By Steve Long, featuring Derek Schneider
With a provincial election happening in Ontario in June and a leadership race with one of the Federal parties, let’s talk about a warning Jesus gave to his followers.
The warning comes from Matthew 16:6.
“Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
What was Jesus talking about? The twelve disciples asked the same question, so we may not be alone in trying to figure out exactly what the warning meant.
Pharisees and Sadducees were the two political parties of the day. Both were also religious parties. From other passages in the Bible, we know the Pharisees were the more orthodox of the two, with the Sadducees being more liberal in their theology. Both the Sadducees and Pharisees combined faith and policy, hoping to bring betterment to the nation of Israel. (Today, 13 different political parties are active in Israel, a third of them being religious.)
The Pharisees were the ruling party during the time of Jesus. Because they were in power, they had more recorded interactions with Jesus. They were constantly at odds with Jesus regarding rules and Bible interpretation. This attitude continued as they argued against the church's leaders while churches were being established in Europe. An example is Acts 15 – when Paul and Barnabas engaged in a sharp debate with some members of the party of Pharisees.
The warning of Jesus is about combining one's religious opinions with a political party. Is that happening today? Oh yeah!
Let’s look at the life of the disciples before we talk about today’s politics.
The Twelve, the men closest to Jesus, had a preoccupation with the hope that Jesus was going to set up a political kingdom. They hoped that Jesus would overthrow the Romans and re-establish a pure Jewish government. Jesus consistently redirected them away from politics, and they kept going back to the topic.
You may remember that after Jesus fed the 5000 men, the crowd tried to force Jesus to become their king. If his purpose was to be a political leader and change the nation, this was it! But instead, Jesus slipped away from them as that was not his mandate. (John 6:15)
Perhaps the worst example of the idea that Jesus was supposed to save the nation is the day that Jesus ascended to heaven. Let’s look at the passage from Acts 1.
“4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John immersed with water, but in a few days you will be immersed with the Holy Spirit.” 6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:4-8, NIV)
It is shocking that while Jesus is giving his last talk about the Holy Spirit, they interrupt him to switch to politics.
“Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (vs. 6)
His answer back is firm.
“It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. (vs. 7)
Let me bring this passage into today's world. Imagine we are with Jesus, and he is pouring his heart out to us on the need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. One of us says this.
“Excuse me, Jesus, but what do you think about government overreach?”
Another follows up with, “Jesus, our Prime Minister/Premier/Mayor isn’t righteous. Are you with us in getting rid of them?”
Or another, “My political party is the only party that your followers should join, right Jesus?”
In my opinion, these statements are what Jesus was warning his followers against. The blending of politics with one's version of the kingdom of God. Jesus was quick and sharp with the crowd when they suggested that re-establishing the nation of Israel was the priority. He said, “not for you to know.” In other words, not your problem, not my mandate.
Jesus then sought to reconnect them to his plan for world domination. His plan was for them to wait in Jerusalem, to get filled with the Spirit, and then they could be his witnesses about His kingdom – not an earthly kingdom. He planned to bring the good news to everyone everywhere.
We know politics have a way of blending the lines between morals and power.
The blending of Jesus and a political party in the last US election caused many people to turn away from the Christian faith and not vote for President Trump's re-election. Well-known prophets said that Trump would win. The concept, especially in white America, was that if you love Jesus, you will vote Republican.
I have friends who lead churches in the US. They shared that the election caused more people to leave their churches than the various Covid and lockdown restriction issues. At one church, which took no position in the last election, people left because the church didn’t support their party, and others left because they assumed the church was quietly backing the party they didn’t like.
The yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees is a divisive political spirit. This spirit breaks fellowship. This spirit divides followers of Jesus along political lines. The word “Christian” isn’t meant to be an adjective where we have Christian Green Party members or Christian Liberal Party MPs.
Andy Stanley leads a mega-church in Atlanta, Georgia. He has an extensive network of churches and is a great leader of leaders. His latest book is called “Not In It To Win It.” He spends a lot of time challenging the view of many Americans (and the same is valid for Canadians) that would feel that if you are a Christian, you are obligated to vote Republican.
Here is his first provocative question to determine if this “yeast thing” has negatively affected you or me:
“Are you willing to follow Jesus regardless of where He leads you politically?”
Andy’s summary as he looks at the blending of faith and politics is this.
“When a local church becomes preoccupied with saving America rather than Americans, it has forsaken its vision. The moment our love or concern for our country takes precedence over our love for the people in our country, we are off mission. When saving America diverts energy, focus, and reputation away from saving Americans, we no longer qualify as the ekklesia of Jesus. We’re merely political tools. A manipulated voting demographic. A photo-op. We lose our elevated position as the conscience of the nation.”
Sadly, what I saw in the last Federal election in Canada was similar.
Friends, Jesus’ focus wasn’t on fixing the issues of Israel. His mandate was to restore people to the Father.
He didn’t comment on many of the relevant topics such as slavery, women’s rights, or the abuse of tax dollars. Jesus said things like, “Give Ceasar what belongs to him,” and when conscripted by a Roman soldier to carry his bag a mile, “Carry it two.” His focus was on establishing the rule and reign of God’s kingdom on earth, bringing the good news of salvation, and bringing hope.
In this section, I wanted to include a Q & A Derek Schneider.
Derek leads History Makers, a ministry based in Oshawa that seeks to bring transformation to the nations. He and his wife have just started a new church in Oshawa, and Derek is a long-time friend of our congregation. He’s spoken at the Freshwind youth conference with our young adults and did his training school with us in the past.
I’ve asked him for his insight on a few thought-provoking questions that I’d like to share in this blog:
Derek, do you see this political spirit at work in Canada or U.S., and how does it manifest?
“Absolutely yes. The political spirit in this arena produces a division and distraction for the church that almost takes on a spiritual blindness when full-blown—even to the point of Believers seeing other Believers as enemies that must be fought with and defeated based on the political party they promote. I use the word “promote” rather than “support” intentionally. We see this manifestation when the “party spirit” is loose, even within a local church. The division comes, people leave, and the church is left weaker and less able to accomplish anything on earth. One thing is for sure – whether it’s prophets declaring God will violently smite a political party’s elected leader, or the belief that a President or Prime Minister is the only one who can disciple a nation, the political spirit works hard at weakening the Church of Jesus.”
Every follower of Jesus is called to bring transformation and reformation to their family, place of work, community, etc. How do we do that without becoming political?
“One of the greatest tools for a societal impact that Jesus gave us is “grace and truth” (John 1:17). These are tools that any Believer can connect with! The grace of Jesus is the supernatural power of God to bring Heaven to earth in a way that produces a change of “eternal value.” Not necessarily a temporary political outcome. The “truth” of Jesus are the principles of God’s Kingdom that we can live out in a way that influences the world around us, in any social setting – No matter who is in political power at the moment.”
How would you encourage people called to politics and government to function in those roles without succumbing to this spirit?
“I would encourage people who are called to the political and governmental sphere to view themselves as influencers of change and witnesses of the truth of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom. Ultimately “we have a Kingdom that cannot be shaken,” and our “kingdom is not of this world,” but this does not mean we minimize or abandon political influence. Politics influence nations. However, we must remember that political leaders come and go, both the righteous and the wicked. We are people of eternal Kingdom perspective. The stakes will never be high enough in politics to compromise our Christianity by allowing ourselves to be consumed by the leaven of the Pharisees.”
So, what’s the conclusion?
I am not saying don’t be involved in politics. Catch The Fire has consistently encouraged people to run for office and volunteer for their chosen party.
I am saying to stay far away from believing the party you support and the candidate you follow is God’s choice and must be supported by other followers of Jesus. That is divisive and separates the disciples of Jesus.
Former and present attendees of our church include MPs, MPPs, mayors, council members, school board trustees, etc. We have a rich history of people listening to the Lord and serving at various levels of government.
Stay away from declaring and prophesying into the political realm. The US election showed that too many nationally recognized prophets got it wrong when they said Trump was God’s man. They either had to repent (some did) or doubled down, saying that the election was stolen from Trump.
It was a big mess that showed the political bias of many of these prophets. They lost some of their reputation as a prophetic voice, and in some cases, people left their churches. “If they got an election wrong, what else did they get wrong?”
Here is the position of Catch The Fire church:
We bless everyone running for public office, but we don’t ever say what party they align with. Many Christian leaders differ, but this is a Federal law that charities need to follow. I like this law as it stops the political spirit from taking hold.
We have a conflict of interest policy that none of our staff can hold office in a political party. For example, they can join a party but not become the president of their riding association. We have had three pastors step away from their roles because they were running for office or held a position within their party.
We encourage everyone to have a say when elections happen. Romans 13 has lengthy teaching on how governments (even bad ones) are God’s servants. We encourage people to volunteer for the candidate of their choice and, on voting day, vote.
We encourage everyone to join a political party during a leadership election. If you’d like to stay a member of the party, do it, or step away after having a say in who the national leader is.
I joined the Liberals when Prime Minister Trudeau was chosen, I joined the Conservatives when Andrew Shearer and Erin O’Toole were chosen, and I joined the Green Party when Annimee Paul was chosen. I get a say and help select the leader of each political party.
I correctly voted for Trudeau and Shearer and got the other two wrong. After the leader is chosen, I resign from the various parties. I have now joined the Conservative Party for a third time as they are selecting a new leader to replace Erin O’Toole. For $15, I get a say in helping to shape our nation. I’ll quit the party again once I cast my vote.
My biggest regret in the area of politics was many years ago when I shared a story on social media about a meeting with our current Prime Minister. This meeting was before Justin Trudeau was even the leader of the Liberal party. My statement was taken out of context by a media personality, a follower of Jesus, and it went viral. Still, today I have Liberal and Justin Trudeau haters who want me to comment on this “quote” from 10 years ago. I have consistently refused to reply as my comment became divisive.
So, what is the meaning of the warning of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees?
The warning of Jesus to his followers is that this political spirit functions as yeast. It starts small and then quickly takes over the bread. No one sees the yeast, but we see the results of the yeast as the bread gets puffed up. The warning to us as people who love our nation is this; be aware that demonic spirits are at work constantly seeking to sidetrack and minimalize the effectiveness that we each carry. Jesus would say, “don’t let this spirit get to you, and if you know it's been at work, repent and get rid of it!”
Steve Long is the Senior Leader of Catch The Fire Church (Toronto). He is the author of several books including The Faith Zone and My Healing Belongs to Me. Steve and his wife Sandra serve on two apostolic teams; one for the City of Toronto as well as Catch The Fire World. They live in Oakville, Ontario, Canada.
