Then He charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” Mark 8: 15
Jesus told his disciples to be aware of the leaven among them because He knew the insidious nature of leaven and its subtle impact on His disciples. Jesus spoke clearly and in much detail about the leaven of Pharisees in Matthew 23:1-28. In the last devotional, I shared a few points from this passage. This devotional is the continuation on the leaven of Pharisees.
Verse 5 (Show offs):Their motive was visibility not service. They were not doing things as unto the Lord; they were doing it to get the applause and honor of man. Why do we do what we do? If no one ever finds out about what we did, would we still do it?
Verse 6 (Honor seeking):They enjoyed places of honor. They enjoyed people looking up to them and calling them by their titles. Do we find our significance in how people perceive us ? Do we need a title to feel significant or spiritual?
Verse 13 (Twisted gospel message):Jesus told His disciples that the Pharisees had no place in heaven, and they were stopping others from entering because they were self-righteous. In our society, this would translate into legalists and the lawless religious groups. Those who are legalistic, make people focus on the works and rules rather than a relationship. People can follow the rules and still not have a relationship with God. There is also the spiritually lawless group that focuses on compassion and grace apart from repentance. They do not teach the entire Bible and only give people partial gospel message. Both groups are self-righteous. One group is proud to do work for God and the other group is proud to be compassionate towards man apart from God’s standard. Both of those approaches are self oriented which will neither save people nor set them free. These type of religious people don’t have a real relationship with the Lord, and they are hindering others from being saved as well.
Are we self-congratulatory in our efforts and zeal? Do our efforts produce true fruitfulness or just making us feel spiritual? Do we portray grace as a cheap commodity? Do we convey Jesus to be a desperate man looking for any kind of follower without a true commitment to Him?
Verses 15 (New bondages): Religious people can get excited about seeing people saved and freed up. However, they begin putting new expectations on people causing oppression and offense in a new believer’s life. The religious people, who are supposed to help free up the believers, can create new man-made rules and expectation and place them under a carnal yoke! Do we create rules for others that are not necessarily based on the Bible rather than on our preferences and convictions?
Let’s be aware of the leaven of Pharisees by knowing our Bible and not getting influenced in a toxic atmosphere.
