Scripture Notes: The Leaven of the Pharisees (Luke 12)

Jesus never hesitated to call people out, to get to the very heart of what was holding them back spiritually, to identify their sins and faults and failings. He always did it out of love, of course, but often it was what we call “tough love.” If we’re going to repent of our sins and change our ways, then we have to recognize our sins, and we aren’t always very good at doing that. What’s more, our sins can and do affect other people, causing scandal and leading those around us astray, so sometimes Jesus had to issue stern warnings, especially about the sins of religious leaders.

This is exactly what Jesus was doing in Luke 12. He was surrounded by crowds, so many people that they were actually stepping on each other, trying to get close enough to hear Jesus or even touch Him and be healed. Yet the Pharisees were especially sharp in their opposition and their challenges to Jesus, and they were not acting out of a genuine concern for others but out of their own pride. And Jesus knew it.

This is why He spoke up, saying, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” The Pharisees were strong religious leaders among the Jews. People listened to them, for they seemed to have their spiritual acts together. They followed the right rituals and insisted on obedience to God’s law. They tried to set themselves apart from the crowd through their purity and devotion. But Jesus knew their hearts. Inside, these Pharisees were proud. Their actions served to boost their egos. They looked great on the outside, but inside they were a spiritual mess.  

This is why the Pharisees resisted Jesus. He called them to true devotion, to leave behind the show they were putting on and really embrace God and His will for their lives. He challenged their pride, showing them that they weren’t really as great as they thought they were, pushing them to recognize their sins and faults, to repent and to change their ways. And they hated it! They didn’t think there was anything wrong with them. In fact, they thought they were just right with God. Jesus was quick to tell them otherwise. After all, He would know.

We, too, have to be very careful about hypocrisy. Just as the Pharisees could spread their faulty ideas to others, we can catch the hypocrisy of the world around us, a world that so often focuses on empty show. We can end up looking really good on the outside but being a mess inside. We can be hypocrites, just like the Pharisees, and we can infect others with our own sins. So let us pray to our Lord and ask Him to help us clean up our spiritual mess so that our insides match our outsides and our whole being is immersed in Him.