Father, coming to your Word today, I ask that you deepen my understanding of who Jesus is and of who I am because he died and rose from the dead for me.
Read MARK 8:14–21
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
The Yeast of the Pharisees and Herod
14 The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. 15 “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”
16 They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”
17 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
“Twelve,” they replied.
20 “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
They answered, “Seven.”
21 He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
‘Fill thou my life, O Lord my God, / in every part with praise, / that my whole being may proclaim / thy being and thy ways.’1
Think Further
Jesus had already explained vividly that what defiles us comes from within. His original allegory was prompted by the Pharisees’ external piety, but now he targets their wrong attitude of heart and mind. The powerful spiritual symbol of bread sailed with Jesus and the disciples on the boat and now Jesus expands it. The little bit of yeast in the bread dough determines its final form. The parable of the two dogs fighting within us has been used by many preachers and writers, including Billy Graham and George Bernard Shaw. To the question, ‘Which dog wins?’, there is always the same response, ‘The one we feed.’ One dog symbolizes negative and ungodly qualities, including envy, greed, anger, selfishness, and arrogance. The other dog’s qualities are positive and godly, including love, joy, kindness, humility, and self-control. We choose the attitudes we nourish within us, and they determine what we become.
The disciples did not catch on. Their apparent dullness is a significant, even perhaps purposeful, theme in the Gospels, as if there were a pact between the writers and the apostles never to glamorize themselves. They had indeed failed, constantly, to understand Jesus and his mission. They had argued about power and status. Peter would deny Jesus. Judas would betray him. Later, however, as the gospel writers were recording their stories, they had at last understood it all. They had experienced the resurrection. Everything had come together in their hearts and minds, but they were the leaders of a church struggling in a hostile world. They did not want to be seen as heroes or celebrities. They were ordinary people whom Jesus called out of their ordinariness. When they met their risen Lord, they understood why. That was the yeast that now shaped them, the yeast that would rise to eternal life.
Apply
We can look to the Lord of the path of eternity to nourish us when we are faint, lift us when we fall, and show himself when we lose the way.
Closing prayer
Lord Jesus, help me be more sensitive to seeing your hand at work and to learn in greater and greater measure how to serve you and share who you are with others.
Last Updated on November 2, 2024 by kingstar
