Luke 12:3, commentary and pictures

What is spoken in darkness will be heard in the light, and what is whispered privately in the ear in closets will be proclaimed publicly upon the housetops, so secret words become public knowledge and concealed words are made public. It continues the warning against hypocrisy and hidden things that will be revealed. Joined to the words that follow, it grounds the command not to fear those who kill the body and afterward can do nothing more, but to fear God who after killing has power to cast into hell, with the assurance that God does not forget even sparrows sold for little and numbers even the hairs of the head, so those of great value to Him need not fear. The chapter containing the verse is an important lesson for God's people.

God reads the secrets of the heart, and the intents and purposes of the soul are open before Him and the heavenly angels, so nothing is covered from His notice and every secret act will be opened to the view of the pure angels. Hidden sins and deeds concealed from other people will be exposed publicly, with any pious appearance removed and the true condition disclosed despite attempts to conceal it, and everything secret proclaimed upon the housetops with every secret thing brought to light. At the judgment every deed and transaction will be vividly brought to the wrongdoer's memory, and the person's own lips will acknowledge and confess the shameful acts and guilt that were concealed from others, the image of proclamation on the housetop describing their public disclosure.

Even when people who are not called by God speak the truth and others accept it, their success does not prove their calling or make them right with God, and those who deceive God's people and bring confusion into the church will have their sins exposed and face greater punishment. God will remove the pious appearance covering concealed wrongdoing and bring hidden deeds into the open, exposing deception practiced by people who claim to be His holy servants. The certainty that what is concealed cannot remain hidden is a reason to turn from sin and surrender wholly to God. Every secret thing must come to light at an awful coming time, so sins must be confessed early before that time, and sins so confessed will be placed on the scapegoat and borne away.

A confession made only when condemnation is certain cannot save or show genuine repentance. In the judgment, those who are found wanting may openly acknowledge their sins if doing so allows them to make restitution and save someone else. The verse is to be read and explained to a large congregation including unbelievers and to students blessed with great light who are striving in a tame, listless way without religious interest and without putting their whole heart into the service of Christ, calling them to daily prayer and watchfulness, to unite in seeking the Lord most earnestly, and not only to claim to believe the truth but to live and practice the truth.