Beware of the Leaven
Floyd Steverson
TEXT: Mark 8:14-21
The disciples of Jesus were privileged to witness the Son of God perform
miracles, signs, and wonders as He ministered to the people. Yet, their faith
was not yet firmly rooted in God. Where is your faith today? In the things of
the world...money, houses, cars, land? Or is your faith rooted in the work of
God? Let's take a look at what Jesus was revealing to His disciples in the boat
that day.
THE FIRST MISTAKE
As Jesus and the disciples were sailing across the Sea of Galilee, He began to
charge them by saying, "beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the
leaven of Herod." The disciples immediately began to reason, not by the
word of God, not by the teachings of Jesus, not even by their own witness to the
miracles and power of God, but by their own fleshly reasoning. Jesus confronted
them with spiritual truth and they were reasoning in the flesh. This was their
first mistake. It is also the mistake that many within the church are making
today. We have the witness of the Word and power of God, yet our faith fails us
because we attempt to rationalize in our own reasoning. We cannot fathom the
things of God on an earthly plane, but must follow by faith in the precious Word
of God. The Word of God must become our truth and our reasoning. We must begin
to believe the Word of God and act accordingly.
John 3:12
The disciples had began to reason on a "natural" level, when in fact,
Jesus charging them with a "supernatural" truth. They were concerned
about bread, or earthly things, and Jesus was teaching them to discern the
spiritual things.
Luke 12:29-32
We are to seek first the Kingdom of God, trusting our heavenly Father to meet
our needs. We are to be about our Father's business. Our priority is in the
spiritual things.
THE TEST OF FAITH
There are times when we will all go through a test of faith. It is during these
seasons that faith is built and we learn to trust in God.
John 6:1-14
Jesus tested the faith of His disciples before He performed the miracle of the
feeding of five thousand. He gave them an opportunity to grow in their faith.
Notice that the Scripture states that Jesus already knew what He planned to do,
yet He still gave the disciples the chance to demonstrate their faith. V.7)
Phillip tells Jesus that even if they had a great sum of money, they couldn't
help the people. Andrew sees the answer, but his faith wavers and doubt takes
over. He did not comprehend the power of faith in Jesus Christ. What is this
faith? Hebrews 11:1 Faith is believing God for things not yet seen. It also is
our hope that rests in Jesus Christ alone. Jesus takes this little boys lunch,
gave thanks unto God for the provision, and began to multiply the loaves and the
fish until there was not only enough, but an abundance. There were twelve
baskets of leftovers - one for each doubting disciple.
THE LEAVEN
Having witnessed the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand, and also the
feeding of the four thousand, among the other many miracles of God they had
witnessed, how could the disciples doubt the power of God? How could they reason
among themselves about such a thing as bread? Having been a part of the ministry
of our Lord, how was it they still did not discern the spiritual truths that
Jesus conveyed to them? It was because of the leaven of the Pharisees and of
Herod that Jesus was charging them about. I believe that Jesus discerned that
this leaven was beginning to seep into the lives of His disciples. He was
warning them to purify themselves from this leaven.
What is the leaven that Jesus spoke about?
1.. The leaven of the Pharisees - religious hypocrisy
1 John 2:9-10
Doctrinal truth about spiritual matters means nothing without compassion for
others. The word "hateth" simply means "fail to love."
He who truly loves walks in the light of God. He does not stumble; nor does he
cause others to stumble.
2 Timothy 3:5
Religious hypocrisy also entails denying the power of God. Having a "form
of Godliness", or a religious spirit, but denying the work and power of God
for this present age.
2.. The leaven of Herod - secularism
King Herod aligned himself and his family with the Roman government and was
appointed ruler over his people. He compromised himself with the world. He was
worldly and sinful. When Jesus warned the disciple to beware of the leaven of
Herod, He was in fact warning them about the sin of secularism, or worldliness.
2 Corinthians 6:17-18
Allowing the "leaven" of hypocrisy or worldliness in our lives will
destroy faith and cloud our discernment of spiritual things. We cannot operate
in the power of God when this "leaven" consumes us.
1 Corinthians 5:6-7
Allowing sin to remain in our lives will destroy the work that God is trying to
do. It removes us from the blessing of God. All things will be revealed, great
and small, no sin should remain. It only takes a small amount of leaven to
leaventh the whole lump.
There is a remedy for this leaven. There is a way to rid ourselves of the
besetting sin that holds us back from going forward in God. 1 John 2:1-2
Call upon the Name of Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to purge you of every bit
of "leaven." Open up your heart to Jesus and be cleansed and made
whole. Allow faith to rise up within you and believe God to perform a mighty
work in your life. He stands at the threshold and waits for those with a willing
and sincere heart.
(C) by Floyd Steverson, all rights reserved.
Floyd Steverson
New Life Assembly of God
floydsteverson@prodigy.net
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