Beware not to use the wrong leaven! (Luke 12:1-12)

I love a tasty spongy loaf of bread! I love the smell of it, freshly baked out of the oven! I am not a good baker but I have known and know people who have this skill! As a young child, I occasionally went to visit my grandmother, who lived in a house attached to a home belonging to one of my uncle’s. At that time, the trip from where I lived took us a day’s journey as we had to ride on horses for transportation. My heart was full of joy whenever we made the journey!.

My uncle was always good to me and to my brother and sister. We grew up fatherless and he was the only father figure I can refer to. I loved visiting and hanging out with my cousins! we had such a great time playing and working together! One of the things I enjoyed the most was about my uncle’s wife’s baking! She baked the best bread! I can still remember the aroma and would love to have her bread again!

Our passage is from the book of Luke 12:1-12. Jesus is warning the disciples about using the wrong kind of leaven! The disciples were being trained to spread the Gospel, which is the bread of life! The Word of God says that we are disciples of Christ therefore the warning is for all of us! On our previous blog we spoke about Jesus’s disapproval of the pharisees and the teachers of the law. He spoke against their reliance on rituals and the strict practice of the law. Their lack of love for God and their selfishness made them unable to truly represent God to others.

As we begin to read in verse one, we are told how important this was for Jesus as there were thousands of people demanding His attention. They were trampling on each other but He was focusing on making sure that His disciples would get this message across. He wanted them to know  how critical it was to rely on the right message, to stand up for it and to not be led or lead others astray.

He said:”Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” Remember who we said were the Pharisees of our day? It is in our previous blog. He follows by saying don’t think that what is spread in secret is kept in secret. It always comes out and spreads. The wrong Gospel misleads.

I say to you my friends, don’t be afraid of those that disagree with the Gospel of Salvation! Those who hate you because of me. They might be able to kill your body but they are not able to destroy your soul for you are eternal! I will tell you who to be affraid of. Be affraid of God the Father, for He is able to cast you into Hell, which is eternal condemnation!

As you fear to do what is right in God’s eyes, you must remember also that He loves you! The world tells you the value of a sparrow, right? Their assigned price is five sparrows for two cents but God cares about each one of them individually! Can you conceive that He knows how many hairs are on your head? Don’t be afraid! He values you more than many sparrows!

I tell you, all  of you who are not afraid of confessing  the truth about Me before men, I will confess you before the Angels of God. They will assist you. If you deny Me before man, I will also deny you before the Angels of God. Don’t count on their help.

You may say bad things about Me for that means you do not know me. It will be forgiven you. If you claim to know Me and the Father and are misleading people by proclaiming the wrong Gospel, The wrong message, leading by hypocrisy! Beware! This is a blasphemy against the Holy spirit! This will not be forgiven you!

As you encounter tribulations because of My name, when you are being persecuted by those who do not agree with This Gospel and when they accuse you in front of the synagogues and the rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you are to respond in your defense. Rely on the Holy Spirit. He will be with you and will provide the words you are to say at that very hour!

The above verses are not translated word by word but are the interpretation I believe I am seeing today. What drives this view is a key sentence at the beginning of this chapter: “Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy.” The urgency that Jesus is placing on this teaching and the previous scripture which tells us about Jesus’s disagreement with the Pharisees in regards to their misguided practices.

A very important part of the Scripture that I can see here is also that above all God cares and knows exactly why we do what we do because of His intimate knowledge of who we are! No thought, or motive is hidden from Him! Thanks God for that! For Jesus is our only judge and at the end, It is He who has the key for our eternal destination!