Jesus implies this dichotomy in his terse remark, "If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts . . ." (Luke 11:13). We can all see in ourselves the proclivity toward evil, but we are also aware of our better angels – an urge to be decent and benevolent. Paul speaks for us all in this regard – when he sees both evil and good in himself -- "I do not understand myself" (Romans 7:15).

  It was this truth about human nature that troubled James Madison, the father of our Constitution. At his insistence on a check and balance of powers, a colleague accused him of "trusting no one but ourselves." His response was, "I don’t even trust ourselves."

  The Gospel of John treats Jesus’ distrust of men in a surprising way. Even though many at the Passover feast in Jerusalem believed in him because of the signs he did, Jesus would not trust himself to them. John explains that this was because "he knew what was in man" (John 2:23-25). As for Herod himself – Herod Antipas – Jesus had occasion to call him a fox (Luke 13:32).

  This suspicion of human nature is evident in our Lord’s Beware statements. On more than one occasion he warns against the Jewish sects, such as "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees" (Matthew 16:6). Matthew understands this "leaven" to be the teaching of these sects, while Mark sees it as their hypocrisy. It was of course both.

  Not only did these sects interpret the Scriptures legalistically, placing on people burdens too heavy for them to bear, but they were hypocritical in that they would not move one finger to lift those burdens themselves (Matthew 23:4). Even their "long prayers" were pretentious (v. 14).

  But there was a leaven that Jesus warned against that was more insidious than false teaching and hypocrisy – more dangerous than the treachery of the Pharisees or Sadducees. This was the leaven of Herod. Only Mark records this warning, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod" (8:15). Earlier Mark reveals that the Pharisees plotted with the Herodians to kill Jesus (3:6), and Luke reveals that Herod himself wanted to kill Jesus (13:31).

  The Pharisees knew that the Herodians, a political party, saw Jesus as a threat to their ambitions to place a scion of the house of Herod over a united Palestine, one liberated from Roman rule. To do this they had to have the support of the rank and file, which was now attracted to Jesus. Their ambition was a kingdom of power and domination, and their methods were treachery and manipulation. They would resort to any means, in collaboration with the Pharisees, to do away with Jesus. As a popular teacher and prophet he was in their way.

  The kingdom that Jesus had in mind – one ruled by the spirit of unselfish, uncalculating love – was antithetic to that of the Herodians. The leaven of Jesus called for self-denial, humility, and service to others, while the leaven of Herod demanded power, contrivance, and domination of the masses. Jesus wanted his disciples to realize that his leaven was infinitely more powerful than that of Herod, that it would root out of men’s hearts the mean, grasping, and self-seeking spirit of the Herodians.

  The context of this warning reveals the nature of Herod’s leaven. The disciples had neglected to bring bread, perhaps because they now looked to Jesus as the wonder-worker who would supply their needs. Or there would be wealthy people in the crowd who would take care of them. Jesus saw in their careless thinking seeds of contrivance and reliance on worldly methods. And so he laid on them a stern rebuke: Beware of the leaven of Herod!

  There was a further rebuke. When they were preoccupied with the problem of no bread, he reminded them of the feeding of the 5,000 and then the 4,000, and of all the food that was left over. Then he said to them, "How is it that you do not understand?" He scored them with: "Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?"

  They were not thinking right or believing right. This might shed light on the obscure incident that follows. A blind man was brought to Jesus for healing, and when Jesus had touched and anointed him, he asked him if he saw anything. "I see men as trees walking," he said. Jesus repeated what he had done, and this time the man saw clearly.

  The incident was a parable as well as a miracle, and it apparently was to show the disciples that they were "blind in one eye." They could see, and yet they couldn’t see. They were believers and yet they did not believe. Their sight and understanding were stymied by Herodian thinking – doing things man’s way rather than God’s way. Putting their trust in secular ingenuity.

  It may well be a malady of the modern church – filled with half-converted people with distorted vision. Rather than trusting in the power of the gospel we resort to Herod’s gimmickry. We think in terms of "success" rather than faithfulness. We seek to please rather than to address needs. We count numbers and calculate budgets rather than to nurture sheep. Yes, we see – we are the church – but our vision is distorted. We are in need of further redemption. The church itself is a mission field!

  Take heed! Beware! The Lord warns us when we think too much in terms of numbers, budgets, programs – and then power, prestige, success. Our Lord said it in a different way when rebuking Peter on another occasion: "Get behind me, Satan! You are thinking not as God thinks, but as men think"(Mark 8:33). That is the leaven of Herod.

  An unusual cooperative effort between two congregations in Nashville is reflective of the dramatic changes going on within the Stone-Campbell heritage. The Woodmont Hills Church of Christ and the First Christian Church, who in recent years have used each other’s facilities on a temporary basis, are entering into a "shared campus" agreement. First Christian, presently without a facility, will build their 300-seat sanctuary on Woodmont Hills property, along with a gymnasium. Woodmont Hills will also use said facilities for funerals, weddings, youth programs. They explain that while it is not a merger, the two churches will be in a collegial, side-by-side cooperative relationship.

  While our daughter Phoebe is still in ICU, she is no longer on a respirator and is breathing on her own, which means improvement. But she yet has a long way to go. Our grandson Ashley is back to work and life goes on. Our son David and his wife Vickie came from Missouri this past weekend to be with Ashley and Amy and to visit Phoebe, which was a special blessing to Ashley. Again, we thank you for your prayerful concern.

  All previous email essays are available at www.leroygarrett.org Click on Soldier On.