only thing that can allow for forgiveness.  The unbeliever can’t be forgiven unless he trusts in the work of the Holy Spirit expressed in the gospel message.  Thus when he rejects the gospel, he’s guilty of the unpardonable sin.  And unlike the believer, the one who rejects the gospel message doesn’t worry about eternity or his view of the Holy Spirit.  So, if we worry that we might’ve spoken against the Holy Spirit and thus might be guilty of the unforgiveable sin, the very worry itself is a sign that we have nothing to worry about.

Verses 8-10 tie back to hypocrisy because the hypocrite’s fear of man will ultimately cause him to deny Jesus (when persecution comes) and reject the Holy Spirit.  He’s out for himself first and foremost.  Enduring loss for the sake of Christ goes along not at all with a selfish life lived for the esteem of others.

11-12
Those who accept the Holy Spirit have privileges.  God will be with His followers in their darkest and most excruciating time.  When (notice He doesn’t use the word ‘if’) we need help the most – when our lives are possibly on the line – He promises to take responsibility for our words.  When called upon to defend what we believe before those who persecute us for those beliefs, the Holy Spirit will speak through us.  We do not need to fear, do not need to be eloquent, do not need to even prepare what we will say – our Father’s Spirit will handle it all.  We can actually approach our persecutors (even rulers and authorities) with confidence knowing that Someone Else will handle the speaking.

It’s reasonable to assume that the words the Holy Spirit gives us will primarily allow us to testify about Jesus (that’s what the Holy Spirit does).  The purpose of the Spirit’s words isn’t so much to defend us or to make us look good or to gain us acquittal as it is to proclaim the gospel to those watching or officiating the proceedings.  The words of the Holy Spirit will enable us to confess Jesus before men.

We see this in Acts with Peter (Acts 4:9-12; 5:29-32), Stephen (Acts 7:1-8:2), and Paul (Acts 26).  In all cases, their testimony at trial has much more to do with the gospel than it does with defending themselves or gaining their freedom (which none of them does).  They proclaim the good news for the benefit of their hearers first and foremost – that’s the priority.   

This promise does NOT mean we don’t need to know the word or prepare to defend what we believe.  Peter tells us (I Pet 3:15) we must always be ready to graciously explain our beliefs to everyone who asks.  Jesus’ words here seem to be specific to persecution.  When we’re called before a hostile group specifically because of our belief, we can have confidence the Spirit will speak for and through us.

Thoughts
Why not be a hypocrite?
Because every secret will be revealed and every hidden sin exposed at judgment.
Because it makes no sense to fear man more than God.
Because fear of man leads to cowardice while fear of God leads to courage.
Because fear of man leads to stress while fear of God leads to rest and contentment.
Because the hypocrite gives up the privileges of belief that include being known intimately by God, having the Spirit’s power at the worst of times, and standing with Jesus at judgment.

As we pointed out above, it makes sense that Jesus’ warnings to hypocrites are meant primarily for unbelievers.  That said, it still pays to watch our lives.  All of us have a natural inclination toward the fear of man and that’s the first step to hypocrisy.  When we live with unrenewed minds, it’s easy to forget that there’s a God who sees and a God who will judge.  The enemy never wants us to think about eternity or God’s presence in our life; God wants us to think about little else.  The believer who loses sight of those things and forgets about the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in his life is the believer who can lapse into a skewed perspective on whose opinion matters more.  We give up a lot when we live hypocritically, and the dangers of making that a way of life are real and dire.