Beware - 2

6 hours ago

3 min read

Without any introduction or any other ado, we plunge straight into our burning desire, to receive all that is being brought to us, from this warning of Jesus to beware of the yeast of our leaders.

Then He charged them saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. Mark 8: 15.

Having been shown that we face teachings from two kinds of names or titles, Pharisees and Herod, and two kinds of leaders, namely the secular and the sacred, we continue on.

We face leaven, from two kinds of teachings. There are teachings of the Word of God, as ruled down by the Pharisees. They are the religious people who represent Israel’s One God. Their business is to administer, rule, judge and punish, according to the laws of Moses. There are teachings of the World of Caesar, as ruled down by Herod. He is the secular person who represents the Roman gods. His business is to administer, rule, judge and punish, according to the Roman laws of the land.

Take heed, beware! Teachings of both kinds are misleading. Be very attuned!

We have been warned! We have no excuse of any kind whatsoever to be trapped on any side. Jesus placed the Pharisees, the religious leaders of His day, in the same category as Herod, the non-religious leader of His day.

Pharisees, keep themselves apart from all who are not following the law as they do. They see themselves as the righteous ones, yet Jesus denounces them with passion and precision. Beware of their leaven, says Jesus. And lest one has the idea that secular leaders are different, note how Jesus lumps them all together. Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.

Who can deny, refute or gainsay the wisdom of Jesus? He is not just All-Wise, but He is All-Truth. Jesus has charged all His disciples, all those who are under His tuition, to take heed and beware of both the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod. Beware of the Spiritual leaders who teach the Word and the secular leader who teaches the world. Both are to be shunned.

Jesus never gave His disciples, nor you and me, His followers and learners, a choice between the secular and the sacred, the Word and the world, the religious and the irreligious. Beware of both. We are not even given to consider, think about or even try to make some kind of value judgments between them. No! Absolutely not! We are warned to beware of them both.

In plain, bold, visible letters, the sign says, ‘Beware of the dogs’. There are pictures posted of the dogs. One dog is huge, with a mean, ferocious face. The other dog is smaller, with a more inviting, innocent face. However you interpret the pictures, read and heed the sign. ‘Beware of the dogs.’ They are both equally dangerous, regardless of how they appear to you. The same is true of some religious leaders and secular leaders, those who expound the word and those who expound the world. Both are equally dangerous.