Mark 8:1-21 “Beware the Leaven of the Pharisees”
The Gospel of Mark • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 4 viewsJesus shows compassion and feeds the 4,000, and then is challenged by the Pharisees to show them a sign which opens a teaching opportunity for Jesus to His disciples.
Notes
Transcript
Good Morning Calvary Chapel Lake City!
Ladies… if you were blessed by the Women’s Conference… give a shout out!
The spread of meats and cheeses was unreal… Ladies understand hospitality!
I do pray the Lord used that time and our speaker to grow you deeper in your relationship with the Lord and each other.
Please turn in your Bibles to Mark 8. Mark 8:1-21 today.
We left off where Jesus and His disciples left Capernaum and went into Gentile territory…
First to the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon where He healed the demon possessed daughter of a Syro Phoenician woman.
Jesus then departed and headed east to the Decapolis Region… another Gentile area.
The last time Jesus was present in this region, He healed the demonic with a legion of demons…
And, afterward the people of that region asked Jesus to depart… He was bad for the pig business.
But, he who had been demon possessed asked to follow Jesus… and Jesus told him “no”… and instead commissioned the man to go tell his friends what great things the Lord did for him and how He had compassion on him.
Compassion is a theme will will look at today as well.
And, so this man became the first missionary to the Decapolis… with no formal training… no book studies or degree… just a man with an amazing story of how God transformed his life…
And, it would seem… that as he proclaimed Jesus in the Decapolis… his work as a missionary was effective… for all marveled.
And, last week as we closed out Mark 7… there was a huge multitude of people coming to see Jesus… not to ask Him to leave… but to gladly receive.
Jesus healed multitudes… and some people brought one who was deaf and mute…
Jesus took him aside privately… put His fingers in the man’s ears, spat, touched his tongue…
The man couldn’t hear… but seemingly, Jesus was able to communicate He understood his condition and his anguish…
Jesus said, “Be opened” and all functions of His creation that were broken in this man worked once again.
And, the people were astonished beyond measure and testified, “He has done all things well.”
Now today… seemingly still in the Decapolis region…
Jesus will feed the 4,000 which will be used to set up another lesson for the disciples…
To “Beware the Leaven of the Pharisees” our sermon title for today.
Let’s Pray!
In reverence for God’s word, please stand as I read our passage today.
Mark 8:1-21 “In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, 2 “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar.” 4 Then His disciples answered Him, “How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?” 5 He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.” 6 So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude. 7 They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them. 8 So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments. 9 Now those who had eaten were about four thousand. And He sent them away, 10 immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.” [the west coast of the Sea of Galilee near Magdala… just North of modern day Tiberias]
11 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him. 12 But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.” 13 And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side. [So from the east coast of the Decapolis to the west coast]
14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. 15 Then He charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” 16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have no bread.” 17 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? 18 Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?” They said to Him, “Twelve.” 20 “Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?” And they said, “Seven.” 21 So He said to them, “How is it you do not understand?”
Praise God for His word. Please be seated.
So beginning in Mark 8, we come to the Feeding of the 4,000…
Now… some of you astute Bible readers… will remember that just 5 weeks ago… in Mark 6… we read through the Feeding of the 5,000…
Which was similar, but a different event…
I have a slide that spells out some of these differences…
The feeding of the 5,000 happened in one day, mostly for Jews and in the City of Bethsaida… where 5 loaves and 2 fish (supplied by
1 boy) were multiplied to feed the multitudes… and 12 small baskets were left over. And, that event was recorded in all Four Gospels…
In contrast, the Feeding of the 4,000 occurred over 3 days, and was mostly for Gentiles in the Region of the Decapolis… where 7 loaves and a few small fish (supplied by the Disciples) were multiplied to feed the multitudes… and 7 large baskets were left over. And, this event was only recorded in Matthew and Mark.
So, similar, but noticeably different.
And, take special note that the Feeding of the 5,000 was for the Jews, whereas the Feeding of the 4,000 was for the Gentiles.
And be careful not to treat this similar event like insignificant repetition…
The lesson of the Feeding of the 5,000 was when difficult… even impossible situations arise… look Jesus who can make the impossible possible.
He taught the disciples then… and disciples now that He can take what little we have, bless it… and multiply it.
And, while that lesson also was true for the Feeding of the 4,000 in Mark 8… we’ll see today that there were additional lessons Jesus needed to teach His disciples as well.
And, so V1 begins, “In those days...”
In those days of Jesus ministering in the very Gentile region of the Decapolis…
In those days of Jesus turning His eye on His disciples to prepare them for His departure and their roles in the early church.
Beyond the obvious of what is happening in this account… there is a work within the work…
In those days a great multitude of Gentiles had gathered to Jesus in the Decapolis, and as we see in V2… they were with Jesus for three days and they had nothing to eat…
They chose to be in the presence of Jesus… continuing or remaining… we might say “abiding” with Him OVER seeking physical sustenance.
What amazing commitment to Jesus this was… gleaning whatever they could from observing His ministry… from hearing His words… so caught up in all He was doing… that they ran low on food…
You have to been really engulfed in an amazing move of the Spirit for this to happen…
A day may be coming where God pours out His Spirit on all flesh… many of us pray for one more great revival before the Lord returns…
And, in that day… the work you do today… in abiding in Him… abiding in His word… will make you that much of a sharper and more effective tool for Kingdom work at that time.
In John 15:4-5 Jesus said, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
Imagine the amazing fruit we will bear if we commit to continuing with Jesus… even at personal cost… days on end… just like these Gentiles did…
Observe Jesus’ response in V2… this is the only time where it is recorded Jesus saying, “I have compassion...”
Around six other times, others noted Jesus was “moved with compassion” or “He had compassion” but here Jesus articulates His own feeling. “I have compassion.”
Compassion is a characteristic of God.
Ps 86:15 reads, “But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.”
Five Psalms testify that the LORD is “full of compassion...”
In the OT Hebrew, “full of compassion” means merciful.
In the NT Greek, it means “to be moved in the inward parts.”
That deep seat of emotion that the ancients attributed to the bowels… which we attribute to the heart.
The greatest compassion I’ve ever felt for another person was when I met Mercy… I told her story in last Sunday’s sermon.
Jesus had compassion on many, and was deeply moved emotionally for this crowd.
In the Feeding of the 5,000… to the Jewish multitude, Jesus was moved with compassion “because they were like sheep not having a shepherd.”
They had the Law and the Prophets… and the Levitical priestly system, but the scribes and Pharisees were not feeding the sheep… they were only fleecing the sheep.
So, Jesus took pity upon them… and gave them a meal. Mark 6:34 states “So He began to teach them many things.”
We have a similar ministry here.
In Mark 8, Jesus also feels compassion for this Gentile crowd, but not because the Gentiles didn’t have Shepherds… there was no chance the Priests would Shepherd them…
And, so being so spiritually famished… they continued with Jesus for three straight days…
And, Jesus recognizes what tremendous sacrifice they made to be with Him… and that they needed food.
They had nothing to eat…
And, so if V3, Jesus expresses concern that if He sends them away hungry… some will faint… for some have travelled far.
More explicit, in Matthew’s version, Jesus said, “I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”
Jesus’ desire was for them to be cared for both spiritually and physically.
It’s amazing how many cultures have unique proverbs for hunger… and how hunger robs us of being present and attentive… of functioning to our fullest…
A Norwegian proverb is “The stomach is not content with nice words.”
In Rwandan they say “An empty stomach has no ears.”
A Russian proverb is “On an empty belly every burden is heavy.”
I like this one… a German proverb goes, “A hungry bear dances badly.”
I’m not so sure that’s relevant for our sermon, but it made me smile.
James 2:15-17 declares, “If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
The faith we hold inside, should be observable outside to others. Because we are of faith, there should be a demonstration of our faith.
We are not to hide our light under a basket…
We are to be doers of the word not hearers only…
And, so James exhorts… when a person crosses our path who lacks in basic needs food and clothing… we have an opportunity to demonstrate our faith by being compassionate… just as Jesus did for these Gentiles.
Now the Disciples, in V4, it does not appear they are feeling very compassionate. They ask, “How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?” (in the desert)
“Jesus… this is an impossible situation… there are too many people and not enough bread.”
“Besides… do we really want to feed these people… these Gentiles?”
The disciples seem a little hard hearted…
Maybe because they are Jews surrounded by Gentiles… whom Jews hated.
Maybe they were struggling with an overwhelming scenario large then themselves… and again make the mistake of looking to their own resources instead of looking to the one who can multiply the loaves and the fish.
Maybe they should have flipped back to Chapter 6 and re-read the Feeding of the 5,000… they should have looked back at the stone of remembrance.
Or flipped to Exo 16 and re-read how the LORD cared for the Israelites in the wilderness feeding them Manna for forty years.
David wrote in Ps 37:25 “I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.”
God cares for His own…
Are the disciples having a memory lapse here? Or, are they having a heart issue?
Perhaps a lapse in faith?
Or, perhaps their heart has hardened towards the crowd and they just want them to leave.
So often the disciples response to the multitudes or to people in need was “Send them away…”
After a long day of ministry, those were the disciples words to Jesus at the Feeding of the 5,000 in Mark 6:36 “Send them away...”
Does Jesus sense this of them in Mark 8? Does Jesus read their hearts before they speak the words, since in V3 Jesus said “And if I send them away...”
When the Syro-Phoenician mother begged Jesus to heal her demon possessed daughter, the disciples urged Jesus saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.” (Matt 15)
When infants and little children were brought to Jesus, that He might touch them and pray… the disciples rebuked those who brought them…
And, in each of the accounts Jesus responded counter to His disciples…
“Let the little children come to Me...”
“You give them something to eat.”
Our God is a compassionate God… and uses these moments of an either lapse faith or a hard heart to continue to teach His disciples…
And, this blessed me…
Because sometimes we… well not us, but people at other churches… sometimes we too have a hard heart for the multitudes…
As we become more spiritually mature, sometimes we don’t call this being hard hearted, but discerning.
Discerning when being helpful is hurtful is wise… like if your simply enabling…
But, refusing care when you should in the name of discernment is just hard hearted.
And, I think this was one of the errors of the Disciples… and we need to be on guard about this too in our own lives.
And, the other error I see in the disciples… is a lapse of faith…
Sometimes… our faith wanes…
We sing that Hymn, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; Prone to leave the God I love...”
Because we are that way… we get distracted by the world… and drift…
Heb 2:1 declares, “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.”
Jesus said “Abide in Me...”
In the OT, the Sabbath and memorial stones… and Stones of Remembrance… and Festivals and Feasts…
Many things were built into Jewish culture so they did not forget… so their faith would not lapse.
God gives you experiences in your faith journey, to build your faith… and to look back on those stones of remembrance… so the next time you’re called to do really difficult things… like feeding 4,000… you won’t have a lapse in faith…
You can trust Him… know that He will provide…
It may not always look the way you want… but He will see you through…
Just as He does with the disciples… their faith seems to be wavering, so Jesus will stretch them…
They seem to doubt about their ability to feed such a great multitude…
So, in V5 Jesus asks, “How many loaves do you have?”
One would imagine that Jesus hoped they would respond recognizing how He multiplied the loaves before…
During the Feeding of the 5,000, in John 6:5-6 Jesus asked a similar question, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” 6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.”
He knew what He would do, but what would they do as a multitude of people approached them? Would they look to their own resources or look to Him?
What do we do when faced with the larger than life situations? Look to Him… when faced with overwhelming situations… humble yourself and give Him what little you can offer and let Him work with that.
In V5, the Disciples simply answer His question repling, “Seven.”
In Matthew’s Gospel it’s recorded they said, “Seven, and a few little fish.” (which Mark echos in V7)
Perhaps they’ve made some progress, for they do not add doubtful statements like they did in the Feeding of the 5,000…
Like “… but what are they among so many?” recorded in John 6:9
Discipleship, time, trials, mistakes… all of these can by used by God to progress in our faith walk… to conform us to the image of the Son.
This scene should feel very familiar to the Disciples… it’s very similar to the feeding of the 5,000…
Jesus takes what little they had… this time though they give up their own food… they don’t take the fish and loaves from the boy…
And in V6, Jesus has the multitude sit on the ground.
God is a God of order… Jesus will not have this turn into a frenzied mob scene…
Nor is this ‘on-the-go’ food… Jesus has them sit for the banquet that awaits…
Jesus takes the bread… gives thanks first… not a bad idea to give thanks to God for His provisions…
And, Jesus breaks the loaves and fish and gives them to His disciples to distribute to the multitude…
And, in V8… the multitude ate and were filled…
The word filled means “to gorge, to fatten or satisfied.”
Jesus fed them the most amazing fresh fish and bread… and they ate until fully satisfied…
They are experiencing the after effects of an ‘all you can eat’ buffet…
You know the feeling… when your belt feels like a torture device around your stomach.
And you discretely loosen your belt a notch to alleviate the pressure…
These people have been fully satiated…
Three days with Jesus soaking in all the spiritual lessons, and now a feast to meet their physical needs.
And, for the disciples… in V8… there remained seven large baskets…
The Gk word spuris for “basket” used here in Mark 8 is different from the Gk word kŏphinŏs for “basket” in Mark 6 the feeding of the 5,000.
In Mark 6… the baskets were small.
The large baskets in Mark 8 could be rendered “hamper” (a large woven basket), and is the same Gk word used for the basket in Acts 9:25 to lower Paul (then Saul) over the wall in Damascus to escape the Jews who plotted against him.
12 small baskets during the Feeding of the 5,000 for the Jews. 7 large baskets during the Feeding of the 4,000 for the Gentiles.
Is this just random? One possible explanation that resonated with me is…
The Twelve Baskets left over for the Disciples during the Jewish context of the Feeding of the 5,000 represented the Twelve Tribes of Israel.
Whereas the Seven Baskets left over for the Gentiles during the Gentile context of the Feeding of the 4,000 may look back to the Seven Gentile nations removed from the land.
In Antioch Paul recounted Jewish history and in Acts 13:19 he said, “And when He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land to them [Israelite] by allotment.”
That looks back to Josh 3:10 “And Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites...”
Seven pagan, Gentile nations.
And perhaps large baskets for the larger work He would do in the Gentile nations… which has certainly been historically accurate in this Church Age.
Both Jews and Gentiles alike are brought into His kingdom.
12 small baskets in the Jewish account, and 7 large baskets in the Gentile account.
Continuing on… V9 records there were 4,000 present during this event.
Matthew 15:38, more specifically, adds “four thousand men, besides women and children...”
So, one could easily imagine there to be 8,000-12,000 people present.
And, after this second miracle of multiplication, Jesus dismissed the multitude… “… got into the boat with His disciples...”
It’s always good to have Jesus in the boat with us…
And, I especially like how V10 states “His disciples...”
In John 10:14 Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.”
At this point in their walk, they did not get everything right… they often misunderstood Jesus…
In the account today, perhaps hard hearted or lapsing in their faith… or not looking back to their stones of remembrance…
But, despite all that… they remained “His disciples.”
And, I was blessed by that simple phrase, because it reminds me that, at present, Jesus is consistent in His compassion and patience for all people…
As Jesus said, “He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matt 5:45
In this feeding of the 4,000, He has shown compassion of the Gentiles… and on His disciples…
And, as they depart, they come to the region of Dalmanutha… or in Matthew’s account, the region of Magdala.
They sail from the Decapolis… the east coast of the Sea of Galilee… now to the west coast of the Sea of Galilee…
Possibly to the birthplace of Mary of Magdalene.
And, now that they are back in Jewish territory… it’s not so surprising what we read in VSS 11-13…
The Pharisees are the welcoming party and they began to dispute with Jesus…
I might have wanted to get back in the boat and sail back over to that beautiful scene with the Gentiles… but, Jesus was in tune with the Father’s will…
In Matthew 16:1, we are also informed that the Sadducees are also present.
So Jesus is being “tested” according to V11, by both the legalistic religious Pharisees… and the liberal political Sadducees…
And, they want to see a “sign from heaven.”
I think what they want is to see more OT signs… like Moses parting the Red Sea… or Elijah calling fire down from heaven…
But, Jesus wasn’t a performer of signs to impress people. He did them to help people both physically… and spiritually to understand He is Messiah.
Jesus’ ministry should have been a sufficient sign for the religious leaders… surely they had never seen a leper cleansed until Jesus…
In Mark 1:44 Jesus sent a cleansed leper to the priest to perform the ceremonial cleansing prescribed by Moses in Lev 14… surely a ritual they had never performed before… but this was not enough.
You may recall in Matthew 12 & Mark 3, where the scribes and Pharisees attributed Jesus’ power over demons as Satanic.
They claimed, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.”
So, that sign fell short to clearly show them that Jesus was Messiah. And, this is not surprising because signs are typically NOT what brings one to Christ.
You may recall in the account of the Rich man and Lazarus… the rich man was tormented in Hades and cried out for Abraham to send Lazarus to testify to his five brothers so they would not meet the same fiery fate that he did.
Abraham, in Luke 16:29-31 responded, “‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he [the rich man] said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ”
A sign… even as dramatic as rising from the dead was not what Abraham prescribed for his brothers to find salvation.
Moses and the prophets… meaning the OT Scriptures was what they needed to hear.
Rom 10:17 declares, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Ps 19:7 “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul...”
In Rom 1:16, Paul declared, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes...”
Moses, the Prophets, the word of God, the Gospel of Christ… these are the tools that lead to salvation.
And, this is a key reason these are the tools of emphasis here at Calvary Chapel.
Back in Mark, the Pharisees and Sadducees are not satisfied with any of the signs Jesus has provided to date… they want a sign from heaven…
In V12, Jesus “sighed deeply in His spirit...”
He was vexed… distressed by their unbelief…
And, Mark records Jesus asking a rhetorical question, “Why does this generation seek a sign?”
‘This generation’ meaning the nation of Israel as represented by the religious leaders…
Who were blind guides… they are staring at the sign from heaven in Jesus… God incarnate, but they don’t see Him.
This test and demand for a sign is rejected by Jesus… Mark records Jesus saying, “… no sign shall be given to this generation.”
Matthew recorded one exception… Matt 16:4 reads “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.”
Which Jesus clearly explained was the Resurrection during another time… earlier when the Pharisees also asked for a sign.
In Matt 12:39-40 Jesus told them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
So, the resurrection of Jesus would be the sign confirming Jesus was Messiah.
No religious figure has ever lived up to the claim that they would die and rise again… except for Jesus Christ.
Mohammed, Buddha, Joseph Smith… all dead and in graves.
But, in Israel… there is an empty tomb. For He is not dead, but He is risen… alive… seated at the right hand of the Father… making intercession for you and for me.
One could argue there was one other sign provided to the Nation of Israel… and that was Jesus’ presence and birth.
Simeon prophesied over Mary and in Luke 2:34 said, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, [based on whether they accepted or rejected Him] and for a sign which will be spoken against...”
His very presence (God with us) and His birth were a sign.
Micah 5:2 prophesied from Bethlehem would come “The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from old, From everlasting.”
They knew this prophecy and referenced it in Matt 2… to Herod when the wise men came.
They knew the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem. Yet, they missed that sign.
The Pharisees and Sadducees were staring at the sign… Jesus Himself was the sign… and they ask for a sign.
They were blind guides and hypocrites… beholding, yet they did not see.
Spiritual blindness is a real plight. Be sure you are praying to God for those you love… that His Spirit would draw them to turn from darkness and to His light.
Sadly, this was not the case for the religious leaders, and in V13, Jesus gets in the boat again and departs to the other side… which is identified as Bethsaida in V22… which is on the North Shore of the Sea of Galilee… east of Capernaum.
And, I love the humanity of the disciples, displayed in what we read in V14, “Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.”
Seven large baskets were left over… and they forgot them, except for one loaf.
These were the A-postles… the A-Team… NOT the B-postles…
These are the guys Jesus Himself called, and someone dropped the ball.
Remember that the next time you are hard on yourself and are questioning your calling.
I imagine they were in the middle of the sea… realized their mistake… their miscommunication… and were in a discussion…
“Peter, I thought you were getting the bread. No, I told James to grab it. Me?! No, you were talking to Nathanael!”
Whatever the case, Jesus makes the statement in V15, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”
Matthew adds, “… beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”
Jesus is entering… or at least trying to enter into a teaching moment with the Disciples about errors found in the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herod.
The just departed a dispute with the Pharisees and Sadducees which caused Jesus to “sigh deeply in His spirit” and it would seem His mind was still pondering the error of their ways… which, generally speaking, was…
Matt 16:12 the “doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
Which Jesus attributed to leaven… yeast.
Yeast or leaven is a fungi that causes dough to ferment.
Fermentation is “controlled spoilage,” and is a picture of sin.
Throughout Scripture, when you read of Leaven it is and appropriate metaphor for sin.
The doctrine of these groups was spreading through the nation and causing a rotting effect…
They were corrupting Israel with their teachings… just like leaven does to dough.
The Leaven of the Pharisees more specifically was hypocrisy. Jesus in Luke 12:1 said, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”
The Pharisees professed to adhere to the Word of God, but added to the word of God… which is legalism.
Externally they professed and displayed holiness, yet inward they were corrupt and evil. Whitewashed tombs according to Jesus in Matt 23.
Religion always seems to emphasize the need for works. Working from the outside in for salvation.
Whereas Christianity emphasizes working from the inside out. Faith begins in the heart… and from there were are fully cleansed.
But, the Pharisees were only external.
We need to be cautious not to add to the word of God and fall into legalism.
The Leaven of the Sadducees was rationalism.
They doubted and denied teachings of God’s word. They denied the resurrection, angels, spirits, the eternal soul, and eternal punishment.
In Matt 22, the Sadducees presented a ridiculous hypothetical situation to Jesus about a woman who was widowed seven times, therefore in the resurrection, who’s husband would she be? And, Jesus’ response summarizes the failure of their doctrine…He said, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.”
Their error was they were not familiar with the Scriptures, nor the miraculous power of God.
We need to be cautious not to take away from the word of God and fall into compromise.
The Leaven of Herod Antipas… is likely pride… Herod was also immoral and worldly… and any of these sins are like leaven… spreading and rotting the soul.
Herod’s error may be best on display in Mark 6 during the account of the beheading of John the Baptist.
Herod fell into lustful sin… marrying his brother’s wife Herodias…
And, when they were called out by John… instead of repenting… Herod arrested John…
And, when Salome danced and requested the head of John the Baptist… and Herod promised her half the kingdom…
He found himself backed into a corner where pride + peer pressure + likely too much to drink = poor choices.
One other leaven of Herod was skepticism which was displayed during Jesus’ trial before Herod in Luke 23.
Herod hoped to see a miracle, but Jesus answered him nothing.
Herod then treated Jesus with contempt and mocked Him…
And, much of that same skeptical spirit towards God corrupts the world to this day.
We need to be cautious not to fall into the ways of the world…
We need to be in contact with the world like Jesus, but not contaminated by it.
Jesus defined His relationship as that of a physician to a patient.
Mark 2:17 Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
We need to be in the world… salt and light… but not to be of the world.
So, it would seem that Jesus desired to enter into a teaching moment with the disciples warning them of the errors… the corrupting influence… the Leaven of the Pharisees, Sadducees and Herod, BUT…
All the disciples hear is “Leaven”… and they think bread…
And, it becomes Three Stooges time…
Peter smack James in the face… James pokes Peter in the eye… and Nathanael does the Curly Shuffle.
V16 reads, “And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have no bread.”
And, Jesus says, “Oy Vey!” and in rapid fire succession… He asks 9 questions back to back…
Count them… VSS 17-21
“Why do you reason because you have no bread?
Do you not yet perceive nor understand?
Is your heart still hardened?
18 Having eyes, do you not see?
And having ears, do you not hear?
And do you not remember?
19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?”
And, at this point the Disciples… probably like a kid with their head down answer, “Twelve.”
Then Jesus asks the final two questions…
V20 “Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?”
“Seven”
“How is it you do not understand?”
Nine questions targeting their failure to reason, their hard hearts, their blind eyes, their deaf ears, their failed memory, and their lack of understanding...
It’s amazing that Jesus never fired these guys.
Worship team, please come…
On that last question about understanding, more specifically Matt 16:11-12 records Jesus asking, “How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?—but to 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 doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
“Oh now we get it!”
This is such a beautiful reminder to us… that when we are a bit thick skulled… and forgetful… and hard hearted…
The Lord may need to correct us in love, but He still has compassion on us… and we remain “His disciples”… just like these Twelve.
Let’s pray and take communion remembering and praising our compassionate Lord and Redeemer…
1 Cor 11:23-29 “...the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. 27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.”
Please distribute the elements...
Communion is a time for us to look three directions…
We look back remembering Jesus’ sacrifice… His broken body and shed blood for the remission of our sins.
His new covenant. Salvation by faith and in grace.
Look forward in hope of His imminent return… we proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. He is coming.
And, looking inward to examine yourself…and take communion in a worthy manner.
Time to do business with God.
Once you have prayed… take the communion elements individually.
Our worship team will play one worship song, and then close us in prayer.
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If you have never accepted Jesus as Lord...
...either let the cup pass and do not partake in communion -or- the better option...
...accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior today.
Pray to God and tell Him you believe in Jesus and accept Him as your Lord and Savior, and ask for forgiveness.
...then take communion. And, be sure to let us know. Salvation is something to celebrate!
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