Jesus warned us to “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees” (Matthew 16:6 KJV)? What did He mean by that?
The Pharisees and Sadducees were Jewish religious groups of Jesus’ day. You can find more information about the Pharisees here and the Sadducees here.
The Pharisees and Sadducees disagreed on several teachings (Acts 23:8). But, they also had some teachings and behavior in common. We will illustrate their common beliefs and practices from stories about the Pharisees. (We have fewer stories about the Sadducees.)
First, the Pharisees believed that following rules gave them favor with God. One way that the Pharisees thought they gained favor with God was frequent fasting (Matthew 9:14). One Pharisee boasted to God in his prayer, “I fast two days every week!” (Luke 18:12). He was not accepted.
Second, the Pharisees thought they gained favor with God by absurdly detailed use of God’s Law. For example, one time the followers of Jesus rolled some grains of wheat between their hands and ate it. The Pharisees accused them of breaking the Law. Why? Because they harvested on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:2)!
Third, the Pharisees tried to gain favor with God by giving money or possessions. They would even give ten percent even of the herbs from their gardens. Yet, they neglected other even more important commands (Matthew 23:23).
Fourth, the Pharisees believed their religious traditions more than they believed God’s word. Isn’t that odd? They had made self serving rules which sometimes required doing the opposite of what God’s word said to do (Matthew 15:3-9)!
Fifth, the Pharisees made rules like fatawah (fatwahs) for others to follow, too. These rules became a terrible weight for the Jews who who followed them. Jesus said, “They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.” (Matthew 23:4 BEREAN)
Sixth, the Pharisees trusted the wrong things to make them clean before God. They trusted that washing, purity, and dietary rules made them clean on the inside. Here are some examples:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.” (Matthew 23:25 BEREAN)
“Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand. A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”” (Matthew 15:10-11 BEREAN)
These verses make it clear that physical washing and dietary rules do not make us pure on the inside. Purity of the heart is what we need before God. Only the washing by God’s Holy Spirit can do that (Ezekiel 36:25-27; Ephesians 5:26; Titus 3:5).
Al Masih says that cleaning the outside of our bodies, or even being careful about what we eat cannot make us pure inside.
Seventh, the Pharisees became hypocrites. The belief that our submission earns God’s favor will lead to hypocrisy. This is because no one is able to keep all the man-made rules. How much less are we able to keep all God’s laws completely? So people who think they must obey the rules pretend to be more in submission to God than they really are. Jesus called this hypocrisy. Jesus hates it: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!…” (Matthew 23:23)
For example, some of the Sadducees and Pharisees pretended to repent of their sins. They came to John the Baptizer (Yaya) to be baptized because it had become popular in the culture. John rebuked them. “But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his place of baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?” (Matthew 3:7 BEREAN). He called them deadly snakes!
Eighth, though they claimed to submit to God, they resisted Him.
“Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came and tested Jesus by asking Him to show them a sign from heaven.” (Matthew 16:1 BEREAN). Later, the Pharisees and Sadducees took turns testing Jesus, trying to catch Him in a fault or mistake. They did not do this because they wanted to know if Jesus was truly al Masih. They tested Him because they didn’t want to believe, even though He gave them plenty of evidence.
Our Muslim friends make the same mistakes that the Pharisees and Sadducees made.
Pretending to submit to God when your heart is not submitted to Him is a deadly game. It will send you to hell fire. Resisting al Masih will also send you to hell fire. No one prospers who rejects His deity. He said, “That is why I told you that you would die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”” (John 8:24 BEREAN)
The Pharisees boasted about their many good works, but these were not enough to please God. Jesus, al Masih warned us: “For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20 BEREAN). How then can anyone receive forgiveness and go to Paradise? This is how: God gives us His righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ, God’s Son. God said this clearly through one of Al Masih’s apostles. “But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, as attested by the Law and the Prophets. And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Romans 3:21-22 BEREAN).
My dear friend, leave behind the deadly leaven of the Pharisees! Jesus Himself has warned you! Trust in Jesus, al Masih, the Son of God to save you from your sins. Here is the promise from God:
“that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord [God],” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved. It is just as the Scripture says: “Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: The same Lord is Lord of all, and gives richly to all who call on Him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”” (Romans 10:9-13 BEREAN, explanatory brackets added)