In today’s Gospel Reading Jesus tells his disciples to be aware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Leaven is typically yeast, which is added to dough to make it rise. Without it, dough would stay flat. It is obvious that Christ is using figurative language in order to explain a point. In other words, Christ has no interest in the cooking habits of the Pharisees and Sadducees. So then, what does Christ mean? Leaven makes the dough to rise. Yeast is an active organism that brings the dough to life—making it come alive. Similarly, the law, the rules and regulations of Judaism, were the “yeast” of Pharisees and Sadducees. It is what made them come alive, rather than the living God Himself. A relationship with Jehovah-God was not the priority for these spiritual rulers of Israel. It was rather following and keeping all the rules and laws. The law, which was suppose to aid the Jewish person in becoming closer to God, eventually became a form of legalism. God’s expectation in giving the law was for the Jewish people to use it as an “aid” or sort of “support system” to get closer to Him, change their lives, and avoid sin. But what occurred was the law became their God.
