The disciples never saw Jesus rebuke them to a shocking extent. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod!” The disciples heard these words and thought the Lord was looking for bread which they left behind. Since they did not understand the motive of the Lord’s heart, they could not empathize with His feelings.
The Lord’s concern was not about the flesh. “If the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, Sadducees and Herodians spread like yeast, it will surely eat away at the disciples and the future church. Can the disciples overcome this? Can they properly teach and train the next generation so that they do not fall into temptation?” The Lord’s heart was deeply frustrated with this concern.
Hypocrisy is like a small amount of yeast which affects the whole loaf. When the Israelites came out of Egypt, God made them throw away all their yeast, and even told them to cut off from Israel those who ate bread with yeast in it. In the same way, if we are Christians who left the world and became members of the church, we must throw away the yeast-like mentality and attitudes of the world.
The yeast of the Pharisees is false faith. Everyone must acknowledge that they are sinners and bow before God in order to live. Those who assert that they are righteous have no room for Lord’s salvation. They continue to decay from the inside (since it is neglected), and this hypocritical attitude is completely opposite to the Gospel.
The yeast of the Sadducees is materialism. Since they did not believe in the immortality of the spirit and the important thing for them was the reality of this earth, their lives were completely led by the flesh. They did the work of the temple and enjoyed life as nobles, but they behaved in every way they wanted and corrupted many people.
The yeast of the Herodians is opportunism, where they sold the sincerity of their faith for power. When the people were in trouble, King Herod and those around him sold them to promote their own success. This behavior reappears today - as people try to take advantage of the church when it is in trouble and profit from it.
These yeasts are wrapped and concealed as hypocrisy. They are displayed in people who do not empathize with the Lord’s feelings. Those who overlook the sinfulness inside them eventually become insensitive to the Lord’s grace (who saved them from their sins). Moreover, they do not feel the need to change themselves. They cannot empathize with God’s feelings and are governed by the lust of the flesh. Since they received love, they should share it. But because they only seek their own gain, they try to solve this gap with hypocrisy, and when the time comes, they are even ready to attack the church.
Let’s build a church without yeast. Since the Lord wants to give us His love, let’s understand His motive by the Holy Spirit and empathize with His feelings. Let’s acknowledge our sinfulness and change ourselves by God’s word. Let’s throw away the way of thinking we had in the world, and rebuild it through education in faith. Let’s not pretend to be clean while we are filthy inside, but let’s uncover our nakedness before the Lord. Let’s understand the Lord’s plan and build a church which shares His feelings with others.
(Lord’s Day Service on August 15, 2021)
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