"In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." [Lk 12:1]
Shortly before Jesus’ ascension into heaven from “the mount called Olivet,” [Acts 1:12] He told His disciples, “behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be clothed with power from on high.” [Lk 24:49] Jesus knew His disciples needed power. They were in great need, as are we, of The Holy Spirit. The night of His death, Jesus said, “without me ye can do nothing,” [Jn 15:5] and after His resurrection, upon that Mount, Jesus spoke in similar terms, telling His disciples to wait for The Spirit to come upon them. Jesus said,
“Wait for the promise of The Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with The Holy Ghost not many days hence…ye shall receive power, after that The Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me…” [Acts 1:4-5, 8]
In order for the disciples to be proper witnesses of Jesus, they needed the power and boldness of The Holy Spirit, and a continual filling of Him at that. For not long after “they were all filled with The Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues,” they were again offering up supplications to God for The Spirit, saying, “and now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word…And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with The Holy Ghost, and they spake the Word of God with boldness.” [Acts 2:4; 4:29, 31]
Our need for boldness to speak the word of God as Jesus commanded is manifest: for without Him dwelling in us and living and speaking through us, we are but feeble and weak men who can do nothing. But this can only truly be found in The Holy Spirit, for, “God hath not given us the spirit of timidity; but of power, and of love, and of self-control.” [2 Tim 1:7] Even Paul recognized this and offered petition to the Ephesians that they might pray for him, writing, “and [pray] for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel.” [Eph 6:19]
The Spirit whom Christ spoke of, saying, “I will send [Him] unto you from The Father,” [Jn 15:26] is the same Spirit which He possessed, of which Isaiah prophesied, saying, “and the Spirit of The LORD shall rest upon Him.” [Isa 11:2] This Spirit, The Holy Spirit who retains all the attributes of God in full, is among other things, “the Spirit of…might.” [Isa 11:2] That is, He is the Spirit of strength. Therefore, if we have seen God, the Creator of heaven and earth, the Defender of Israel, the Judge of all mankind, as strong, as full of vigor or toughness or power, then we can rightly see The Holy Spirit as the same. Furthermore, seeing that it is written, “God giveth not The Spirit by measure unto [Christ],” [Jn 3:34] we can expect to see this attribute of boldness overflowingly exemplified in Jesus’ life. And so it is; for we read first of all our passage for today, in which, when “an innumerable multitude of people” was gathered together at Jesus’ location, “insomuch that they trode one upon another,” Jesus “began to say…beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” And again, shortly thereafter, “He that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.” [Lk 12:9] If this event does not seem to support the conclusion that Jesus was marvelously bold, let us ponder this further that we might see more clearly why. First, notice the location: Jesus is surrounded by an “innumerable multitude of people.” Second, the audience: Jesus is surrounded by Jews, by His disciples, and by Pharisees. And three, the message: Jesus bluntly proclaims the Pharisees not only to be hypocrites and that they are lost souls headed to hell, but also that they were destined to be rejected by God for their rejection of Himself.
First of all, the location. Jesus spoke when there was an innumerable amount of people. There were so many people surrounding Him in this place, that one could hardly hope to count them: they were innumerable. Jesus did not say these provocative and bold things in secret, hidden away so that none could properly hear Him. He said them clearly and directly insomuch that there is no room for debate regarding their meaning. In contrast, it is the wicked who hide away with their words, secretly plotting, fearful and apprehensive of speaking their true mind; and, when they do speak it is with cowardice and secrecy. As it is written of them, “for lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.” [Ps 11:2] But Christ is not so; as it says in Proverbs, “the wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are as bold as a lion.” [Prov 28:1] And as Jesus testified during His trial, so it is true, and a great evidence to His righteous conduct: “I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing.” [Jn 18:20]
Secondly, the audience. The Pharisees are most certainly present, for this discourse of Jesus our Lord was in response and in continuation of even harsher and bolder words afore, which we shall come to at our third point, but after which it is written, “and as He said these things unto them, the scribes and Pharisees began to urge Him vehemently, and to provoke Him to speak of many things…” [Lk 11:53] We therefore see that Jesus was not afraid to speak these words directly to the Pharisees. He was undaunted to publicly, surrounded by many hundreds if not thousands of people, boldly and confidently rebuke the Pharisees – men who were highly esteemed among the Jewish community as leaders and righteous men. No, but Jesus was unafraid and unashamed to speak the truth, even to elite, highly powerful men, upheld in the Jewish culture as the best and most devoutly righteous religious men. In this act, the words which The Father spoke to Jeremiah long ago, are proved as genuine and sincere, showing us that what God speaks and commands He is not only willing to do, but also exceedingly able to perform. For we read,
“But The LORD said unto me, say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith The LORD.” [Jer 1:7-8]
And again to Ezekiel,
“And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.” [Ezek 2:6]
It is one thing to command another to say something harsh or to utter a blunt rebuke. It would be easy for a man, as most cowardly and wicked leaders are today, to sit lavishly upon their throne, far removed, and command other men to speak severely. But it is another thing to speak that word oneself, publicly and face-to-face at that. But God shows us He is able and willing to speak, for Jesus, “the Faithful Witness,” [Rev 1:5] shows us who God is, He being, “the express image of [The Father’s] substance.” [Heb 1:3]
And finally, notice the message. Not only does Jesus plainly call the Pharisees hypocrites in front of an innumerable number of people, but He goes on to say that if they, and anyone else, does not confess Him as Lord and Christ, they would certainly be cast into hell; for we see not only does Jesus proclaim, “he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God,” but also it is written, “whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” [Lk 12:9, Mt 10:32-33]
These words might have been harsh enough, but this is not even the full message, God deeming more strict rebuke necessary. Previous to this event we read in Luke a few sentences of the larger passage,
“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them. Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto Him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also. Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! For ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.” [Lk 11:44-46]
There is seemingly no end to our Lord’s great boldness. Jesus was unafraid of men and unafraid to carry out God’s will. In the face of danger, rebuke, reviling, or pain – all such things were as nothing to Him: as at the cross so with these, Jesus was “despising the shame,” [Heb 12:2] and would not be dislodged from abiding in God’s will. Take heart good Christian, for this same Christ dwells in us and desires to live through us. Let us then take heed to what He said long ago, and which still is true today,
“And I say unto you my friends, be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.” [Lk 12:4-5]
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