The Corrupting Influence Of Religionists

How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (Matthew 16:11-12 ESV)

Shortly after witnessing a confrontation between Jesus and the religious authorities of they day, the disciples mistakenly assume that Jesus was admonishing them about lack of food when he warned them to “beware of the leaven” of these authorities. Jesus corrects their mistaken assumption and tells them that he was referring to their teaching as “leaven” or yeast.

When making bread, one uses a little bit of yeast, which then reproduces and works it’s way through the entire lump of dough. This metaphor of yeast as being like the teaching of these religious leaders is apt. It only takes a little bit of errant religiosity to work it’s way through the entire institution and corrupt the entire thing.

I had a conversation recently with a man who indicated that he struggled as a child with organized religion. What’s funny is that Jesus’ harshest criticism was not directed at ordinary sinners such as unchaste women, or dishonest tax collectors but instead was leveled at religionists. In fact, Jesus usually welcomed the sinners and rejected the religionists. Sinners often know their lives aren’t what they should be. Religionists often don’t because the teachings of their religion become a functional god to them, obscuring their view of God himself and of their need for a savior.

In the case of the religious authorities of Jesus’ day, they missed the long awaited Messiah promised in their religious texts because they had allowed some of this leaven to work it’s way through their entire system. I think that we should probably heed the same warning ourselves and make sure that our institutions haven’t had leaven work through them in the same way. Are the teachings of your faith more important than the object of your faith?