The disciples had left the bread behind; so when Jesus talked about the 'yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees' they thought He was criticising their failure. They really wanted to please the Lord. However His holiness was a continual reminder of their sinfulness, giving them an inner urge to do better but also the sinking realisation that they could not meet His standard.
They had not understood that nobody can get everything right, even if they lived and worked alongside Jesus. Their minds were saturated by religious rules; they believed that if they could be better they would be accepted, just like the religious leaders who opposed their Master. They had no concept of grace – goodness given and forgiveness offered without having earned it. Jesus had recently demonstrated His grace, producing bread and giving it away to 5,000 families without any charge. He is the Giver of grace.
Jesus wanted to warn them against the 'non-grace' of Christless religion, and they had just fallen into the trap He wanted them to avoid. The malignant virus which fuels every Christless religion is the belief that keeping the rules will win God's favour, and that failure will exclude people from His kingdom. It was how the religious rulers maintained their power over the people; locking them into a system of rules they could not keep; encouraging a personal obsession to try harder, and yet knowing they could never fully succeed. Unless God gives His righteousness, nobody can stand blameless before Him.
These religious ideas are woven into the fabric of most societies; they are learned as children and yet repeated failure drives many adults away from the 'faith' as they find it impossible to keep the rules. Jesus came to give us His grace: goodness and forgiveness we could never deserve. 'Faith' is not about believing that we can succeed to keep the rules, but believing that through Jesus we can be freely forgiven, and freely be given all that we need to serve Him. This is the gospel: share it with people who have given up on their own ability to be good; share it with those who are exhausted by trying and perpetually disappointed by their failures; and preach it to yourself!
Religious Obsession Obscures God's Grace
Matthew 16:8-12
Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, ‘You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’ Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (NIVUK)
Prayer
God of grace. Thank You for providing a way for me to be acceptable to You, through the death of Jesus Christ. Forgive me for the times when I lapse back into Christless religion, struggling to please You in my own strength and berating myself for my failures. Please help me to grasp Your grace which gives to me what I could never deserve. May I preach it to myself so that I will realise that You love me and do not condemn me, wanting me to enjoy all that You will freely give to me. And give me the desire to talk about Your grace to others so that they may be released into Your love. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Bible Book
© Dr Paul Adams
