Fermentation

Mark 8:15-16  And he cautioned them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” And they discussed it with one another


I know the discussion between the disciples missed the mark because they focused on leaven as if he was talking about bread. Leaven for Jesus as we look at other passages seems to mean that agent of change or influence. Herod and the Pharisees seem to me to represent two extreme distortions of the God's Law. Herod who ignored the law and was illegally married to Herodias his brother Philip's wife. The Pharisees on the other hand were sticklers for the letter of the law as it was imposed on others and used it's power to their own advantage. Society was controlled by both of these distortions of the law.  Jesus was cautioning the disciples that both these changes would corrupt society as a whole.


We need the same vigilance. We are surrounded by the same kinds of influences. We have those trying to leaven society with distortions that ignore our need for God or God's will for society. On the other end are those who like the Pharisees want to impose on everyone their own strict and narrow interpretation of God's will. If Jesus had trouble with the extremes than perhaps we should use caution as well. It may be difficult to hold to Jesus teaching carefully without surrendering to an attitude that is judgmental, but I think that is what Jesus wants.