“‘Watch out!’ Jesus warned them. ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees…
Why can’t you understand that I’m not talking about bread? So again I say, ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’”
Matthew 16:6, 11 NLT
When Jesus repeats “beware” twice, we better pay attention. However, only days before His warning about the yeast of the Pharisees, Jesus had compared the Kingdom of Heaven to yeast. So, what was the difference?
The Pharisees taught a religion that focused on external performance—do good works and keep the outside of the cup whitewashed. Yet, these religious leaders allowed pride to clutter their hearts and therefore crushed others with judgment. What a destructive kind of yeast!
On the contrary, Kingdom teaching is all about relationship. It focuses on the heart—trusting Jesus to make us righteous. Relationship doesn’t result from what we do but from what HE did. We don’t white-wash the outside—Jesus blood-washes the inside! What a freeing kind of yeast!
The disciples had been arguing about not bringing bread on their journey. However, Jesus wasn’t concerned about the bread, but about the yeast—the kind of yeast the Pharisees were trying to sell!
Yeast has the power to permeate and change its surroundings, so the danger lies in which brand of yeast we buy into! We can choose the teachings of trust and enjoy relationship, or we can choose the teachings of works and be enslaved to religion.
So, BEWARE—Choose your yeast carefully!
Whether it’s the trust brand or the works brand,
That yeast will permeate your entire life!
