Seaford Baptist Church

Warning Against Rejection

June 15th, 2009

Warning Against Rejection (Matthew 16:5-12; Mark 8:13-26)

A simple phrase mistaken for a mild rebuke. Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees. What is He talking about? It must be that we forgot to bring bread. Hey, wasn’t that Matthew’s job? Or was it Judas’s? Guys – don’t you get it? Weren’t you paying attention? Did you miss the mass feedings, those miracles? Why are you talking about bread?

This explanation by Christ is wonderful. Jesus was surprised that they wondered about bread when He had proven over and over again that He could meet their needs. This was more than a warning about the provisions they did or didn’t bring on the boat. Watch out for the yeast – not the active agent in the bread (especially if it is odd yeast used by the religious folks or by the king’s folks). Swete explains the symbolism of yeast:

The word represents a tendency working invisibly … in the present case the yeast was the teaching of the Pharisees, or the spirit of hypocrisy which their teaching encouraged. Once admitted into the heart or into a society, this principle would spread until it rendered the spiritual service of God impossible.

Keep in mind that Herod had rejected John’s message and ultimately put him to death. The Pharisees were rejecting the message of Jesus and were plotting His death. So here, the warning to the disciples was one against the attitude that produced the rejection.

YEAST TODAY

Pharisees were the conservatives of their era, and Sadducees were the liberals. Rigidly sure of the proper way to go about religion, Pharisees suffocated true faith in their systems and legalism. Empirically sure of the silliness of most religion, Sadducees trimmed true faith to a skeleton, elevating skepticism to a virtue. Beware of both parties today.

Legalism will bind you. Slowly but surely, your faith will shift from serving and loving Jesus to serving and embracing rules. Your reward will be self-righteousness.

Empiricism will starve you. If everything you believe must be measured, you’ll have no place for faith, hope, or love. You will be spiritually gaunt, and with so little room for growth, you’ll probably give it up.

Walk with Jesus. Accept no religious substitutes.

(from The Life Application Commentary Series Copyright © 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000 by the Livingstone Corporation. Produced with permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.)

In Mark’s passage, we also get a glimpse of a healing. The people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged Him to touch (heal) him. Note what Jesus did not do – He did not heal this man right there. Instead, He led the man out of the town or away from the village. When they were much more secluded, He applied spit to the man’s eyes and asked if he could see. The man could see, but not as a mature person would, he could see more like a child – seeing shapes but not being able to focus on details. Touching the man’s eyes a second time gave mature vision so the ability to see clearly was given. Then Jesus commanded the man to return home without going into the village.

At this point, Christ had already said no more signs and wonders to the nation. There was no need to give a public demonstration of His person. However, notice that Christ was still responsive to the needs of the individuals – especially when they expressed faith in His person.

What of us? Do we anticipate a miracle on a grand scale, in front of many in the hopes of them turning to God? Would we be accepting of a miracle if it was pulled to the side, out of the main stream of life, or would that take some of the shine off of it? Be careful of treating God’s works as a genie granting wishes – God is much more that that!

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Entry Filed under: Bible Study, Bryan Dunn