Beware the Leven of the Pharisees... Lest you be cut off from Israel (?)

[Bismarck]

There is a connection between the Crucifiction of the Messiah and Passover. The Crucifiction was brought about by the errant teachings of the Sadducees and Pharisees — the Jewish religious leaders at that time. They interpreted Scripture, the Torah, in such a way as to justify their Crucifiction of the Messiah. The claim and allegation of Christianity, of course, is that they errantly interpreted Scripture, and that "sinful" (=errant, wrong) interpretation of Scripture lead to a "sinful" (=errant, wrong) act. I understand that the Messiah poetically called these errant interpretations of the Sadducees and Pharisees "leaven":

Mt 16:6,11-12
Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees… How is it that ye do not understand that I spake [it] not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade [them] not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

This reference to "leaven" further connects to Passover, the Feast of Un-leavened Bread, when the Jews are forbidden to eat leaven:

Exodus 12:15
Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.

Is there a connection here?

 

[lbaker]

Are you thinking of something along the lines of those Jews who followed the Pharisees and Sadducees instead of Jesus being "cut off" from the true Israel, the church?

It certainly looks like God passed some kind of judgement on them in 70 AD.

 

[Lazarus]

from http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/messianic_judaism/115498

Leaven is yeast, and in the Bible it represents the sin of pride, though it is generally used to represent any sin in one's life. The Israelites were instructed to remove it from their homes for Passover week to remind them that sin needed to be removed from their lives: "For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leaven that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land" (Exodus 12:19). Yeshua taught His disciples about the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees: "Be careful. Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees"

 

[skypair]

from http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/messianic_judaism/115498

Leaven is yeast, and in the Bible it represents the sin of pride, though it is generally used to represent any sin in one's life. The Israelites were instructed to remove it from their homes for Passover week to remind them that sin needed to be removed from their lives: "For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leaven that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land" (Exodus 12:19). Yeshua taught His disciples about the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees: "Be careful. Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees"

EXCELLENT, Lazarus! I think you "nailed" that one! :love2:

skypair

 

[Bismarck]

Are you thinking of something along the lines of those Jews who followed the Pharisees and Sadducees instead of Jesus being "cut off" from the true Israel, the church?

It certainly looks like God passed some kind of judgement on them in 70 AD.

Much like 722 BC and 586 BC. I see a strong parallel between the Jewish people, taken all together as a whole, rejecting Jeremiah the Prophet in favor of the corrupt Jerusalem Priests (Zadokites, Ezekiel 40:46, 43:19, 44:15, 48:11)...

and the Jewish people, lumped all together, rejecting Yeshua the Messiah-Prophet in favor of the corrupt Jerusalem (Sadducee = Zadokite) Priests.

Over and over and over again, the Hebrews follow the Zadokite / Sadducee Priests, over against the Prophets of YHWH-God, and always they suffer terribly for it.

I personally don't understand it. If you follow a leader, and they lose and crash and burn and you pay the price big time... and it happens repeatedly over and over... you'd think eventually folks would wake up and say, "enough of that!"

After 722 BC and the fall of Samaria, the Jews had the moral courage to repent, and that led to the reforms of Hezekiah.

After the 586 BC conquest of Jerusalem by Babylon, the Jews had the moral courage to repent, and that led to the rebuilding of Jerusalem, Ezra, and the whole Second Temple period.

Yet by 70 AD, there is no more ability to admit one's errors, and folks stay stuck in their ruts. I offer that we should all be wary of this — as the Messiah himself said, "No one is good except God alone" (Mark 10:18). The Greek word translated "good" is Agathos, meaning perfect. Hence the saying, "Nobody's perfect". That means you, that means me, that means everybody. As it is written, whenever we sin, God "chastens" us with punishment (2 Sam 7:14). Truly, "God is a Righteous Judge" (Ps 7:11) — so if you suffer beneath the heel of others, it is because God is raising them up to chasten you for your sins. That is, you suffer because you messed up.