Cornelius a Lapide

Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the leaven of Herod, The leaven is the doctrine of the Pharisees, by which they taught children to say to their parents corban, , as well as other things contrary to the law of God. The leaven of Herod is the doctrine of the Sadducees, for with them Christ had had His most recent controversy, as appears from Matt xvi. 1-12. For Herod, as well as many of the principal people at that time, were Sadducees (see fos . xviil c. 2). They denied the immortality of the soul, and lived as Atheists. So Herod lived in adultery, killed John, and committed many other crimes, having no fear of God For although he thought that John had risen again in Christ, yet that opinion did not arise out of faith, but was wrung out of him by fear. Others, with Origen and S. Jerome, understand by leaven the sect of the Herodians, who flattered Herod, saying that he was the Messiah. But that referred to Herod of Ascalon, not Herod Antipas, as I have shown on Matt xxii. 16