You cannot obtain the righteousness acceptable to God through keeping the law with human power. It is only the offer of Christ’s grace that qualifies you to appear before the Holy One. This is the great mystery in our gospel, and the essence of its distinction. When Jesus spoke the term “the leaven of the Pharisees”, he referred to the anti-Gospel, legalistic spirit, for those, who adhered to the old covenant, demanded the practice of a set of rules and prayers, in addition to keeping the Sabbath. They also obliged the people to fast, make the pilgrimage, and give alms that they might please God. This thought is the greatest lie of Satan’s tricks, for whoever thinks like this believes and imagines that man is righteous in himself, and able to serve God by himself without forgiveness. However, Christ teaches us that man is neither righteous, nor innocent from his childhood, but we are all corrupt and unclean if compared with God’s holiness.
Confessing our sins and our absolute corruption keeps us from the haughty Pharisaical spirit. It keeps us from the deception of the hypocritical lawyers, and from imagining that abstention from certain foods or styles makes us gain heaven and prepares the way to God. He, who trusts the human godliness based on man’s diligence is unprofitable, unacceptable to God, and is falling to hell.
Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, for the least of the legalistic spirit corrupts all your faith. Consider Paul’s epistles carefully that you may recognize the hard strife for obtaining freedom from the law and continuing in the free grace of Christ.
The term “the leaven of Herod” refers to the lustful desires and indifference with fear of the future. He who throws himself to modernity leaves the covenant with God. We who believe are not under the law, but are free in Christ who empowers us to walk cleanly, and live humbly, to whom we are willingly committed, with his law dwelling in our hearts. In this new covenant, we became free from bigotry, delivered from bondage to sin in our lusts of the flesh, and firm in the unique freedom of Christ.
At that time, the disciples did not comprehend the meaning of those words from Christ’s mouth. They thought of their lack of bread in their boat, while he meant his spiritual righteousness instead of the strictness of the Pharisees, and the dissolute pomp of Herod. While Christ wanted to save his disciples from their drowning in sins, bonds of death, and temptations of the devil, and guide them to his heavenly Father, they thought of earthly nourishment, and security of their earthly life. Christ upbraided them not because of their spiritual misunderstanding, or because of their care for bread, but because they were overwhelmed with material thoughts, present-day cares, and mistrusts, which strangled their faith. Christ showed them successively twice how he could create out of few loaves and fish plentiful food for the multitudes. Then why did they worry about bread while he was present with them?
Did you recognize that Christ is present with you, helping you to work hard, and to do your homework exactly that he may provide you with daily bread? He who prays, and works faithfully, becomes assured of Christ’s presence, for he delivers us from earthly worries because of our faith in his everlasting power.