The Leaven of the Pharisees and the Leaven of Herod (Protestant and Evangelical Caucus/Devotional)

ligonier.org ^ | 6/9/2016

[Gamecock]

“[Jesus] cautioned them, saying, ‘Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod’ ” (v. 15).

- Mark 8:14–15

Yeast is the secret to making bread rise. When added to a lump of bread dough, the yeast ferments the starches in the dough and causes the dough to increase in size. Without yeast to leaven the dough, the loaf that comes out of the oven is flat. Remarkably, it takes little yeast to make dough rise. A small amount is sufficient to leaven dough thoroughly.

In today’s passage, Jesus alludes to this phenomenon of yeast’s making dough rise in order to teach a spiritual lesson. It is a natural image to use because our Lord has just fed four thousand people with seven loaves of bread, and the disciples are noting how they forgot to bring enough bread for a meal with them in the boat (Mark 8:1–10, 14–15). Jesus issues this warning: “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

Since it only takes a small amount of yeast or other leavening agent to transform an entire lump of dough, Jesus must mean that it takes only a little bit of what the Pharisees and Herod have to offer to ruin a person. We say “ruin” because Christ is giving a warning statement and because leaven almost always represents sin in the New Testament; only Jesus’ parable of the leaven uses leaven in a positive sense (Matt. 13:33; Luke 13:20–21).

Just a smidgen of the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod su ces to transform what is good and useful into something bad and useless. But what does the leaven signify? That is harder to discern, for the Pharisees and Herod Antipas had little in common. The Pharisees were devoted to their study of the Mosaic law, and Antipas was anything but devout (see Mark 6:14–29). Christ may be referring to Herod and the Pharisees’ contentment with Roman rule. Herod enjoyed political power because of Rome, and though many Jews wanted Rome overthrown, the Pharisees were basically fine with the Romans as long as Caesar allowed them to study the law in peace.

However, contentment with Roman governance does not fully capture what Jesus means by leaven. Unbelief in Christ is the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod, unbelief motivated in part by fear of Roman reprisal against the Jews if Jesus were acclaimed as Messiah. But their unbelief was ultimately due to their hard hearts (John 12:36b–43). Let us be on guard against hardness of heart; we might fall into spiritual ruin if we harden ourselves against God’s Word even just a little bit.

Coram Deo

When we harden our hearts even just a little bit and refuse to obey God on what we might consider a minor matter, we introduce leaven into our lives that can spread to other areas. It is imperative, therefore, that we regularly repent for our disobedience and seek to obey the Lord in all of life. We should be striving for obedience in all matters, not just the really “big” ones.

Passages for Further Study

Psalm 139:23Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

Matthew 16:5 When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7 And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” 8 But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? 9 Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 11 How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

1 Corinthians 5:6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Galatians 5:9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump.

[Gamecock]

Ping

[Ezekiel]

When we harden our hearts even just a little bit and refuse to obey God on what we might consider a minor matter, we introduce leaven into our lives that can spread to other areas.

Dead leaven is what produces bread heavy like a rock... out comes a brick or some dense, gummy mass that won't cook through in the middle. Bleccch. Bakers know to keep an eye on the critical elements necessary for proper bread-making.

The leaven of the religious Establishment and powers that be is dead.

People get used to awfulness and then lose any concept of what an amazing fluffy loaf of bread is actually like, so beware of the dead leaven. It's everywhere.

The leaven of the Kingdom of Heaven expands to the heavens:

Mark 8:15-21

15 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.
16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread.
17 And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened?
18 Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?
19 When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve.
20 And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven.
21 And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?