~ Pharisees – Sadducees – Herod ~
Key Scriptures ~ “When
they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. ‘Be careful,’ Jesus said to them. ‘Be on
your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees’’ (Matthew
16:5-6). In the Gospel of Mark we read,
“The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with
them in the boat. ‘Be careful,’ Jesus
warned them. ‘Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod’” (Mark
8:14-15).
Pharisees ~ The Pharisees were a group of
separatists which for the most part had sound teaching. Their major problem was a familiar problem which
continues to exist today, they were mostly form with little substance. This in turn allowed a lax approach to
morality. They were also proud and
self-righteous.
The Bible
considers the Pharisees to be as bad as the Sadducees. “But when he saw
many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, ‘Brood
of vipers! Who warned you to flee from
the wrath to come?’” (Matthew 3:7).
Sadducees ~ It is interesting to note that a
number of Sadducees were among the elders of the Sanhedrin. The Sadducees also
did not believe in angels.
Someone has mentioned that they were “Sad-you-sees” because they did not
believe in the resurrection (Matthew 22:23).
Therefore they had good reason to be sad! Even the Apostle Paul agreed that if the
resurrection was not a fact then they should indeed be miserable. “But tell me this!
Since you believe what we preach, that Christ rose from the dead, why
are some of you saying that dead people will never come back to life
again? For if there is no resurrection
of the dead, then Christ must still be dead.
And if he is still dead, then all
our preaching is useless and your trust in God is empty, worthless, hopeless;
and we apostles are all liars because we have said that God raised Christ from
the grave, and of course that isn’t true if the dead do not come back to life
again. If they don’t, then Christ is
still dead, and you are very foolish to keep on trusting God to save you, and
you are still under condemnation for your sins; in that case, all Christians
who have died are lost! And if being a Christian is of value to us only
now in this life, we are the most miserable of creatures. But the fact is
that Christ did actually rise from the dead and has become the first of millions who will
come back to life again someday” (1 Corinthians 15:12-20 TLB).
Like the
Pharisees, the Sadducees were in strong opposition to our Savior and His
teachings.
Herod ~ It is not entirely clear to this
writer why Herod is included in this passage.
It may be as some have concluded that Herod had similar beliefs as the
Pharisees. For example, the Pharisees
demanded a sign from heaven and we know that Herod desired to personally
witness a miracle. “Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he
had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about
Him, and he hoped to see some miracle
done by Him” (Luke 23:8). One thing we know for sure is that the Bible
classifies Herod as evil. Both the
Pharisees and Herod were not convinced or satisfied by the things Jesus had
done.
The Bottom Line ~ How about you? Are you willing to accept the Word of God and
its incredible numerous eyewitness accounts of who Jesus Christ is?
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW
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