14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither
had they in the ship with them more than one loaf.
15 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the
leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.
16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is
because we have no bread.
17 And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason
ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye
your heart yet hardened?
18 Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not?
and do ye not remember?
19 When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how
many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve.
20 And when the seven among four thousand, how many
baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven.
21 And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not
understand?
The disciples at this point in time were not effective
followers and we see that in v.14. They forgot to take bread and only had one
loaf of bread with them. This account
also demonstrated that they were not thinking on the same level with the Lord
Jesus. Because of the lack of
preparation they missed out on a vital spiritual truth that the Lord wanted to
teach His disciples. They were thinking
on a physical level but the Lord’s warning was concerning spiritual
things. He was teaching them on a
spiritual level. Past experiences with
the feeding of the five thousand and then the four thousand should have taught
them that the Lord could have easily made provisions for their food and thus
they have known that He was not interested in physical bread. Not only did they forget to prepare for their
physical journey, they also and more importantly forgot past victories and His miraculous
provisions. How many Christians today
are rendered ineffective for service due to negligence both in practical and
providential matters? The warning refers
to doctrinal matters. This account
correlates to Matthew’s story in Matt. 16:12.
The leaven is spoken of here in a negative way, no doubt highlighting its
corrupting element. The Pharisees had a
doctrine of legalism (an outward form of godliness but denying true inward
godliness). The Sadducees promoted liberalism,
particularly a denial of God’s supernatural ability to resurrect the dead. The
Herodians would have no king but Herod.
Bad doctrines will corrupt.
The warning is valid today as in the days of our Lord. Many professing Christians seem to pride themselves
in novelty of doctrines. Entire
religious movements today are corrupted with ecumenism or a broader call to
unity despite clear violations of Biblical teachings and standards. Some pride themselves on standing for certain
core essential doctrines but forgetting that doctrinal truths must be
applied. As a result we have men who can
expound dogmatically about the Trinity and from the same mouth use filth talk. In their imagination the Trisagion has no
teeth. Many insist on the sovereignty of
God, but their Bibliology is anthropocentric.
Disciples today heap upon themselves academic degree upon degree when
they should have been concerned with piety and zeal. Doctrinal leaven is with us today, but so is
God’s Holy Word. Let us not disappoint the
Lord Jesus by ineffective service for Him, and forgetting our past spiritual victories
and His providential care towards us.
Certainly the Lord Jesus was disappointed with the disciples, but
thankfully, He is gracious and patient with them, and with us, too.
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