THE REAL PROBLEM
Matthew 16:5-12 NKJV
5 Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. 6 Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”
7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have taken no bread.”
8 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? 9 Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? 10 Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? 11 How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?—but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Did you ever notice how Jesus constantly confounded His disciples? These guys were constantly getting it wrong. I certainly can not criticize because I have gotten it wrong too many times to count. Fortunately, the Lord was gracious to His disciples then and is still gracious today.
Jesus operated on a different level. He operated on a spiritual level, while His disciples operated on a fleshly or carnal level. So Jesus was continually having to correct their thinking. When the disciples got to the other side of the lake, they found out that they had forgotten to bring bread. Whoever was in charge of the meal plans for that day dropped the ball. And then Jesus warns them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Immediately, the disciples made the connection that Jesus was a bit perturbed at them for forgetting the bread. And they started reasoning among themselves about their omission.
But when Jesus became aware of their line of thinking, He corrected their error. They were thinking very naturally and worried about the bread and how they were going to eat. This is why Jesus addressed their lack of faith. He had just fed four thousand people with seven loaves, and they took up leftovers. Jesus was not worried about bread. He knew obtaining bread was not the problem. The disciples were thinking on a completely natural, lack-oriented level, and Jesus was helping them see that provision was not the issue. God can do amazing things with just a little. God can multiply a few seeds and cause it to be a great harvest. God can provide. Jesus thought on that level, but it was evidently an ah-ha moment for His disciples.
They caught on to the fact that Jesus was talking about the doctrine or the teaching of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The erroneous teaching of these two religious groups could cause much more problems for the disciples than the lack of bread. To Jesus, what affected a person spiritually was His main concern.
APPLICATION
In the gospel of John 6:63, Jesus declares that His words were intended for the spirit of man and that the flesh would not profit from them. The disciples were thinking flesh bread, and Jesus was talking about erroneous teachings that, when embedded in teachings about God, were dangerous for the hearers. Jesus was addressing a spiritual problem not a natural one.
Today, the emphasis in the Scriptures is still spiritual. Certainly, there are natural applications, but the Lord is more concerned with what we ingest spiritually than our food content. Bad teaching is still out there. This is why gaining a good working knowledge of the Scriptures is still vitally important. And that’s not mentioning the amount of falsehood and deception that are available today. We must feed our inner man with good quality food. And we want to learn to think on a higher level, just as Jesus did. He is our example, and His ways are higher and better.
PRAYER
Lord, thank You for helping me think beyond the things I can see and feel. Help me look at life from Your viewpoint and perspective.