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The Leaven of the Sadducees
Matthew 16:6-12 says, “Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? 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.”
Acts 23:8 says, “For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.”
The second form of leaven to beware of would be that of the Sadducees. The Sadducees were a religious sect that rejected all things that occurred supernaturally, meaning that they denied a resurrection of the dead and the existence of angels.* In Matthew 22:23-28, the bible teaches us that the Sadducees questioned Jesus by attempting to trap Him in the validity of His belief system. If a woman ended up having 7 husbands in this life, who would be her husband after the resurrection? Jesus said that in the resurrection, no one marries or is given into marriage.” Sadducees only hold onto the beliefs in the Pentatuch, and they do not see the resurrection in the first 5 books of the OT. But Jesus quoted Ex. 3:6 in response to their question, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” They were completely silenced.* (Matt 16:6, 11-12) The leaven of the Sadducees is lack of faith, doubting the supernatural and miraculous works of the Lord. They will try to explain everything naturally or scientifically, excluding any existing power of God. The fact of the matter is that you cannot deny a miracle, neither the works that God worked through the prayers of the revivalists of this nation!
The leaven of the Sadducees still exists today as people in our generation denies anything that occurs supernaturally. They believe that the signs, wonders and miracles died with the church of the book of Acts, but never will you read in scripture concerning the cessation the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In fact, Peter said in Acts 2:39, “For the promise is unto you, and to our children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” You cannot say it was only for the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ because an Italian centurion named Cornelius in Acts 10 was baptized in the Holy Ghost. Paul said, “Covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet show I unto you a more excellent way” (1 Cor. 12:31) The gifts have not ceased, neither are we living in a deist society where God does not rule or reign. If we would just pray, believe on Him and seek His face, the possibilities of what God would do would be unthinkable. God is not limited; we have limited him with the leaven of the Sadducees.
People often say that God does not work like He use to, or that we do not have the church services we use to have. So, I must ask, “Whose fault is that? Is it God’s fault or is it our own?” It is not that God has changed with the times and seasons, but we have changed. Think about it. People can sit at home at the coffee table in their comfortable chair as they watch church services on television or online. Christian television and online services were not meant for the church to become lazier, but rather reach out to the people who are not saved who just cross paths with it while flipping the channels or people who are incapable of coming to the house of God. People have lost their faith and passion for God. They seek to find excuses to miss church. Whether it is due to the weather, needing to clean house, or go to their local Wal-Mart, they just cannot seem to find time for God any more. Then, they wonder where their help and strength is when trouble comes, or when they pray it is to a brazen heaven and an iron earth. They question God as if it is His fault for signs, wonders and miracles not happening as frequent in the church as they use to. God has not changed, but we have due to the leaven of the hypocritical Sadducees! Until we purge out this leaven in repentance and seek the face of God with all of our hearts, we will never see or experience God in the fulness of His glory! We need to exchange the leaven of the Sadducees with the power of the early church!
*Preparing for the Glory: Living Leaven Free, by Rod Parsley, pp. 49-68, ISBN# 1-880244-84-5