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The Leaven Of The Pharisees
November 15, 2009
Jesus said that their hypocrisy made the Pharisees a leavening agent for their religious community. By saying one thing and doing another, they corrupted the position of authority that they held, and set an example of corruption to the common people. Traditional, man-made doctrine corrupts the purity of God's word, causing chaos and confusion among the people.
Bernie Parsons
The Leaven Of
The Pharisees
By
Bernie Parsons
Presented to Globe church of Christ on 11-15-2009
Luke 12:1 “In the mean time, when there were
gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they
trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all,
Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”
Leavening spreads quickly throughout the entire batch of dough to cause it
all to rise. A little produces a large piece of bread or a cake. Jesus
observed that the leavening of the Pharisees was their hypocrisy. Why would
He teach His disciples this? Because, since they were the religious
teachers, their hypocrisy had infected the entire Jewish community.
Jesus had few criticisms of the ordinary people He reserved the most and
harshest criticism for the religious leaders. One of His chief criticisms
was their hypocrisy. What is hypocrisy? According to Merriam-Webster online,
it is:
1
: a feigning to be what one is not
or to believe what one does not; especially
: the false assumption of an
appearance of virtue or religion
If a religious person pretends to be one thing, but is another, or pretends
to believe a certain thing, but believes another, he or she is a hypocrite.
Unfortunately, the majority of the Jewish leaders in the time of Christ were
hypocrites.
Luke 11:37 “And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with
him: and he went in, and sat down to meat
38 And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed
before dinner.
39 And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of
the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and
wickedness.
40 Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is
within also?
41 But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things
are clean unto you.”
The Pharisees were shallow, making their religious hypocrisy obvious to
casual observation. The Law of Moses contained no commandment about washing
hands before eating. Washing was only commanded for health reasons, such as
when one handled the sick or a dead animal, or when the priests prepared to
offer sacrifices. The Jews’ tradition had been turned into doctrine.
Because that they ignored God’s deeper intentions, replacing them with their
own made up rules, Jesus pronounced a serious of woes on them. A woe is an
instance of calamity or terrible trouble.
Luke 11:42 ”But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all
manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye
to have done, and not to leave the other undone.”
Tithing was demanded of the Israelites, so there was nothing wrong with
that. However, the Pharisees were so finicky about the tithes that even the
small herbs had to be tithed. Yet, when it came to determining the
facts in cases brought before them, they fell short. Furthermore, when it
came to the love that God expected of them, they were lacking. It makes no
sense to split hairs over the technical aspects of what God wants us to do,
and then ignore the spiritual depth of His expectations. They kept the
letter of the Law of Moses, but missed the intent.
Matthew 23:24
“Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.”
Matthew related those words of Jesus in connection with the above. God’s
teachers must not strive over small things and exclude the larger aspects of
godly living.
Luke 11:43 “Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the
synagogues, and greetings in the markets.”
Instead of serving the people, the Pharisees lorded over them. They loved
the prestige, the honor and glory of men.
Matthew 23:5 "But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make
broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the
synagogues,
7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all
ye are brethren.
9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which
is in heaven.
10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.
11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall
humble himself shall be exalted."
Luke 11:44 “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as
graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of
them.”
Matthew went into more detail on this, which also corresponds to what we
read in Luke 11:39.
Matthew 23:27 “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are
like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are
within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.”
While giving the illusive appearance of righteousness on the outside, inside
they were unclean. They were like whitewashed tombs that glistened cleanly
outward, but hid all manner of decay and disease within. Spiritually, these
religious leaders were decayed. They had lost touch with the spirit behind
the laws that God had given the Israelites.
Luke 11:45 “Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master,
thus saying thou reproachest us also.”
The Pharisees were similar to church elders today. They provided leadership
to the people, interacting with them face to face, answering their
questions. The scribes, or lawyers, studied the word of God to determine
what it actually taught. This lawyer was offended by Jesus’ words, because
they were an indictment of the leadership class and the scribes who backed
them.
Luke 11:46 “And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with
burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with
one of your fingers.”
The lawyers fed their determinations of the law to the Pharisee leaders, who
laid the burdens upon the people. The lawyers had apparently descended into
the minutiae of the law, emphasizing minor details and incorporating their
traditions into the doctrines. However, according to Jesus, they did not
think it important to keep the very rules that they advocated.
Luke 11:47 “Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and
your fathers killed them.
48 Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they
indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres.”
That generation apparently constructed tombs for the dead prophets,
yet their very own ancestors had killed those prophets. By building those
tombs, it was as if they condoned what their forefathers had done.
Luke 11:49 “Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets
and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:
50 That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of
the world, may be required of this generation;
51 From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias which perished between
the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of
this generation.”
Jesus knew that the very same people who were obsessing over minute details
of the law and injecting traditions as doctrines would soon be trying to
murder His apostles and teachers. Not only that, but they would be killing
the son of God Himself!
Luke 11:52 “Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of
knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye
hindered.”
John 5:39 “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life:
and they are they which testify of me.
40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”
John 1:11 “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”
Jesus pronounced a calamity upon the lawyers because they had the education
and the knowledge, yet had abused it. While quibbling about technicalities
and traditions, they overlooked the fact that Jesus was the promised
Messiah. Not only did they reject Him and the kingdom of God, they were an
obstacle to those who did try to receive Jesus and enter it.
In this way, the leavening of the Pharisees was spread to the populace at
large.
We have a similar problem in our time. Today, too many preachers and
students of the Bible obsess over the technicalities and the small details.
They often use their own thoughts as doctrine. Or, many times, they use
someone else’s made-up doctrine that has been handed down from generation to
generation. This tradition is often taught as doctrine and held as sacred,
even if it contradicts what the Bible actually teaches.
Just like the self-righteous Pharisees, they want to be admired as Master
teachers of the Bible, claiming to possess all of the truth. Yet, because of
this haughty stance, they also block others from learning the actual truth
by insisting that they are always right.
2 Timothy 3:2 "For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous,
boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent,
fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn
away.
6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly
women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the
truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.
9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest to
all men, as their's also was."
Always studying, digging, quibbling, arguing, quarreling – but never able to
understand the truth. Unfortunately, they can, and do, lead others astray.
