<p>12:1 <i>In the mean time, when the many thousands of the crowd were gathered together, so much so that they trod one upon another, he began to say to his disciples first of all- </i></p><p>As in the account of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, we get the idea of the Lord purposefully focusing upon the disciples, despite the presence of crowds of well over 10,000. His interest was in developing that small core, rather than getting superficial acceptance from thousands.</p><p><i>Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy</i>- The disciples were overly influenced by the Pharisees. They were worried that the Pharisees were not happy with the Lord&rsquo;s teaching (Mt. 15:12). He had to warn them <i>above all</i> of the danger of the influence yeast of the Pharisees (Lk. 12:1 Gk.). And yet they still misunderstood Him- they thought He was talking about literal bread (Mk. 8:15,16). He encouraged His followers 'be themselves'. He spoke much of not being a <i>hupokrites</i>, an actor. Those who follow Him are not to act a part before others, as if all the world's a stage, being what others want in the audience of the world of eyes that surround us, acting as an actor does, merely to please others. He continued the image when He warned of not doing things &quot;to&nbsp;be seen Gk. <i>theathenai</i> of men&quot;. Don't let them be a mere theatre audience to you- be yourself, living life in the constant presence of God's eyes, not man's. This was a major theme with the Lord. Paul likewise teaches us that every man should &ldquo;be as he is&rdquo; (1 Cor. 7:26 RV). This is why the Lord Jesus taught His men &quot;first of all&quot;, i.e. most importantly, to beware of hypocrisy. This was a cardinal point in Christ's manifesto. We must ask whether it has this place in our discipleship. It can be that the ecclesial audience is a kind of theatre, showing gratitude for the pleasing entertainment of the speakers. Yet the opposite should be true- God is the audience, we are living bared lives before His gaze.</p><p>The Lord taught that hypocrisy was like leaven- once it begins in a community of believers, it so easily spreads and engulfs all (Lk. 12:1-3). In this context He went on to say that &ldquo;there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed... whatever you have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light&rdquo;. It is so easy, and we have all done this, to say something about somebody, and ask our hearer not to repeat it. But even in this life, as well as at judgment day, what is spoken in the ear comes out on the housetops. In discussion about fellowship matters, divorce etc. we can so easily say one thing to one group of brethren and something quite different to another. But this, the Lord taught, is hypocrisy. Let us decide our principles and live and speak by them, in humility and sensitivity and simplicity. Because all will be revealed, both in this life and in the coming day of judgment, we ought to be without such hypocrisy.</p><p>The Lord taught His followers &ldquo;first&rdquo;, or &lsquo;most of all&rsquo;, to beware of hypocrisy. For us, all the world is <i>not </i>to be a stage, and we are <i>not </i>to be merely actors upon that stage. Hypocrisy is that living out of a persona, acting, rather than being the person God created us to be. In the Lord Jesus men saw the word made flesh (Jn. 1:14). There was perfect congruence between the person He presented Himself as, and the person He essentially was. This was why He could so easily touch the true person in others. And I think this is the meaning of the otherwise enigmatic insistence that the Cherubim&rsquo;s faces, their appearances, and &lsquo;themselves&rsquo; were all one (Ez. 10:22). The Russian Synodal version translates this: &lsquo;Their view, was who they themselves were&rsquo;. So often in our encounters with others there is no real dialogue, rather a conflict of monologues. This is why so many a debate between a Christian and a Mormon, e.g., has come to nothing; for perhaps both of them are merely showing one of their personas.</p>