Matthew 16:5-12 When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.” Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
The disciples were upset about their lack of bread as they journeyed across the lake, for they had only one loaf with them. As they discussed this omission of not bringing enough bread for the thirteen of them, they were probably throwing around a lot of accusations and blame, maybe even some heated statements were made about the failure of someone or another not bringing enough bread with them. Jesus overheard their discussion and then said something quite odd to them, a non sequitur: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” In Mark’s account of this incident, He adds Herod, “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.” (8:15) Jesus’ remark confuses his disciples for what did the priests and yeast have to do with not having enough bread on this journey. They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.” Jesus, knowing their discussion that followed his statement, interacted with them about not having faith, and that their attitude about a lack of bread has everything to do with their attitude about the situation. “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand?” He reminds them of feeding the 4,000 and the 5,000 with an insufficient amount of bread. In both circumstances, they had a limited supply of bread, sufficient to feed only a few people, yet both crowds ate plenty with some left over. Of course they knew of both situations, the feeding of the 4,000 had happened just that day. Jesus was now shaming them with their lack of understanding of what occurred a few hours before. The disciples were quite aware of the Sadducees and Pharisees’ hatred towards Jesus. They probably had heard the rumors that both groups wanted Jesus dead. Now their beloved leader, Jesus, was telling them that their behavior and attitude was very close to these people who aggressively sought Jesus’ demise. Jesus, who had been listening to disciples about not having enough bread with them, knew their hearts could easily become hard, taking in miracles yet not believing. The Sadducees and Pharisees had seen many miracles yet they did not see Jesus as divine, for they were consumed by their self-interest and position in society. They just saw him as a man who could do great things, maybe even under the influence of Satan, but definitely not as a messenger from God. Now Jesus’ disciples were acting as if they did not see Jesus do many wonderful things; they were consumed with their own self-interest and position within the twelve. They were taking on the mindset of unbelievers as Herod and the priests exemplified. Jesus does not mince words with them. He goes to the heart of their spiritual condition of unbelief—their lack of faith. How could they had seen the healing(s) and miracles and still not understand who He was and his concern for people? If they lacked bread on this journey, Jesus would provide for them, for He loved people. Sadly, the disciples had seen the supernatural events, but still sat in the darkness of unbelief, for they were more concerned about their daily experiences than in Jesus’ miraculous works. They had seen the miracles and probably rejoiced for a while about the events after they happened, but they were still hesitant about Jesus’ involvement with them in every new situation.
The Sadducees and the Pharisees had seen Jesus perform many miracles, but their hearts were hardened to these supernatural events. They had no belief in Jesus’ Messiahship. Because of their disbelief in Jesus as the Messiah, they had little respect for him or fear of him; they intended to kill him. They feared only the people who followed him. When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet. (Matthew 21:45-46) The people clamored after Jesus for many reasons, not because they thought He was divine, but because Jesus could meet their needs. To them, He was considered at most a prophet in the likeness of Elijah of old. His power or god-like authority might even deliver them from the oppressive hand of the Roman empire. However, the people’s spiritual leadership, the Pharisees and Sadducees, did not believe in Jesus’ divinity and would not accept the miracles and healings as being from God, at most they assigned these miraculous actions to the devil and the demons. Now as Jesus observed his disciples squabbling over who failed to bring bread on their journey across the lake, He questioned them about their faith by pointing to the Pharisees and Sadducees’ unbelief. He wanted them to understand that the disciples’ point of view of being helpless when not having enough bread with them was close to the way Pharisees and Sadducees live their lives, not believing God was intimately involved with their lives. All of their religion, their relationship with God, depended on works and performing perfunctory religious rites. They thought of themselves to be right with God because of their heritage and their hierarchal position in the Jewish society. They lacked awareness of an intimate God who wanted to meet people’s needs. As the Messiah, Jesus came to minister to the needs of the people. He had the heart of God: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19) Sadly, the religious elite’s intentions and lifestyle were to lift themselves up. “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.” (Matthew 23:5-7) The disciples were now being overcome with the same spirit of the priests. They were important people now because of being close to Jesus. Now in their own minds, they could determine what was right and what was wrong about any situation. Why, because they were now looked up to by the people in the crowd. They had the special position of being Jesus’ friends and bodyguards. As they were arguing about who should have brought more bread, Jesus perceived this attitude of them feeling they were very special because of being close to him. James and John even wanted to be so special to Jesus that He would assign them seats on the left and right of him in the Kingdom of Heaven. (Mark 10) Jesus corrects this attitude by saying, beware of the leaven of the priests.
Why should Jesus speak of little faith when warning the disciples of their attitude while squabbling with each other? The priests had won the world in their own eyes. People gave them deference; they received respect wherever they went in the Jewish society. People thought of them being closer to God because of their preferential position in the Jewish society. Surely, the crowd thought the disciples were special people too, not just fishermen, tax collectors, and the like. They assumed rightly or wrongly, the disciples had to be special or Jesus would not have chosen them. Of course, the disciples watching the miracles and being in the presence of people who were in awe of Jesus’ power to heal must have had an impact on their attitude about themselves. They had become important people overnight, so quickly it must have made their heads swell a bit. But Jesus said beware of that yeast for it leads to unbelief, secular thinking. As with Herod, he could cut off any head he wished. The priests could demand anything they wanted from the people. This power in the world, controlling your own and others’ destiny, diminishes the thought of God being sovereign in one’s life. The disciples had forgotten that Jesus was in the boat. They were now considering their own answers to the situation, based on their own sufficiency. Worldliness follows that attitude. When we allow yeast, self-will, self-importance, to infest our lives, we begin to look to our sufficiencies, to our answers for every situation, rather than to know God is in the boat. We cannot live this kind of life happily and in peace if we lack faith in God’s sovereignty over our lives. Our life’s struggle with the way things are will be constant; little peace will be found in our inner person. The divinity of Christ and his leading in our lives will be neglected. Our strength, our wisdom, our knowledge will supersede faith in God. The disciples were well aware that they had only one loaf to feed all of them. Because of that fact, they were distracted, not realizing Jesus was with them. The Pharisees and the Sadducees saw Jesus do marvelous acts, but the answer to them for their lives and the people’s lives lay in their works, not God’s works. They missed Jesus altogether as they passed through their lives. The disciples were in danger of missing Jesus in the boat that day. The yeast of self-authority was beginning to permeate their souls. No longer fishermen and the like, they now saw themselves of men of notoriety, able to decide what is possible in life, and if necessary who is right and wrong in life. We who are at this breakfast table need to be aware that the world’s approach to life and self-interest will never solve the world’s concerns and never will it satisfy our own souls. Nothing short of complete faith in Jesus’ words and in his authority in our lives will answer the needs of the world. He is in the boat, the bread of life is always available to us. Any other lifestyle or answers to life is but yeast, and it will eventually contaminate your whole life. As the old gospel chorus says: Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full on his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.
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