THE HYPOCRISY I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT!

“He began to say to His disciples first of all, ‘Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy’” (Luke 12 1).

The Pharisees were the one group that consistently opposed Jesus. As you study the life of Christ, you see the ascending spiral of opposition to Him and His ministry flowing from the Pharisees. In Luke 11, Jesus had some very strong words to say about the Pharisees and their duplicitous behavior. The chapter finishes with the Pharisees looking to find ways to attack and destroy Him.

Chapter twelve begins with a scene that is somewhat incongruous. On the one hand we see the Pharisees plotting against Jesus, and on the other is a crowd that has come to see Him. Luke describes that crowd as so big that it could not be counted, perhaps in the tens of thousands. In this milieu of excitement and intrigue, Jesus calls His disciples together and makes this warning statement: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (see above).

Jesus is not attacking the Pharisees as a group, He is warning against a spirit that was embedded in their religious and social philosophy. He is warning against hypocrisy!

He is instructing His followers to be on guard, but on guard against what? Are we to guard against acting like Pharisees? Talking like Pharisees? I don’t think so! I believe He is warning against the pharisaical spirit, which is like a virus—it’s infectious and if you embrace just a little bit, it will spread through your whole system.

Jesus compares hypocrisy to leaven. Leaven was a type of yeast used in the baking of bread and it also aided in the fermentation of wine. It took only a little yeast to do the necessary work. Paul also warned about leaven in 1 Corinthians 5:6 and Galatians 5:9: “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” Leaven is a spoiler; a little bit in the wrong place infects everything.

Hypocrisy, a Greek word borrowed from the Greek theatre, literally means “mask.” Actors in the Greek theatre would wear an oversized mask to portray the character they were playing, which was known as their “persona.” Sound familiar? With the use of masks, an actor could play several different roles and since all actors were men, they could assume a female part, as well, which would make some of you reading this happy!

Hypocrisy as it is referred to here is the “wearing of a mask” regarding spiritual matters. Jesus soundly condemns this behavior of “mask wearing” in any part of our life. He is saying, “You can’t make this work. What you are in private will eventually be seen in light of day.” This is a strong condemnation of pretending that you are living for God when you are at church or with Christian friends, while it really is all a mask and not the real you.

One of the favorite accusations leveled by the secular world at the church is “hypocrisy” because they have seen people who call themselves Christ followers behaving like thugs from the streets of Chicago—and in some cases the accusations are correct. However, hypocrisy is not limited just to the church but infects all areas of society and all kinds of people. For instance, Bernie Madoff is a classic picture of a hypocrite wearing the mask of respectability while robbing people blind.

Jesus says we are to be on guard and not allow any of that leaven, that viral infection of hypocrisy or duplicity, to get into our lives. Our lives are to be lived in openness and transparency before Him, and our brothers and sisters in Him. We need to deal with hypocrisy the moment we are aware of its attempt to invade our life.

Here are a few things to chew on about hypocrisy and questions to ponder:
• Is it hypocritical to say, “I love you in the Lord,” and then spread rumors about that person?
• Is it hypocritical to say we are not under the law but under grace, and then tell an acquaintance that if they don’t pay their tithes, they are cursed?
• Is it hypocritical to complain about the sad state of our nation but then never pray for our leaders?
• Is it hypocritical to sing, “Oh, how I love Jesus,” in church and then not talk to Him or about Him the rest of the week?

In Galatians 2 Paul illustrates how hypocrisy can “inch” its way into Christian conduct and how it can devastatingly spread.

“Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy” (Galatians 2:11-13, NKJV).

Oh, yes! In case you’re wondering, the hypocrisy I don’t want to talk about is mine!