Whom You Should Fear

Well, last Sunday we heard about how Jesus was invited to the house of a Pharisee for dinner.

! And after foregoing the ritual washing, to the surprise and scorn of the Pharisees, Jesus began to rebuke the Pharisees and to call them out for their hypocrisy.

And we saw Jesus respond to them with very passionate and strong words.

Then we heard a little bit about what happened after this.

When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to beseech him with questions.

Waiting to catch him in something he might say.

So after saying those things, Jesus exits the house and out come the hornets.

And they are mad.

Can you imagine them besieging Jesus with questions?

And they weren't even looking for the answers.

These were attacking sorts of questions.

Probably they weren't even giving Jesus hardly a chance to respond or to answer.

They were just sort of piling them on and maybe in an attempt to humiliate him.

Or to get him to trip up in his words.

Maybe twisting some of his replies.

And as this is happening, the crowd of witnesses begins to grow.

People passing by stop to watch and to listen.

Some of the crowds of people that maybe left off of Jesus so that he could go in and have dinner with the Pharisees begin to return.

And the number of people, Luke tells us, grows into the thousands.

Luke 12 verse 1.

Luke 12:1

Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another,

Jesus began to speak first to his disciples.

So can you imagine this?

Can you picture it?

Everybody wants to get closer to see and hear what's going on.

So much so that they're stepping on each other.

They're knocking each other over as they push in towards Jesus.

According to Luke, Jesus begins in this moment to speak to his disciples.

I guess the conversation with the Pharisees was going nowhere.

They aren't really there to listen or to learn.

And so Jesus now turns to his disciples and begins to speak to them.

And the first thing that he says is this.

Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

So Jesus has already been rebuking them privately about this in the house.

Now he's doing it publicly.

It's not behind their backs because they're there.

And now he is warning his disciples not to follow or become like the Pharisees.

Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Now why the metaphor of yeast or leaven?

And I think there's two characteristics of yeast that factor into Jesus' meaning.

First, yeast spreads.

It multiplies.

As the Apostle Paul says in Galatians and in his letter to the Corinthians,

a little yeast leavens the whole lump.

And if you've ever made bread, it's quite something, isn't it?

It doesn't take much of those little yeast pellets.

But that whole loaf, that whole batch of dough is soon affected by it.

It begins to rise as the organisms multiply and give off gas.

So yeast is potent stuff.

It spreads.

And then the second thing about yeast is,

once it's mixed into the dough, it's invisible.

You can't even tell the difference between a leavened lump of dough

and an unleavened lump of dough right after the moment it's been done.

It's a thing that happens behind the scenes, slowly and gradually.

And I think these are maybe the things Jesus is emphasizing about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.

Their hypocrisy has the same characteristics.

It's contagious.

It spreads as people imitate them and follow their teaching.

And it's subtle.

It's insidious.

There's things going on that are hidden beneath the surface.

It's kind of what we heard Jesus talking about last Sunday

when he said that they clean the outside of the dish.

The part that people see, they polish that.

But inside, what's hiding in there?

They're full of greed and wickedness, said Jesus.

So hypocrisy can be insidious.

It's kind of like the solid oak bed frame that I bought one time off of Kijiji.

The pictures weren't all that clear online.

But it looked good.

Well, after examining it more closely,

it was actually just a thin oak-like veneer on particle board.

Don't be fooled by them, says Jesus.

Don't be sucked into following their ways.

Don't do as they do.

Their religion of rules is a show of external righteousness.

Meanwhile, on the inside, they do not love God.

They're neglecting what is just.

What is right.

They're doing things that look righteous,

but it's only for the attention

and for the praise of others,

for the benefit that it brings to them.

Be on your guard against that attitude,

against that kind of behavior.

It's tricky.

It's subtle.

But its effect is powerful.

Don't let yourself slip into the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.

And then Jesus gives us this very sobering truth

to help us see why faking our religion is utterly foolish.

Let me just read it all in one go

so that we can get the flow of thought here.

He says,

Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees,

which is hypocrisy.

There is nothing concealed that 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 whispered in the ear in the inner rooms

will be proclaimed from the roofs.

What a powerful and sobering truth.

It's very proverbial the way Jesus says it.

It's kind of got that poetic parallelism

that we're used to seeing in the book of Proverbs.

There's nothing concealed that 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 whispered in the ear in the inner rooms

will be proclaimed from the roofs.

All the secrets we try to keep,

all the things we try to hide,

they will all come out in the end.

They will all be known eventually.

And the first application of this, I think,

is to the Pharisees themselves.

Jesus is basically saying,

whatever they're hiding with their hypocrisy,

they won't get away with it.

It's all going to come out.

But then the second application is

for Jesus' followers,

the ones that he's talking to right now,

the ones he's warning.

He's saying to them,

and by extension to us as followers of Jesus,

don't be like the Pharisees in their hypocrisy,

because anything you try

to hide or keep secret

is going to come out in the end.

And the way Jesus says it,

it's powerful.

What you have whispered in the ear

in the inner rooms

will be proclaimed from the rooftops.

That word for inner room

was used to describe the storeroom of the house.

And so you almost get this picture here

of someone pulling another person

into the storage closet

to whisper some things to them,

closing the door,

speaking in a hushed voice

so nobody else inside

can hear what's being said.

But then imagine that

as you do this with someone

only to find out

that somehow

somebody heard everything that you said,

and then they proceed

to shout that out loud

for everyone to hear.

There is nothing concealed

that will not be disclosed

or hidden

that will not be made known.

The attitude

and the behavior

of the Pharisees

was,

I'm going to call it

religious

fakery.

And Jesus is saying,

don't be like them

because your fakery

will eventually

be exposed.

In fact,

in reality,

God already sees

and knows

the things

that we are hiding

and the secrets

that we are keeping.

Listen to these words

from Hebrews 4,

Hebrews 4:13

verse 13.

Nothing

in all creation

is hidden

from God's sight.

everything

is uncovered

and laid bare

before the eyes

of him

to whom

we must give

account.

So in a manner

of speaking,

there is a recorder

recording

everything

that we do

and say.

Even the thoughts

and attitudes

of our hearts,

God is taking

it all in.

And one day

we will have to

answer to him

for all of it.

He knows,

he sees

all that we try

to hide

and keep secret.

Everything

we think,

everything

we do,

even in private.

and according

to Jesus,

it's just

a matter

of time

before God

brings all

those things

to the full

light of day

and goes

public with

them

in a

spectacular

way.

In Jesus'

words,

they will be

proclaimed

from the

rooftops.

That's a

pretty sobering

thought,

isn't it?

And as

we've said,

it's first

a warning

to those

who are

engaged

in

religious

fakery,

but it's

also a

motivating

truth

for us

who are

Jesus'

disciples.

Jesus is

helping us

see

that if we

choose the

way of

religious

fakery

like the

Pharisees,

it's not

going to

work out

for us

in the

end.

there's

going to

be a

massive

public

exposing

of all

that we

work so

hard to

hide

to our

great shame

and

embarrassment.

And if

we are

wise,

we will

listen to

Jesus'

warning

and we

can be

spared all

that.

We can

choose the

way of

sincerity

and

integrity

and true

faith.

Of course,

the timing

of this

great

public

exposing

is the

final day

of judgment.

Jesus

isn't saying

here that

most of the

time people

will get

caught

and their

secret sins

will become

known.

No,

it's bigger

than that.

It's far

more certain

than that.

Jesus

says there

is nothing

concealed

that will

not be

disclosed.

Everything

we have

thought,

said,

or done

in secret

will come

out.

And here's

where this

is going.

Because

this is

true,

Jesus

is essentially

in a way

saying you

need to

stop caring

so much

about what

other people

see and

think of

you

as in

trying to

impress

them

or be

liked by

them

or be

respected

and praised

by them.

And you

need to

start caring

about where

you stand

with God.

Listen to

how Jesus

says it

in the next

verses.

He says,

I tell you,

my friends,

do not be

afraid of

those who

kill the

body,

and after

that can

do no

more.

But I

will show

you whom

you should

fear.

Fear him

who after

your body

has been

killed

has authority

to throw

you

into hell.

yes,

I tell

you,

fear him.

Now there's

a lot in

these words.

We're going

to unpack

it.

Some of

you are

maybe shocked

that I

just read

this in

public,

said the

word hell

out loud

in public.

Others of

you are

maybe shocked

and wondering

if God

is cruel

or if

Jesus is

insensitive

to be

talking about

throwing

people

into

hell.

But let's

just sort

of unpack

this.

Let's take

it from

the top

here.

The first

question is

why might

some of

Jesus'

disciples

fear

being

killed?

So he's

talking about

do not

be afraid

of those

who kill

the body

and after

that can

do no

more.

Why might

some of

Jesus'

disciples

fear being

killed?

Well,

Jesus,

the one

that they're

following,

he just

lambasted

the Pharisees

and the

religious

lawyers.

The

disciples

of Jesus

see how

angry

they are

becoming.

How furious

they are.

They know

that given

the right

opportunity

they would

kill Jesus.

And so

the temptation

for the

disciples

of Jesus

is

to

compromise,

to

submit

to the

Pharisees

and their

teachings.

Otherwise,

the way

things seem

to be

going,

they fear

not only

that Jesus

will be

killed,

but that

they'll be

next

for following

him.

And Jesus

says,

don't be

afraid

afraid

of

them.

The

worst

they can

do

is kill

your body.

But there

is a far

worse thing

that can

happen to

a person,

says Jesus.

I will

show you

whom you

should fear.

There is

one who

after your

body has

been killed

has authority

to throw

you

into hell.

he's

the one

you should

fear.

Jesus

basically

says,

don't worry

about what

those

hypocrites

might do

to you.

Worry

about what

God might

do to

you.

If you

should live

for their

approval.

If you

should live

wickedly

as they

do.

And by

this point,

I think it's

pretty clear

that Jesus

is talking

about

judgment

day.

That's

the time

when all

the hidden

things,

when all

the secret

sins

will be

revealed.

God

will be

our judge

and Jesus

says he

has authority

to throw

you

into hell.

Jesus

had no

problems

speaking the

truth

about

hell.

In this

moment,

he's

surrounded

by a

crowd

of

thousands

and he's

not afraid

or ashamed

to warn

people of

what truly

awaits

if they

persist

in ignoring

God.

God is

the judge

and he

has authority

says Jesus

to throw

you into

hell.

hell.

Let's

talk about

hell for a

moment.

What is

hell?

Hell is

a place

of punishment.

It's

the ultimate

place of

punishment.

And God

doesn't throw

people in

there because

he is

cruel.

Hell

exists

because God

is just.

It exists

because God

is good.

he will

not allow

evil to

go unchecked

forever.

He will

not allow

people to

just get

away with

the wrongs

they have

done or

to persist

in doing

evil because

he is

good.

People who

have done

wrong,

which is

all of us,

will either

have their

sins atoned

for by

receiving the

merciful gift

of salvation

that God

offers through

Jesus,

or they

will receive

what their

sins truly

deserve,

which is

to be

thrown into

hell,

that place

of ultimate

punishment

after being

judged

on judgment

day.

We as

human beings

sometimes

criticize God

for sending

people to

hell.

hell.

We think

or even

say that

hell is

too harsh.

But when

we say

things like

that,

basically

we're

setting

ourselves

up as

judge

over God.

We're

saying that

we know

better than

he does

the seriousness

of our

sin and

what punishment

fits the

crime.

well that's

ridiculous.

That's us,

the creature,

criticizing the

creator.

That's us

finding fault

with him

when the only

fault is

with us.

no,

God is

just.

He ensures

in his

justice that

the punishment

fits the

crime.

If we do

not receive

his forgiveness

and mercy

which is

the way

out of

that punishment

through

Jesus,

then God

ensures that

we are judged

fairly for

what we

thought,

did,

and said.

And God

sees to it

that we get

no more

than we

deserve

and no

less.

According

to God,

hell,

a place of

terrible

punishment,

is what

our sins

deserve.

What we

often fail

to understand

is that any

rejection,

any

rebellion,

any

disobedience

against our

glorious

creator

is

unimaginably

evil.

And so

hell is

the fitting

punishment

for our

sins.

The good

news

is that

this story

of Jesus

goes on

from here

until he

offers himself

as a

sacrifice

on the

cross

to

atone

for our

sins,

to take

away

our

guilt.

And so

God,

because he

is a

loving and

merciful God,

has provided

a way of

escape

from hell.

And it's

through

receiving

Jesus.

It's through

repenting

of our

sins

and putting

our

faith in

him.

But let's

get back

to Jesus'

point here.

All of

what he's

saying here

is aimed

at a

particular

point.

Why is

he telling

us about

hell?

Because

Jesus wants

his followers,

he wants

us,

to fear

God.

We really

have only

two choices.

We can

fear man,

or we can

fear God.

we can

care so

much about

what others

see in

us and

think of

us,

or we can

care so

much about

what God

sees in

us and

thinks of

us.

We might

be tempted

to compromise,

to avoid

persecution,

or to

avoid becoming

unpopular.

But Jesus

wants us to

be stirred by

this truth,

that there is

something far

worse than

being persecuted,

far worse than

being unpopular,

and that's

getting what we

truly deserve

from God

for our

sins.

Do you

fear God?

Do you

fear God?

Do you

fear God?

Some of you

may feel

convicted by

the Spirit

of God

in this

very moment,

to the

point that

you're even

now admitting

to yourself,

no,

I haven't

been fearing

God.

I haven't

been taking

Him seriously.

Others of

you might be

wondering,

I think I

fear God,

I agree with

this,

I know

that's the

right thing

to do,

but how do

I know

if I truly

fear God?

And the

Bible's

answer to

that is

kind of

simple.

Are you

making a

conscious,

daily effort

to walk in

obedience to

God's

commandments?

Obedience

is the

evidence that

the fear of

God is

present in

your heart.

It's kind

of like

fire.

if you

have a

genuine

fear of

fire,

then it

changes how

you behave

around it.

You're

careful near

it.

You won't

just plunge

your hand

into the

flame.

Neither

will you

make a

fire in

your living

room,

because you

fear it.

You know

what it

can do

when it

gets out

of control.

And that

reality,

it controls

you,

it influences

you in a

good way.

way.

It's the

same with

God.

If we

really fear

Him,

the reality

of who

He is

controls

us.

It

influences

us in

a good

way.

We

become

careful

to obey

Him,

because we

believe the

truth of

His word.

That doing

otherwise would

be dangerous,

there would

be consequences.

I'll just

switch over

to this.

back to

the question,

are you

making a

conscious,

sincere,

daily effort

to walk in

obedience to

God's

commands?

Do you

fear God?

If your

answer to

that question

is no,

then hear

these words

of Jesus

again.

You need

to change

that.

You

should fear

Him,

says Jesus.

He has

the authority

to throw

you into

hell.

will you

continue to

disregard

Him?

Or will

you submit

yourself to

Him?

This

teaching of

Jesus is

heavy,

and it's

hard.

And so,

it might

surprise us

what Jesus

says next.

Jesus

turns on a

dime,

actually on a

penny,

and He

begins

reassuring

His

followers

of how

much

they

mean

to

God.

Look at

the next

couple

verses.

Are not

five sparrows

sold for

two pennies?

Yet not

one of

them is

forgotten

by God.

Indeed,

the very

hairs of

your head

are all

numbered.

Don't

be afraid.

You are

worth more

than many

sparrows.

I love

these words.

It's like

Jesus is

saying,

don't come

to the

wrong

conclusion

here.

You should

fear God.

He does

have

authority

to cast

you into

hell,

but that

doesn't

mean He

doesn't

care about

you.

He cares

about you

a lot.

And Jesus

gives this

analogy of

sparrows.

What's a

sparrow

worth?

You can

buy five

of them

for two

cents.

There's

not a

whole lot

of certainty

about why

sparrows were

even bought

and sold

in the

first place.

Some are

suggesting that

it wasn't

really

sparrows,

but another

type of

small bird

that poor

people would

eat.

They would

buy it and

sell it in

the marketplace.

But it's

implied here

by Jesus'

statement that

the birds were

so small and

worth so

little that

you could get

five of

them for

two of the

smallest coins

in circulation.

And so if we

do a little bit

of math,

each of them

was worth

less than

half a penny.

And yet

Jesus says

not one of

those little

birds is

forgotten by

God.

God takes

notice of

every single

one of

them.

Think about

that the next

time you look

out the window

and you see a

little sparrow

hopping around.

But now

what's Jesus'

point here?

If God

cares that

much about

each of the

smallest,

most insignificant

little birds,

how much

more does

he care about

each one of

us?

human beings

specially made

in his

image.

In fact,

says Jesus,

God cares so

much for you

that he

pays attention

to the

number of

hairs on

your head.

Indeed,

the very

hairs of

your head

are all

numbered.

even we

don't know

or care

about

ourselves

that much.

But God

does.

He knows

even the

littlest

details

about us.

He cares

about those

things.

When you

take a hat

off where

you brush

your hair

and a

hair comes

out and

falls to

the ground,

God

notices the

change.

That's how

precious and

valued we

are to

him.

And so

after telling

us to fear

God, like we

have never

heard it before

maybe from

Jesus,

Jesus does

this crazy

thing and he

says the

very opposite

just a moment

later.

fear.

He says

don't be

afraid.

He says

fear not.

You are

worth more

than many

sparrows.

Now we

might see

that as a

contradiction.

Fear.

Don't be

afraid.

But it's

probably more

of what I'm

going to

call a

relational

complexity.

Some

relationships

are complex

and ours

with God

is one

of them.

We should

fear him

and yet at

the same

time we

don't need

to be

afraid.

It's

right to

fear him

and yet

because of

his love

and care

for us,

so long

as we're

walking

closely with

him in

obedience,

we don't

need to

be afraid.

A guy

named John

Piper gave

a great

analogy of

this and

I'm actually

going to

just take

steal from

him the

core element

of it and

tell it

differently,

but a

German

shepherd is

a fearsome

creature,

especially if

we do

things to

provoke

that German

shepherd.

Maybe we've

all heard

or seen

stories of

police dogs

chasing down

the bad

guys,

just sort

of running

after them,

jumping on

them,

sinking their

teeth into

them and

taking them

down to

the ground.

If you

do what

is right,

then you

have nothing

to fear

from the

police dog.

That German

shepherd might

even jump

into the

lake to

save you

if you're

out there

in trouble.

But hit

the officer

in the face

and that

dog will

be all

over you,

growling,

barking,

biting,

until you're

curled up

like a little

ball on

the ground.

Our

relationship

with God

is kind

of like

that.

If we

ignore

him,

if we

defy

him,

if we

provoke

him,

doing what

we know

is wrong,

then watch

out.

He is

the God

who will

bring

justice

and has

authority

to throw

us into

hell.

But if

we listen

to him,

if we

draw near

to him,

if we

humble

ourselves

before him

and submit

to him,

then we

have nothing

to fear.

He is

the God

who loves

us deeply

and notices

even when

a hair of

our head

falls to

the ground.

And so

I want to

leave you

with this

question

today.

Where are

you at

in your

relationship

with

God?

Whatever

your answer

is to

that,

let me

encourage

you.

Draw

near to

him.

Come

close to

him.

Listen

to him.

Humble

yourself

before

him.

If

you've

got

sins,

if you've

got even

secret

sins,

like we

talked

about

earlier,

we have

all

sinned.

confess

those

things

to

him.

He

is

merciful.

He

is

eager

to

forgive.

The

day of

judgment

is

coming.

We

can't

get

away

with

faking

it.

And

God

loves

us

dearly.

So

why

shouldn't

we

give

ourselves

completely

to

him?

Let's

pray.

God

God

in

heaven,

thank

you

for

your

word.

I

pray

that

you

would

open

our

hearts

wide

to

it.

Stir

in

us

that

right

and

good

fear

of

you.

Let

it

influence

us.

May

our

lives

change

because

of

it.

But

I

pray

also,

Lord,

that

you

would

take

our

fears

away.

As

we

remember

your

grace

and

your

kindness

that

you

have

shown

through

Jesus

to

us.

Please

stir

in us

a

right

response

to

your

words.

We

ask

in

your

name

and

for

your

honor.

Amen.