Leaven of Pharisees

Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?” – Mark 8:14-21

The disciples in this scene appear to have many of the same questions that the Pharisees had in the previous scene when they demanded a sign. The disciples do not understand that all the things that Jesus has done, all the feedings, all the healings, and all the teachings, are the signs of the Messiah. When He calmed the storm, they thought surely He must be the Son of God, and yet this time they find themselves nervous because they have no bread.

Their earthly concerns were so great that they missed the point of His message. After the Pharisees demand a sign, Jesus tells His disciples to watch out for those people. Their ideas and beliefs can work their way into you like leaven through dough, so that before you know it, the leaven will be in every part of you. The Pharisees’ leaven is unbelief and testing God. Jesus is frustrated with the Pharisees because they do not see that all His works are signs and believe that these signs point to the fact that He is the Messiah.

Jesus says there is no reason to worry about bread when you know what He can do. We can be saved from much distress and worry in this life if we are able to learn from other people’s mistakes and not make them ourselves. The disciples forgot who Jesus was. They turned their concerns to themselves and then they misinterpreted His message. Let us not make the same mistake. Let us not miss Jesus’ message because we are thinking of ourselves and our needs.