Transcript

Matthew 16:7-11 · NOBA @ Noon

Canon Justin Murff: The Gospel of Matthew chapter sixteen verse seven through eleven When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. Jesus said to them, Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. And they began discussing it amongst themselves, saying, We brought no bread. But Jesus, aware of this, said, O you of little faith, why are you discussing amongst yourselves the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand and how many baskets you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? How is it that you failed to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. 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. The Gospel of the Lord. Jesus and his disciples have crossed the Sea of Galilee, and the disciples realize they forgot to bring bread. As they discuss the problem, Jesus issues this unexpected warning. Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. The disciples' response reveals their confusion, and they began to discuss amongst themselves, saying, We brought no bread. They hear leaven, and they only think of their immediate predicament. But Jesus Jesus is speaking metaphorically about spiritual danger, but they are worried about lunch. Jesus' gentle rebuke exposes their small thinking. O you of little faith, why are you discussing amongst yourselves the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand and how many baskets you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand and how many baskets you gathered? The disciples They'd witnessed these two astonishing miracles of multiplication, thousands fed from handfuls of food. They had physically handled the evidence of Jesus' provision, and yet now, facing a simple shortage of bread, they worry as if none of that had ever happened. How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Jesus asks. His question reveals the real problem at hand. It wasn't the forgotten bread, that's obviously easily solved with Jesus around. But it was their inability to move from literal to spiritual thinking that was troubling Jesus. Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. The leaven wasn't literal yeast, but the teachings of these groups, the way that their influence slowly spread and corrupted. The Pharisees elevated religious tradition over holy scripture. They preferred external performance over heart transformation. And the Sadducees, while they bent the knee to political power and denied supernatural realities. It's that cheesy pastor line of that's why they were so sad, you see. But both groups represented subtle distortions of the true faith. The early church faced constant pressure from both directions. Some wanted to add legalistic requirements to the gospels, while others wanted to remove its supernatural claims. Sounds familiar to some of the discussions today, right? Truly as Solomon said, there is nothing new under the sun. The leaven metaphor here is instructive. You see, leaven works slowly, invisibly, from the inside. You don't notice its effect until the whole batch is affected. False teaching often operates the same way. This passage challenges our propensity for spiritual forgetfulness. The disciples had witnessed extraordinary provision, and yet they're still worried about bread. How often do we forget God's past faithfulness when facing new challenges? It warns us against taking Jesus' words. Only at the surface level. The disciples heard leaven, but they only thought of baking. How can we read scripture and yet sometimes miss the deeper meaning as well? The warning about leaven remains relevant to us today. What subtle influences are gradually shaping our own understanding of faith? Are we absorbing teaching that adds to the gospel or takes away from it? Is our faith influenced by God's holy word, or is our view of scripture being formed by an outside influence? The connection between faith and perception is significant. O you of little faith is followed by, do you not yet perceive? Small faith acts like a blinder and it limits what we can actually see. So today, recall some specific instances where God has proven himself faithful in his provision in your life. When the next shortage comes, remember that record before surrendering to worry, doubt, or fear.