Matthew 16:5-12

Matthew 16:5-12
Following the encounter with the Pharisees and Sadducees, Jesus warned His disciples concerning the “leaven” of these two sects. Matthew records that coinciding with Jesus warning was the fact that the disciples had forgotten to bring bread on their journey across the Sea of Galilee. Therefore, they misunderstood Jesus’ warning, taking the word “leaven” literally and thinking that Jesus was chastising them for not bringing food. Perceiving this, Jesus rebuked them for their lack of faith. Had they not remembered the feeding of the 5000 and the feeding of the 4000 and the amount of leftovers in each case? With this explanation, the disciples then understood that Jesus was speaking of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.What we need to consider is the significance of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. That Jesus used the word leaven implies that their teaching spread easily and was dangerous. In fact, the same principles of their teaching are still alive and well today. The Pharisees were the progressives who liberally added to the written word. If God forbid a Jew to carry a burden on the Sabbath, the Pharisees saw the need to define exactly when a burden was being carried. In so doing, they multiplied manmade laws and traditions and exalted them above the written word. In other words, God’s word was not a sufficient revelation to govern a man’s life. Therefore, they created their own creed. The same has been done today by every major denomination. Historically, religious people cannot seem to leave the word of God alone. Man has perpetually manipulated the scriptures and added their own traditions. Indeed, it is this of which we must “beware.”

The Sadducees were in many ways at the other extreme. They only accepted that which was explicitly stated in scripture and were unwilling to draw necessary conclusions from the facts giving in scripture. Most notably, Jesus rebuked them for not being able to understand the existence of life after death even though the resurrection was never directly mentioned in the scriptures (Mt. 22:23-33). Therefore, we must be warned against both extremes. We cannot add to the word, but we also must be able to draw clearly intended conclusions from the facts the Lord has given us.
Berry Kercheville