When Jesus and His disciples were on the coast of the sea of Galilee, just after having put the Pharisees and the Sadducees in their place for desiring a sign from Him, he told His disciples, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees” (Matt. 16:6). As was often the case with those hearing Jesus speak, they went off in the wrong direction concerning their understanding. They reasoned among themselves that it was because they had brought no bread along with them (Matt. 16:7). Jesus reminded them that those physical needs were not really that important since He could feed them as He did the multitudes earlier (Matt. 16:8-11). The text then says, “Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees” (Matt. 16:12). The warning that Jesus was giving was concerning false doctrine. There are a number of points we could make along these lines, but let us at least note a couple.
First, the very figure Jesus used, that of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees being as leaven, makes a great lesson that needs to be understood. Earlier, when Jesus taught the multitudes by the sea side, one of the parables He used consisted of just one verse. Matthew 13:33 says, “Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened”. This is another reference to leaven and in this one we see one of the qualities of leaven that will have a great bearing on destruction possible from just a little false teaching. Like leaven, false doctrine can spread and spread until, as with the leaven the woman used, the whole has been affected and in the case of false doctrine, defiled and corrupted. When false teaching occurs, one cannot just look the other way, thinking that if it is not confronted, it will just go away. Paul wrote, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Eph. 5:11). To the Romans Paul wrote, “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple” (Rom. 16:17-18). Like leaven in bread dough, false teaching will spread until it consumes the whole mass. Jesus had earlier warned, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matt. 7:15). Paul told the Ephesian elders, “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:29-30).
A second important lesson that we might note from this text is that it only takes a little to make the whole thing wrong. When Eve was tempted in the garden of paradise by the serpent, most of what the serpent said was truth. The serpent was correct in saying God would not allow them to eat of every tree of the garden. The serpent was correct when he told her that if she ate of that forbidden fruit, her eyes would be open and she would know good and evil. But, the serpent was not correct when he said that upon eating of that forbidden fruit, “Ye shall not surely die” (Gen. 3:4). In fact, four of those five words were truth, but that one little word “not” made it false. It has been said that a stopped clock is right twice a day. Most every religious group on the face of the planet earth has some truth in their doctrine. However, it does not all have to be wrong for the doctrine as a whole to be wrong. During that first century of Christianity, the inspired writers warned that there would be false teachers that would spread false doctrine. We have already noted Acts 20:29-30. Paul told Timothy, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith…” (I Tim. 4:1). The apostle Peter in his second epistle warned, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways…(II Peter 2:1-2). These prophecies came to pass with the second century bringing the beginning of a mass apostasy from God’s original way, one which led to a church that no longer even resembled the one true church that Christ built. That church came to be known as the Roman Catholic Church. Centuries later devout men began an attempt to step completely aside from all those man made changes from God’s pattern and restore the church as given by God. Yet, there remains much of the corruption that was brought about by those originally small deviations from God’s word. Friends, heed the warning and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, or in other words the false doctrines and teachings of man, no matter how devout they may appear, for otherwise destruction will follow. (Send any questions or comments to: rcoliver@centurylink.net)