During Jesus’ ministry in the Galilee region of Israel, He performed eleven specific miracles of healing and deliverance. This doesn’t count the number of people who came to Him on different occasions or the feeding of 5,000-plus individuals.
Still, the religious authorities wanted a miracle to attest to His claims:
“The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test Jesus they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.” (Matthew 16:1)
Clearly, this was not a good-faith request, and Jesus refused to give them the answer they demanded.
He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away. (Matthew 16:2-4)
Two descriptions that reveal the corruption of the religious authorities are “evil” and “adulterous.” If a man declares his love for his wife but cheats on her with another woman, he is considered evil and adulterous. When a generation of people claims to love God but serves self-interest and idols, the accusation is just as real.
I recently read the judgment of the Babylonian king in Isaiah 14, who is often a picture of Satan. In two verses, the king’s “I will” declarations were made five times (see Isaiah 14:13-14). After reading this passage, I began noticing how often I am focused on my self-will. That internal mindset resembles that of the Babylonian king and Satan, and it is the root of spiritual adultery.
Training in Discipleship
Just as God used my recent reading of Isaiah 14 to correct my thoughts, Jesus used the apparent blindness of the disciples to correct theirs.
When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. Jesus said to them, “Watch out, and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” They said to one another, “It is because we have brought no bread.” (Matthew 16:5-7)
Like the religious leaders, the disciples had witnessed Jesus’ many miracles. Also, similar to the Pharisees and Sadducees, they needed greater faith to comprehend what Jesus was doing in the world.
And becoming aware of it, Jesus said, “You of little faith, why are you talking about having no bread?” (Matthew 16:8)
Our actions reveal the level of our faith. I often ask myself why my actions don’t reflect what I claim to believe about God. Unfortunately, I can be casual with committing sins, even when I believe the One I offend is the Creator of everything. I am guilty of Jesus’ “little faith” accusation.
Watch Out!
The yeast, or leaven, of the Pharisees and Sadducees is the “wisdom” they supposedly possessed. Rudy Ross has an excellent understanding of how leaven is equated with wisdom. Human wisdom, according to Rudy, can never be placed on the altar before God.
The religious leaders were part of the “evil and adulterous generation,” and their so-called “wisdom” reflected that fact. Jesus explained the situation to His disciples like this:
“Do you still not 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 could you fail to perceive that I was not speaking about bread? Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!”
Then they understood that he had not told them to beware of the yeast of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (Matthew 16:9-12)
Jesus makes it clear that we need to be careful about the information we receive. There are people who have a reputation for being wise, but they are compromised by self-will and other evil motives. Religious authorities should be a good source of wisdom, but this account is proof that this isn’t always true.
There are some voices we need to analyze to make sure they are from the Lord and not from erroneous sources. The voice of our own self-will is one of them. It is easy for the voice inside our head to mislead us and draw us away from God’s purposes.
Another voice that needs careful scrutiny is that of national leaders. An example from my life may help. As I age, I’m interested in making healthy choices regarding nutrition and exercise. I bought books from two people who seemed wise and authoritative on YouTube, only to discover that they were not.
The disciples needed Jesus’ help to overcome the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, and we need His help to sift through the massive amount of purported “wisdom” that comes our way.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 