Others Centered

The Leaven of the Pharisees

We went through Mark 8 today in Church and Jesus said in verse 15

“Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

The Pharisees were the religious leaders of the day while Herod was the political leader. I am going to focus on the religious side here but you can read my thoughts on the political side here.

The Disciples were once again clueless when Jesus spoke these words to them thinking He was talking about actual bread since they forgot to take some with them on the boat as they crossed the sea. Jesus was referring to the leaven of their false teaching and unbelief. He had just finished a conversation with them where they asked for a sign to be given to them from Heaven so they might believe in Him. We know from Matthew’s gospel that the only sign they would receive would be the sign of Jonah meaning his death and resurrection after three days.

I think we can take heed in America today to Jesus’ warning to the Disciples. The “religious leaders” today are putting leaven into the Church and it is corrupting the Church here in America. It is astonishing how widespread unbelief and false teaching are in our Churches. Pastors, Reverends, and Priests are teaching that the Bible is not the inspired Word of God, that Jesus did not really say the things we read in the Bible, that there are many paths that lead up the mountain, that a “loving God” would never send anyone to Hell, that God condones homosexual marriage, that good works can earn a spot in Heaven, and so on.

The level of corruption and false teaching has turned so many people against “religion” and it is no surprise. We see wolves dressed up as Pastors telling people seeking answers to send in their money and their prayers will be answered only to find out that they were using that money to buy nice cars, fancy houses, and extravagant lifestyles. They are using people’s desire for help to get rich. We hear about Church leaders sexually abusing young boys while teaching the congregation on Sunday telling them to be good people but everyone recognizes that as “leaven”.

Almost more dangerous is the subtle leaven that has crept into the Church today. Churches don’t want to offend so they give warm sermons on how God loves us all the way we are. Churches are teaching that we don’t need to change because God would never send good people to Hell. All we need to do is be kind and everything is fine. They skip over the passages of the Bible that are uncomfortable or might offend people because they want people to attend their services. They tickle the ears of churchgoers but they are sending them to destruction.

Matthew 7:221-23 says:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”

“Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’”

“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”

People go to Church every Sunday but they do not “know” Jesus. They hear some things about Him and think He was a good person but they do not know Him as the Way, the Truth, and the Life, as their Savior. Jesus asked Peter who he thought He was later on in Mark 8 and Peter said, “You are the Christ.” or the Messiah. False teachers in the Church have dropped this message because it seems intolerant of other faiths, closed minded, and mean but the Bible is clear.

Romans tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We are all sinners, none of us are good, and the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. While we were sinners, Christ (God in the flesh) came down to us to live a perfect life for us and die the death we deserve. He rose from the dead three days later defeating sin allowing us that free gift of God through His grace. Romans 10:9 says:

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

This is what the Church needs to be teaching. It is God’s kindness that leads us to repentance and it is through that repentance of our sins that we can accept the free gift of salvation. Christianity is that simple. There are no “rules” or “restrictions” but total freedom. It is not a bunch of stuff that you have to do to get to Heaven but stuff that you will naturally want to do because we will want to do God’s will when we realize how much He does love us. John 3:16 tells us that God loves us so much that He came down to Earth to take our death penalty so that anyone who believes in Him will have eternal life. He did all the work for us.

Back to Mark 9 in verses 34 and 35, Jesus went on to tell the Disciples that to follow after Him, they must deny themselves and take up their cross. Christianity is so far removed from human nature. Jesus told us to deny ourselves and put others first. When Jesus took His cross, He did it for the entire world out of love. It was a sacrifice but the Bible tells us He did it gladly with joy. The cross isn’t a burden but a sacrifice to tell those how much God does love them and all He desires from us is to give us our lives so He can save us. Verse 35 says whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for His sake and the gospel’s sake will save it.

Chapter 9 of Mark ends with verse 38:

“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”