In the meantime, a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling one another. Jesus began to speak first to His disciples: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
Parallel translations
- WEB Meanwhile, when a multitude of many thousands had gathered together, so much so that they trampled on each other, he began to tell his disciples first of all, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
- NASB Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
- NLT Meanwhile, the crowds grew until thousands were milling about and stepping on each other. Jesus turned first to his disciples and warned them, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees—their hypocrisy.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Amid a vast crowd, Jesus warns His disciples first to beware the 'yeast of the Pharisees,' which He identifies as hypocrisy. Inward sincerity before God matters more than outward show.
Overview
Like leaven that quietly permeates dough, hypocrisy spreads pervasively and corrupts. Jesus warns His followers against the religious pretense that He has just denounced in the Pharisees, urging genuineness instead of performance. True discipleship flows from a heart transformed by grace, not from outward conformity that masks an unchanged inner life.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- 1 Pet 2:1Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander.
- 1 Cor 5:7–8Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
- Jas 3:17But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.
- Matt 16:6–12“Watch out!” Jesus told them. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
- 1 Cor 15:3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
- Mark 8:15–21“Watch out!” He cautioned them. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod.”
- Luke 12:56You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky. Why don’t you know how to interpret the present time?
- Job 27:8For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?
- Job 20:5the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary?
- 2 Kgs 7:17Now the king had appointed the officer on whose arm he leaned to be in charge of the gate, but the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died, just as the man of God had foretold when the king had come to him.
- Luke 11:44Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without even noticing.”
- Acts 21:20When they heard this, they glorified God. Then they said to Paul, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law.
- Luke 6:17Then Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of His disciples was there, along with a great number of people from all over Judea, Jerusalem, and the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon.
- Job 36:13The godless in heart harbor resentment; even when He binds them, they do not cry for help.
- Luke 5:15But the news about Jesus spread all the more, and great crowds came to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses.
- Luke 5:1On one occasion, while Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret with the crowd pressing in on Him to hear the word of God,
- Isa 33:14The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling grips the ungodly: “Who of us can dwell with a consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting flames?”
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 12:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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