Daily Bread

Now the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread; and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, ‘Watch out—beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.’ They said to one another, ‘It is because we have no bread.’ And becoming aware of it, Jesus said to them, ‘Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?’ They said to him, ‘Twelve.’ ‘And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?’ And they said to him, ‘Seven.’ Then he said to them, ‘Do you not yet understand?’

Whenever I read this passage from Mark's gospel, I always feel kinda sorry for the disciples. It is a bit of a face-palm moment. They had messed up by forgetting to bring enough supplies, and were probably working out how to tell Jesus that it was going to be a very light supper, however Jesus was still in teaching mode and he had something important to tell them — "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod."

Jesus had been teaching about the kingdom of God and how it was different to the kingdom(s) of the world. He did this through using stories, parables, metaphors, and of course superabundant miracles — including the feeding of thousands where there were heaps of bread left over. You might also remember this parable where he described the kingdom of God:

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.” (Matthew 13:33)

So, when Jesus referred to the yeast of the Pharisees and yeast of Herod, he was talking about their philosophy that also spread and permeated community and society — but it was not a Godly yeast. To oversimplify their messages, the Pharisees called people to holiness and obedience to the law of Moses, and the Herodians (followers of Herod) called people to collude with the Romans and follow their laws.

As the American Christian philosopher, Dallas Willard, explained in his book 'The Divine Conspiracy', Jesus did not come to give us a whole 'nother set of laws that need to be followed, but he gave himself that whoever trusts in him will find life and be filled with the Spirit of God.

Holy God
Thank you that I belong to you,
that I am under your authority,
and that, by the Holy Spirit,
the kingdom of God is working in and through me.
Help me be aware of the yeasts of this world,
that spread intolerance and hate,
and cling firmly to Jesus —
and your divine message of acceptance and love.
Together, with your whole Church,
may we may be a blessing to all,
that the world might know that God is God.