Yeast

Mark 8:11–21
¹¹ The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. ¹² And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” ¹³ And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side. ¹⁴ Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. ¹⁵ And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” ¹⁶ And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. ¹⁷ 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? 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 broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” ²⁰ “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” ²¹ And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

Many years ago, I regularly made cinnamon rolls for my family. It was a great deal of work, but the end result was pretty great. It took some time to learn how to best deal with the dough as it was my first foray into the world of yeast bread. Years later, I now know that there is a great deal of interesting science that contributes to the perfection of these rolls. At the time, I just knew that a tiny bit of yeast added to quite a bit of flour made for a treat. For the Jews, the rabbis used “fermented dough” to refer to the bad impulse within a man or to the bad basic convictions of a man, a metaphorical and negative usage of the noun. I know that those cinnamon rolls could certainly lead to some bad impulses, for they were delicious!

Jesus uses the Jewish understanding of fermented bread to help his disciples deal with the influences of the Pharisees. The Pharisees’ ideas were completely contrary to what Jesus was teaching His followers. Just a tiny bit of their influence would undermine their understanding of the Kingdom of God. We all know that this principle is a true one and yet we regularly succumb to the temptation to try things out that have no place in our lives. I don’t hear as much about this anymore, but in the recent past, there were millions of people who spent time on their horoscopes every day. I know it seems like a tiny thing (there’s only 2.25 teaspoons of yeast in one of those little yellow packets!) but why would you consult the stars in the heavens for details about your life when God says not to do that? That’s just a very small example, but you get the point. When we let in just a little bit of something that it antithetical to God, it seasons our entire lives.

This lesson from Jesus is followed (and it seems to be within the same conversation) by a discussion about where they were going to get lunch. They had only one loaf of bread – and I can’t help but wonder if it was a leftover from the Feeding of 4,000 they had just left. Jesus is amazed at how thick-headed they are; He has just provided abundantly for 4,000 Gentiles and they are wondering where to get more bread. “Do you not yet understand?”

My heart goes out to Jesus as He deals with these guys. What we see in almost every interaction is His amazing patience, forbearance – which He also displays to us every moment of every day. So cast out the yeast in your life and press into the patience of Jesus.