Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees

Daily Devotional – Thursday, March 24, 2022

Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Luke 12:1 (NKJV)

Mandazi, a delicacy in East African cuisine, is “a small cake made of sweetened dough friend in oil, usually triangular in shape and eaten as a snack or as an accompaniment to other dishes.” (Lexico.com).

For many people, size of mandazi matters – the bigger, the better. Unscrupulous individuals often serve larger-than-normal mandazi, which are hollow inside. There is barely no ‘flesh’ to bite in the cake.

Leaven – A Symbol of Sin

In essence, some mandazis present a false picture. What you see is an enticing façade. Once inside, you realize there is no value for money. What contributes to this situation is the presence and amount of yeast in the mandazi.

In ancient Israel, yeast was called leaven. It was a symbol of sin. Because the Lord had asked the Israelites to eat unleavened bread on the Passover night, the Israelites celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread every year.

Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees

Jesus also talked about leaven, for example in relation to the religious teachers of His time. He told His hearers, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” (Luke 12:1). Jesus described them as follows:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (Matthew 23:27-28).

Get Rid of the Leaven of Hypocrisy and Sin

Like oversized mandazi, Pharisees were attractive on the outside but hollow inside. The leaven of hypocrisy and sin was working in them. They rejected correction and were not willing to forsake their self-righteousness to follow Jesus.

We, too, are in danger of becoming modern-day Pharisees. Instead of putting up a show of holiness for others, we must allow God to remove the leaven of sin from our hearts. The Holy Spirit must replace hypocrisy in our hearts.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, dwell in me through the Holy Spirit. Purge sin and hypocrisy from my life.