5 And the disciples came to the other side of the sea, but they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 And Jesus said to them, “Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7 They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “He said that because we did not bring any bread.” 8 But Jesus, aware of this, said, “You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread? 9 Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets full you picked up? 10 Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets full you picked up? 11 How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
The stage is set by noting the disciples had forgotten to bring food. They are hopelessly stuck on the tangible, physical aspects of life. By now they should have known their Master better—His normal way of teaching was to give new meaning to common words and concepts. It began with the Sermon on the Mount where He gave a grand reinterpretation of the Law. One would think that His frequent, “You have heard it said … but I say to you…” sayings would have settled in. Even as recently as the feeding of the 5000, Jesus explained, “…the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life” (John 6:63). The Word of God is not easily understood by people of lazy faith, which is just as true today as it was back then.
So, once again, their slow learning curve when it comes to faith is to be contrasted with that of the commendable faith of the Gentile centurion (Matt 8:10) and the Syrophoenician woman (Matt 15:28). He expected more from His hand-picked, Jewish followers! He points out that twice He had fed the multitude when they were hungry, and had plenty left over. The disciples should not have had the slightest concern about their food. Had not Jesus taught them, “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ … for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matt 6:31-33).
They received their rebuke well, realizing that the leaven Jesus was concerned about was the infectious, wrong teachings of the religious establishment. The warning is still relevant today. As Christians we need to be on the constant watch for false teaching, often hidden under the guise of dynamic preaching or large church attendance, and even small ingrown “remnant” focused groups.
Lord, I want to be alert for false teaching that creeps in through “Christian” broadcasting, publishing and even the church. Help me to be discerning.
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