31 July, 2016

Introduction:

Beware the yeast of the Pharisees!

Mark 8: 11-21

Friends, have you ever made bread before? When I was growing up my mother used to make bread &
not in a bread making machine, but by hand. My mother would get white flour, pour it into a bowl, then
add the water, & then she would add the key ingredient - a tiny little bit of yeast. Then she would mix it all
up with her hands until she had a beautiful soft, wet blob. And finally she would put it back into the bowl,
cover it with a slightly wet tea towel & then we would wait. Now, my mum would go off & do other things
but I would stay in the kitchen & I would watch the bowl & every few minutes Id slowly lift the tea towel
& watch the blob slowly get bigger & bigger. And after about an hour or so you had a bread loaf, tall,
springy & ready to cook in the oven. And friends, there is nothing like the smell of freshly baked bread.
And all this can only happen because of yeast. Yeast is the key ingredient. You put a small amount of
yeast into the mixture & slowly, the yeast spreads through the wet flour, the yeast changes the flour & it
transforms it into the loaf that is ready to cook.
Friends, Jesus says guard yourself against the yeast of the Pharisees. Jesus says be careful of the yeast
that comes from the Pharisees. Look at v13
So Jesus got back into the boat & left the Pharisees, & he crossed to the other side of the lake.14 But the
disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat.15 Jesus warned
them, "Watch out! guard against the yeast of the Pharisees & of Herod."
13

Friends, Jesus says Watch out! protect yourself against the yeast of the
Pharisees. Now, you can sort of understand why the disciples would be just a
little bit confused here. You see, what does Jesus mean when he says the
yeast of the Pharisees? I mean, is Jesus telling his disciples that the next time
you go to the shops to buy yeast, whatever you do, dont buy Pharisee brand
yeast because the yeast the Pharisees sell is hopeless & it just wont work.
Friends, is this is what Jesus means?
Now, if you think Im being a bit silly here, listen to what the disciples of Jesus
think Jesus is talking about. look at v16.
16

The disciples talked this over & said to each other, He must be saying this because we have no bread.

You see, I think the disciples honestly think that Jesus is just giving them some good shopping advice
here. You know, they think that Jesus is saying that if you want really good yeast to make really good
bread - then dont go to the Pharisees because they make really bad quality yeast! Now Jesus of course
can see that his disciples just havent got a clue about what he is talking about. And really, they have no
idea of what he is trying to teach them. And to tell you the truth, most people today probably dont
understand what Jesus is trying to teach us either. And so, as usual, Jesus tries to explain things to them
yet again. Look at v17
17 Jesus knew what they were talking about & asked, "Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you
still not see or understand? Are your hearts still hardened? 18 Do you have eyes but do not see, & having
ears do you still not hear? And dont you remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand,
how many baskets there were left-over?" They said to him, "Twelve." 20 And when I broke the seven loaves
for the four thousand, how many baskets were left-over?" "Seven," they answered. 21And Jesus said to them,
"Do you still not understand what I am talking about?"

Friends, once again Jesus can see that the hearts of his disciples are not right. Their hearts are not soft.
Instead, their hearts are hard & their hearts resist the work that God is trying to do in them by the power
of the Holy Spirit. You see, Jesus has been trying to show them who he is by showing them what he can
do but still they do not understand. Still, they do not have confidence in Jesus. And really, the only way
that Jesus can help them is to gently & logically lead his 12 closest followers through the experiences they
have already had with him - so they can begin to understand the dangers of becoming like a Pharisee.
And friends, I love this question - answer style of teaching that Jesus uses here. I mean, Jesus says, okay,
lets go through this one more time - slowly. Guys, do you remember when I broke the 5 loaves of bread
to feed the 5000 men + women & children how many basketfuls of left-over food you collected? We
collected 12 baskets full say the disciples. Jesus says Good. Now, when I broke the 7 loaves of bread to

feed the 4000 men + women & children, how many basketfuls of left over food did you collect?... we
collected 7, the disciples say. So then Jesus says to his disciples, "OK then, do you get it now? Do you
now understand what I am talking about?" Friends, you can almost see the faces of the 12 disciples,
cant you? You know, these men are sitting there in the boat, looking at each other & thinking I have no
idea what this man is talking about!
And yet friends, what Jesus is talking about here is one of the most important things a disciple of Jesus
must learn, the danger of becoming like a Pharisee - the very real danger of thinking like a Pharisee &
living like a Pharisee. And this is true for the followers of Jesus, even today. You see, we still face this
danger. So what is Jesus talking about here? I mean, what is the problem with the Pharisees who really
were the most religious & upright people in the Jewish society that Jesus served, 2000 years ago. Well,
many people say that Jesus is talking about the pride of the Pharisees. You know, it sounds like Jesus is
saying that just like yeast makes the dough puff up & rise - so pride fills the Pharisees & puffs them up - so
they think they are right & good. And so they think they dont need Jesus & they dont need forgiveness.
But after thinking about this for a while, I dont think that Jesus is using this picture of yeast in this way. You
see, I think Jesus is saying that the problem with the Pharisees is a small one - that grows. And just like a
small amount of yeast spreads through the whole dough & it slowly changes it so is the yeast of the
Pharisees starts small, but it spreads until affects the whole of your life. And that's why its so dangerous &
thats why Jesus says we must be careful. So, what is this yeast of the Pharisees that spreads & can
destroy your life? Well, when we look at the 4 x gospel stories of Jesus life, death & resurrection, again &
again we see that Jesus is very critical of the religious teachers of his day. For example, look at what
Jesus says about the Pharisees in Matthew 23:
Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes & Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you clean the outside of the cup & the
plate, but inside you are full of greed 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup & the plate then the outside also will be clean.
25

Friends, these two verses perfectly summarise the Pharisees, because in these 2 sentences Jesus
describes both their attitude & their teaching. And Jesus says that the Pharisees are hypocrites & they
teach people how to be hypocrites. And here, Jesus uses the image of a dishwasher to describe what
these people are really like on the inside. And Jesus says the Pharisees are like a white cup a white cup
that looks so clean - on the outside. I mean, on the outside these religious leaders look like they love God
& they look like they are good people. But on the inside Jesus says they are dirty & unclean, because on
the inside their hearts are unclean. You see, the sad truth is that on the inside, deep in their hearts, these
religious people are full of things like greed & selfishness, & pride & evil. And I think this is the yeast of the
Pharisees. The yeast of the Pharisees is where you concentrate on your outside by making rules &
traditions that everyone must follow but where you neglect what is on the inside- your heart (your spirit).
In other words, the yeast of the Pharisees is where you put all your time & energy into following external
rules &traditions & customs but you ignore your heart (your spirit). And Jesus says that one mistake, will
spread through your whole life & you will become proud & arrogant & unloving & unkind & unmerciful &
you will be unable to see the work of God all around you & in your own life. And that is what has
happened to these Pharisees. They simply couldnt see the goodness of God in Jesus. Look at v11.
When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had arrived, they came to him & began arguing. Testing Jesus, they
demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.
11

Friends, can you see what these religious people are like? They demand that Jesus show them a sign
from heaven to prove who he is. But there is one big problem with their request because Jesus has
already fed 5000 men + all the women & children, with 5 x pieces of bread & 2 x pieces of fish. And Jesus
has just fed another 4000 men + all the women & children, with 7 loaves of bread. And Jesus has already
made blind people see, lame people walk & the dead he has raised back to life. I mean, what more
proof do these people need? Cant they see who Jesus is? And yet, this is what happens when you are
so distracted & worried about rules & regulations & customs that you cannot see one of the most
important things in the world what God is already doing around you & what God is already doing with
you. I mean, your eyes just wont be able to see what God is doing. Youll miss all the signs that are there
& you wont see all the evidence of Gods goodness in your life, because youre worried about the
wrong things- youre distracted from whats really important. Friends, the truth is that God is most

interested in your heart (in your spirit). God is most interested in who you really are on the inside, & God is
most interested n what sort of person you are becoming. Are we becoming more like Jesus?
Conclusion:
Friends, Jesus warned his 12 x closest disciples to watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees, because just
like yeast the life & teaching of the Pharisees can spread & affect the whole of your life. And this
teaching makes hearts that are soft to God - hard, & it makes hearts that are hard to God - even harder.
And the yeast of the Pharisees is to put all your time & effort into following external rules & traditions &
customs but to ignore your own heart (your own spirit). It is to leave your heart untouched by the grace &
spirit & word of God.
Lets pray