Can relate to this?
Heading out-of-town on a trip. Need to pack and short on time. Grab the
necessary items but inevitably forget something -- only to realize it once on
the plane or well on the road towards the destination. Happen to you? Happens
to me on almost every trip that there's one thing I've left behind. Make a
list, or not,… it still occurs.
So it is with the
disciples in the beginning of this section of verses as they are in the boat
crossing the Sea of Galilee. "I'm hungry. Where's the bread?" "Uh,…
(searching frantically) …we forgot the bread." "What's with the 'we'?
That was your responsibility. How could you forget the bread?!?" "I
don't know." (Whining and grumbling in the cramped boat.) "How long
before we reach the other side?" "It's going to be several
hours." "Several hours?!? Great! That's just great!" Almost seems like a long road trip with the
children arguing back and forth.
Jesus' reply comes seemingly
out of left field. "Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and of
Herod."
Say what?!? Now some
head-scratching follows by the disciples regarding Jesus' warning. "He
said that because we have no bread."
And the lesson on "bread"
(and so much more) begins to unfold. But first…
Verse 14 is brilliantly
written. "Now the disciples had forgotten to bring any
bread; and they had only one loaf with them in the boat." [i]
Wait a second. They had
forgotten to bring any bread, but they had a loaf in the boat; yet, the
disciples state again later that they have no bread. But they have a loaf in
the boat! That's what it says, right? Doesn't that constitute as bread?
This bread is different.
The "Wonder-full" bread in the boat is Jesus.
But the disciples don't
get it. No matter what happened previously (feeding 5,000+, feeding 4,000+ with
a few available loaves to start with and ending up with much more). They don't
understand the magnitude of what Jesus has done and is doing. That they are being fed. That their needs will be
sufficiently handled. More on the disciples to come…
There are some significant
tie-in's here -- as recent as verses 11 and 12 of this chapter. The Pharisees
seek a sign but even with all that Jesus has done, they have zero faith in him.
In verse 15, Jesus gives a warning about the yeast of the Pharisees as well.
For those who bake, it
only takes a small amount of yeast to make a batch of bread rise, but as Leah *
pointed out, "A pinch of yeast contaminates everything in the
mixture." The false teaching of the Pharisees (MATTHEW 16:12)
and their hypocritical behavior (LUKE 12:1)
is the yeast that Jesus speaks about. A little bit goes a long way to
contaminate all that is good. The same goes for Herod with his immoral, corrupt
conduct.
DID YOU KNOW…?
While MARK mentions the
yeast of the Pharisees and Herod, MATTHEW substitutes Sadducees for Herod. Why?
"Mark's audience, mostly non-Jews, would've known about Herod, but not
necessarily about the Jewish religious sect of the Sadducees. …This reference
to Herod may mean the Herodians, a group of Jews who supported the king. Many
Herodians were also Sadducees." [ii]
The Pharisees and Herod
lack faith. Consider the disciples in this instance. They, too, lack faith.
They can't see past Jesus' actions to understand his true power -- his inherent
power ("dunamis").
Pedro * made several good
points in discussion. "Yeast -- tiny living organisms -- you can't see
them by the naked eye. You need a microscope to see them." Which ties into
verses 17 and 18 about eyes that see and ears that hear. "If I can't see
it, I won't believe it."
Then Pedro * followed this
up with, "The disciples are focused on a material plan -- the need to
survive: food, water, shelter. Jesus is focused on a spiritual plan, which they
don't yet understand." Marc * mentioned, "Their theological view is
being turned upside down." To which he emphatically added, "And we still don't get it!"
I'll conclude this blog
post with a poignant statement made by Leah *. "Jesus is the new bread --
without contamination." How beautifully put!
NEXT
Next stop, Bethsaida;
blind faith
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