Great Events of the New Testament Lesson #37 Beware the Leaven Study Notes For Sunday, September 24, 2017 Read Matt. 15:1-20; 16:1-12; Mk. 7:1-23; 8:10-26 Many Pharisees were now saying that Jesus was of the Devil (Mk. 9:34). In Jerusalem, the religious leaders had stirred up such strong opposition that Jesus could not go to Judea without the possibility of being killed (John 7:1). Beware the Leaven. Jesus and the apostles were heading to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. When they arrived they realized that they had forgotten to take bread. And Jesus chose this moment to warn his disciples about the influence of the religious leaders. Since bread was on their minds, the Lord said, Beware the leaven Leaven placed into dough is only a small ingredient, just a pinch. Once it is mixed in there is no immediate reaction, its influence is slow and unseen. But as I Corinthians 5:6 says, a little leaven leavens the whole lump. Leaven or yeast causes the whole lump of dough to ferment and rise, completely affecting the whole loaf. Jesus warns about three kinds of leaven Matt. 16:6 Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees Matt. 16:6 Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Sadducees. Mark 8:15 Take heed, beware of the leaven of Herod. When Jesus talks about the leaven of the Pharisees, the Sadducees and of Herod, He was talking about the influence that their beliefs, attitudes and actions could have on people. The Pharisees and the Sadducees were the main religious leaders of that time. We get our first clue that there was a problem when John the baptist saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to be baptized. He said, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits
meet for repentance. Jesus had warned in the Sermon on the Mount that the righteousness of His disciples would have to surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees (Matt. 5:20). The Lord used their behavior as examples of what He never wanted His followers to be like. Our lesson will focus on several passages to show us why Jesus warned against their leaven. Beware the Leaven of the Pharisees. The Pharisees became an important religious group during the time between the Old and New Testaments at least a hundred years before Jesus was born. They were not priests; but they along with the Scribes studied the Law of Moses and tried to teach it to the Jewish people. The name "Pharisee" means the separated ones and that was what they were trying to do: to keep themselves and Israel from sin and sinners. You may wonder why Jesus would not want His people to be like the Pharisees. After all, aren t Christians supposed to stay pure and not be influenced by the world? Pharisees were described as the strictest sect of our religion (Acts 26:5); don t we believe in being strict with God s teaching? But as we study the Bible story, we begin to realize why Jesus opposed them: Hypocrisy. Luke 12:1 says, He began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. In Matt. 23:2-3,28, Jesus said, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. You outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. What is a hypocrite? Some believe that any Christian who sins is a hypocrite. Of course, every Christian on occasion sins, but if they confess their sin and repent of it, there is nothing hypocritical about admitting that you have failed before God. A real hypocrite is someone who pretends to be good and righteous; but really aren t what they claim to be. The Greek word for hypocrite is hupokrites, and it originally described a professional actor in a theatrical play. The word came to mean someone who was 'play-acting', pretending to be something they are not; wearing a mask that hid the person they really were. In time a hypocrite can, after much practice, even deceive themselves, but they never fool God. Hebrews 4:13 Before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account. Hypocrisy insults God because it acts as if He cannot see. We may be able to keep things a secret from people; but as Proverbs 24:12 asks,... Does not He who weighs the heart consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?
Jesus said we must clean up the inside (the things only God can see), as well as the outside (what the public sees). Matthew 23:25-28 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Christians need to realize that when they behave hypocritically, it leads others to believe they can do they same. When He condemned the Pharisees Jesus pointed out, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel about on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. (Matthew 23:15). Seeking Glory From Men. John 5:44 How can you believe, when you receive glory form one another, and you do not seek the glory this from the one and only God. Jesus gave several specific examples of what He was talking about: Matt. 23:5-7 But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, 'Rabbi, Rabbi.' Such conduct may strike us as wrong because it is too showy, but the greater problem is in who you want your honor to come from. The goal of a Christian is to have honor that comes from God, not man. Paul wrote, "But 'he who glories, let him glory in the LORD.' It is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends" (2 Cor. 10:17-18). Trusting in Their Own Righteousness and Viewing Others With Contempt. When we are trying to be righteous we have to avoid becoming self-righteous a condition where we believe we are all we should be spiritually and where we start looking at others as far beneath us.
In Luke 18:9-14 Jesus told this parable to certain ones who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gatherer. The Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself, God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get. But the taxgatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, the sinner! I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted. These things aren t said to justify sinfulness. But when Christians strive to uphold God s righteous standards to others, it is always good to consider themselves (Gal. 6:1) and remember in humility that they too are forgiven sinners. Following Vain Traditions. In Matt. 16 Jesus explains that part of His warning to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees" (vs. 6), was to beware of the doctrine of the Pharisees" (vs. 12). The leaven of the Pharisees includes the type of teachings they held to. Quoting from Isaiah 29:13 Jesus reminds them, But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men (Mk. 7:6). Jesus saw that they not only added their own traditions, but they also ignored the actual commands of God. In Mark 7:8-9 He told them, Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men. He was also saying to them, You set aside the commandment of God, in order to keep your tradition. The Pharisees were so wrapped up in doing minor things, they neglect big things. Mat 23:23-24 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith ( and the love of God Luke 11:42 adds). These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! Piling tradition on top of tradition, the Pharisees had made the laws of God almost impossible to keep. Matt. 23:4 They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them." Just think of it the most religious men in Israel were actually keeping people from coming to God. Matthew 23:13 But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from men; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in." A Love of Money. In spite of all the Pharisee s pursuit of holiness, Jesus saw their love of money. Jesus taught in Luke 16:13 "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money, and we are told at vs. 14-15, The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus.
No Honest Seeking of Truth. Instead of honestly investigating the claims of Jesus, the Pharisees only wanted to find something they could accuse Him of: The Scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to question Him closely on many subjects, plotting against Him, to catch Him in something He might say. (Lk. 11:53-54; also Matt. 19:3; 22:15). Beware the Leaven of the Sadducees. The Sadducees did not believe that the soul of man lived on after death. They didn t believe in the resurrection from the dead, or a future reward and punishment in Judgment Day. They also denied the existence of angels and other spirit-beings (Acts 23:8). We read in Matthew 22:23-28 about the Sadducees trying to prove to Jesus that there was no resurrection day. But Jesus told them, You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. (Matt. 22:29). The Old Testament Scriptures did teach that there would be a resurrection of the dead (Job 19:25,26; Isaiah 25:8; 26.19; Daniel 12.2, 13). Jesus said that all who had died were still alive to God (Lk. 20:38). The Sadducees had failed to understand how powerful God was. Did they really believe that the resurrection was impossible for God? The leaven of the Sadducees would influence people to get their minds off of eternity. They didn t live for heaven or fear hell, but only thought of how God s law influences this life. They had a this world only focus. They weren t concerned about the spiritual inner man, because in their opinion it wouldn t survive death. They lived their lives without the hope of the resurrection; the grave would be the end in their view. These false ideas of the Sadducees conflicted with the teaching of Jesus. He would resurrect from the dead and promised that He would raise us from the dead. Beware the Leaven of Herod. Beware the leaven of Herod, (Mk. 8.15). Israel in the time of Christ was occupied and controlled by the Roman Empire. Rome appointed men to rule over various regions of their nation. The Herod family had for decades been appointed to rule over the Jews. Some Jews (such as the Zealots) hated these rulers, while others (sometimes called the Herodians) were perfectly willing for the Jewish nation to accept the reign of the Herod family. Most of the Herods went along with the rituals of the Jews, but almost all of them were ruthless, worldly, sinful people. They loved their connections with Rome and lived like the immoral pagans. The party of Jews known as the Herodians backed the Herod family and were happy to live in the Roman culture. They did not care about a Messiah and were happy to be part of the worldly crowd. Christians must beware of being caught up in a love affair with the world we have to live in the world, but we should never love it and treat it like it is all that matters. Conclusion: In Luke 11 Jesus was rebuking the Pharisees. In Vs. 45 one of the lawyers speaks up. Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, "Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also." Jesus responded: Woe to you lawyers as well! Jesus is saying, If my teaching about them gets on to you, then woe to you too. If the Lord s teaching condemns us as Christians, then woe to us! Bible Quiz 1. What does leaven (yeast) do to dough? (see lesson)
2. Name the three things Jesus mentioned about the kind of leaven He wanted His disciples to beware of. (Matt. 16:6; Mk. 8:15) 3. Part of the leaven of the Pharisees included H (Lk. 12:1) Wanting to be S by M. (Mat 23:5) They trusted that they were R and D others. (Lk. 18:9) Laying aside the commandment of God and holding to the T of men. (Mk. 7:8) 4. According to Luke 16:14, what did the Pharisees love? 5. When the Sadducees said there was no resurrection, Jesus told them, You are mistaken, not understanding the S nor the p of God. (Matt. 22:29).