“You’re such a Pharisee!” he said with a sneer.
Why don’t we ever hear the same thing said about being a Sadducee? Why aren’t we worried about a Sadducaic influence the same way we are a Pharisaic one? I am increasingly afraid that we are so concerned about the leaven of all the potential Pharisees out there, that we are letting the leaven of all the potential Sadducees slip by unnoticed.
Who Were the Sadducees?
The quick and dirty definition of the Sadducees is found in Acts 23:8:
“For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit…” (ESV)
What is the Leaven of the Sadducees?
I’m not trying to develop a technical definition for Jesus’ point in Matthew 16:6, 11. However, the influence of not believing in the spiritual or the resurrection is a materially oriented religion that focuses on the here and now. Eternity is a false hope of pie in the sky. Those partaking in the leaven of the Sadducees don’t want pie in the sky in the great by and by, they want their best life now. Further, those partaking in the leaven of the Sadducees aren’t as interested in letting people know how they can spend eternal life with God. They focus on how they can help people make this life worth living.
Are We Overlooking the Leaven of the Sadducees?
While I don’t know of any Christians who claim “there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit,” I worry that the Sadducaic leaven is working its way into Christianity. In fact, I am almost certain it has already completely leavened the mainstream religious world’s dough. I believe I see it working its way through many of those who claim to have the same “sola scriptura” plea that I make.
I think I see this leaven in three ways.
1. When we tacitly believe that material blessing is the sign of God’s approval, we are eating the leaven of the Sadducees. A certain belief, teaching, or practice must be right because look at how big the church is that teaches it. How many books are written and testimonies given that tacitly say whatever the authors did must have been the working of God because they received financial blessing?
The rain falls on the just and the unjust. The sun rises on the good and the evil (cf. Matthew 5:45). The sign of God’s approval is His Word.
2. When we pursue the material blessings of this life above knowing Jesus Christ, we are eating the leaven of the Sadducees. Certainly, those who obey God will provide for their loved ones; they are worse than infidels if they don’t (cf. I Timothy 5:8). But when we have time to study Spanish, Calculus, and Physics but no time to study God’s Word, we have eaten the leaven of the Sadducees. When we pursue first chair, first string, and first in class above God’s kingdom first, we have eaten the leaven of the Sadducees. When we work to afford the larger house, the nicer car, the designer clothes, but not to glorify God and share with anyone in need (cf. Ephesians 4:28), we have eaten the leaven of the Sadducees.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33, ESV).
3. When we believe Jesus came to save society, we have eaten the leaven of the Sadducees. When we believe the mission of God’s kingdom is to undo the societal ills of oppression, inequality, and injustice, we have eaten the leaven of the Sadducees. Certainly, those who have experienced the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ will go about doing good (cf. Galatians 6:10) and loving their neighbor (cf. Luke 10:25-37). And we must “let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need” (Titus 3:14, ESV). But when we confuse performing an act of kindness and service to help make this life more livable with spreading the gospel which makes the next more livable, we have eaten the leaven of the Sadducees. When we go on trips to bring food, water, clothes, and medicine and call it “Missions,” we have eaten the leaven of the Sadducees. When we believe that spiritually radical living means feeding the homeless and that biblically crazy love means stopping slave trafficking, we have eaten the leaven of the Sadducees.
And this third one scares me the most because it is so popular, so pervasive, and so persuasive. After all, none of us wants anyone to be hungry, thirsty, enslaved, or homeless. Ending these things is good work. They are even good works that Christians should devote themselves to. But they are not spreading the gospel. They are not the mission of Christ’s kingdom. Jesus did not establish His kingdom to evolve society to the next level. Jesus established His kingdom to save sinners.
“I will add all these things to you so that based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs you will now seek My kingdom and righteousness”…wait, that’s not a quote of any verse. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33, ESV).
Let Me Try to Bring this Home
I used to hear Christians say, “If we travel land and sea to feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, clothe the naked, unshackle the enslaved, but they don’t learn the gospel and they die and go to hell, what good have we accomplished?” Now I’m hearing, “If we travel land and sea to preach the gospel, show people how to worship God properly, talk to them about being baptized into Christ but we don’t improve their drinking water or give them more food or better clothes, what good have we accomplished?”
That is the leaven of the Sadducees. And I fear we are missing it.
What do you think?
Good points / observations … I’m wondering if there is modern doubt in the resurrection. Bodily, Christ-like, second fruit resurrection. I’ve always viewed the Sadducees as the conservatives. I understand they didn’t believe in resurrection because it wasn’t taught in the books of Moses.
I read you comments policy before I made my original post. Could you identify which policy was the cause for my post being deleted?
Scott, sorry about that. I must have accidentally deleted your comment when I was weeding through some spam comments. At first I couldn’t find it. But, searched around a little more and was able to restore it.
Sorry for the inconvenience. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
Scott, very fascinating. I admit that I rarely get into issues of “Restoration History.” While I understand that I stand on the shoulders of those who went before me, I strive to go back to the Bible, not to Alexander Campbell. Therefore, I am largely ignorant of this history regarding slavery. Thanks for sharing. That makes my heart sad to know that Christians were involved in such and defended. I hope and pray that had I been in that time period that I would have stood out against it even if I had been born among slave owners. But, considering the number of sins I’ve committed in my life, that may have been another one.
I have, however, read the article by Foy Wallace, and used it in a sermon last year. You can find that at A Levite, A Priest, and a Samaritan Walk into a Bar. I actually used it in a sermon designed to attack continuing issues of racism and prejudice in the church.
Having said that, I hope that what you have suggested and what I taught are actually seen to go hand in hand. For instance, while I am opposed to the local congregation paying out of its collection for community welfare, I believe the congregation’s teaching should be filled with exhortation for Christians to do good to their neighbors. In like manner, while I don’t believe the local congregation should support out of its treasury political or social programs to conquer slavery in third world nations or even in our nation, I do believe its teaching should lead its members to growth, compassion, and even involvement in all kinds of good works which may include fighting slavery and social injustice in many ways.
I hope that clarifies.
Thank you so much for this article. You made leavened bread explanation more simpler. I understood it better now. Thank ?
I think there’s also an application to anti-supernaturalism, i.e. the operation of the gifts of the Spirit. Some denominations don’t accept the eternal work of the Holy Spirit much outside the work of regeneration. It’s understandable to seek to avoid the excesses of denominations and those various churches that confuse soul with spirit, but the scripture still says to desire the spiritual gifts. Some church cultures do nothing to obey this and other points that stand beside in this area; they are theologically disobedient. Without a church culture that truly seeks the whole counsel of God and a theology that seeks to cast out any leaven within its body of teaching, we draw near to making the word of God of no effect through our traditions, and we rob the new generation of what should be old treasure and new from the One who opens the Word and will lead and guide us into all the truth and things to come.