BEWARE THE LEAVEN

INTRODUCTION

Leaven defined:

Concise Oxford English Dictionary Leaven

■ verb

1 [usually as adjective leavened] cause (dough or bread) to ferment and rise by adding leaven.

2 permeate and modify or transform for the better.

—ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French levain, based on Latin levamen ‘relief’ (literally ‘means of raising’), from levare ‘to lift’.

Luke 12:1 NLT

1 Meanwhile, the crowds grew until thousands were milling about and stepping on each other. Jesus turned first to his disciples and warned them, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees—their hypocrisy.

CONTRASTED WITH THE KINGDOM

Matthew 13:33 (NLT)

33 Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”

PHARISEE-ISM IS A SPIRIT

Matthew 16:5–12 NLT

5 Later, after they crossed to the other side of the lake, the disciples discovered they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 “Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7 At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread. 8 Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “You have so little faith! Why are you arguing with each other about having no bread? 9 Don’t you understand even yet? Don’t you remember the 5,000 I fed with five loaves, and the baskets of leftovers you picked up? 10 Or the 4,000 I fed with seven loaves, and the large baskets of leftovers you picked up? 11 Why can’t you understand that I’m not talking about bread? So again I say, ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’ ” 12 Then at last they understood that he wasn’t speaking about the yeast in bread, but about the deceptive teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

I want to take you to another reference to toxic leaven in Mark.

Mark 8:1–21 (NLT)

1 About this time another large crowd had gathered, and the people ran out of food again. Jesus called his disciples and told them,

2 “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat.

3 If I send them home hungry, they will faint along the way. For some of them have come a long distance.”

4 His disciples replied, “How are we supposed to find enough food to feed them out here in the wilderness?”

5 Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?” “Seven loaves,” they replied.

6 So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to his disciples, who distributed the bread to the crowd.

7 A few small fish were found, too, so Jesus also blessed these and told the disciples to distribute them.

8 They ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food.

9 There were about 4,000 men in the crowd that day, and Jesus sent them home after they had eaten.

10 Immediately after this, he got into a boat with his disciples and crossed over to the region of Dalmanutha.

11 When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had arrived, they came and started to argue with him. Testing him, they demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.

12 When he heard this, he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why do these people keep demanding a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, I will not give this generation any such sign.”

13 So he got back into the boat and left them, and he crossed to the other side of the lake.

14 But the disciples had forgotten to bring any food. They had only one loaf of bread with them in the boat.

15 As they were crossing the lake, Jesus warned them, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.”

16 At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread.

17 Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “Why are you arguing about having no bread? Don’t you know or understand even yet? Are your hearts too hard to take it in?

18 ‘You have eyes—can’t you see? You have ears—can’t you hear?’ Don’t you remember anything at all?

19 When I fed the 5,000 with five loaves of bread, how many baskets of leftovers did you pick up afterward?” “Twelve,” they said.

20 “And when I fed the 4,000 with seven loaves, how many large baskets of leftovers did you pick up?” “Seven,” they said.

21 “Don’t you understand yet?” he asked them.

Jesus is trying to free His disciples from the reason and self-centered systems of this world and introduce them to life in the Kingdom of God.

The leaven of Herod - The worldly political system, the Cosmos. It’s OK to believe in A god, better to believe in many Gods, of which the State is one, but do not bring any other God than state in the relevant matters of live, culture, and society.

The leaven of the Pharisees - The religious system. God is at the center of everything, but, He’s impersonal and powerless.

Not only do fine life in me, and identity in me, and destiny in me, but you fine abundant resources to represent me and establish my Kingdom.