Luke 12:1-9 (ESV)
In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops. “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows. “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.
Devotional Meditation
Have you ever had the experience of a person greeting you like they are your long-lost friend...and yet you have no idea who they are? You bump into them at some event. They call you by name. They ask about your wife and kids. They tell you all about so-and-so’s latest adventures...but the entire time this person is talking all you can think is, “Where do I know you from again?”
It’s an awkward situation. Something that the movie Groundhog Day captures perfectly in the first encounter between Phil Connors and Ned Ryerson (along with that unforgettable refrain of “BING!”) There’s something that immediately feels strange and off-putting whenever one person assumes a friendly familiarity with another that has no basis in reality. It can be disturbing whenever one person acts as though a prior close relationship exists when it actually doesn’t.
This is Jesus’ point about the “leaven of the Pharisees,” i.e., their hypocrisy. In many ways, the Pharisees give off the impression that they have a close relationship with God. They look, talk, and act the part. Everything that they say and do is meant to telegraph their righteousness and favored status with God. If anyone has the right to draw near to God and start talking to him like a friend, it must be the Pharisees. At least, that’s the perception they give off.
But then Jesus turns to his disciples, and after warning them to steer clear of such hypocrisy, Jesus calls them his “friends.” What makes the disciples his true friends? God knows them. God remembers them. And, one day, Jesus will present them before God as his intimate and beloved friends. On that Day, there will be no awkwardness. God won’t scratch his head and try to remember who they are. Instead, the Son will present each of his friends to the Father, friends who have been clothed in the Son’s righteousness, and God will look at each of them and declare, “I know you, friend. Because you look just like my Son.”
Jesus laid down his life for his friends. He laid down his life for you. So that you could believe on him and be called his friend. So that you could approach God and call him your Father without hypocrisy and without fear. Because Jesus has brought you near. He has made you close. He has made you a friend of God.