Matt 16:5-12 5 When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 Jesus said to them, Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. 7 And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, We brought no bread. 8 But Jesus, aware of this, said, O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? 9 Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 11 How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. 12 Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. 1. When Jesus commented about the yeast, of the Pharisees, the disciples thought he was referring to food. And how they had forgotten to bring bread. Jesus reminded them, of the feeding of the 5000, then of the 4,000. He then went on to say that he was referring to the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. 2. There was a spiritual implication behind what Jesus was saying. Leaven (Yeast) is often a symbolic term for hypocrisy. Or even sin. In Luke 12, he referred to the yeast of the Pharisees, as hypocrisy and the teaching of the Pharisees, was like yeast. A little bit works through the whole batch of dough. Technically, the dough has no life but the yeast does. A little bit of this yeast, will have a large effect on the dough. The hypocritical teaching of the Pharisees had the same effect. 3. In 1Cor 5, Paul used this illustration with sin in the church. Yeast can have other spiritual implications as well. In matt 13, Jesus said the kingdom of God is also like yeast. It started out small, and grew into something large. 4. If only a little of this yeast, is allowed to get into your life, it can begin to grow, and eventually have a great effect on you too.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 13:28:12 +0000