Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Beware of Pharisees

“Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees....”
- Matthew 16:6

The leaven of the Pharisees is a show of religion. They are like dead bones on the inside but on the outside, they have the look and appearance of piety and spirituality. Their character lacks true love and devotion to God.

Everything they do is to be seen by men. “They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long” (Matthew 23:5). They need to be placed in the seat of honor at gatherings. They enjoy being called by a title. They are blind guides. They are filled with greed and self-indulgence, hypocrisy, and wickedness.

They pray out in the open to be seen by men. They babble and use many words in order to give a good impression, but Jesus knew that it was all a performance and he called them “hypocrites” (Matthew 6:5).

Jesus warned his disciples not to be like the Pharisees. He never intended for us to depend on the rudiments of religion—He wants to have a real relationship with us. Our trust is in the marvelous grace of God, not in our own religious works.

Further Reading

• Matthew 6:5-8
• Matthew 23
• Galatians 5:6-13
• 2 Timothy 3:5