Then He charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” Mark 8: 15
Leaven for the most part was considered evil. Jesus warned his disciples about the leaven of Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. By using this analogy, He taught his disciples to be discerning of the insidious nature of these two spirits among them.
In our modern day, one use of leaven is to make sour dough bread. Leaven becomes the starter or the instigator, and eventually permeates and ferments the whole though.
Jesus was referring to the fact that leaven has the ability to subtly poison people and gradually move them in a negative direction without one’s awareness. While the Pharisees and the Herod were not people’s role models, they still had the potency to influence people negatively.
Jesus, in referring to the leaven of Pharisees, was speaking about a religious spirit that has a spiritual look. He was concerned for His disciples as well as all His followers, so He warns us not to influenced by this religious spirit and recognize it when we see it. Jesus shared some of the characteristics of this religious spirit in Matthew 23:1-28
Verse 3 (Actions not words): The pharisees’ words and actions did not match. They may have been great orators but considering how they conducted their lives, it did not hold up to their professed faith. Do our lives profess of our faith that we verbally proclaim?
Verse 4 (Oppressive rules): By their man-made rules, they created burdensome religion for others. However, they were not willing to lift a finger or hold themselves accountable to the same rules. They had a double-standard. Is it possible to that we perceive other people’s sin much harsher than our own sins?
I will continue with this subject in the next devotional.
