Matthew 16 - Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees

Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. Matthew 16:6-12.

After the healing of the Canaanite woman's daughter and the feeding of the second multitude of 4000 in the wilderness, the Pharisees come back again, questioning Jesus. They knew very well that this amazing feat of feeding some 20,000 people with seven basketsful of leftover food was a sign by Jesus to the rulers of Israel that one greater than Moses had come. Moses fed Israel manna in the desert when they fled Egypt, but here was a man who feed them a super abundance of fish and loaves! God had never done anything like this before! Jesus was declaring that He was not only an anointed Jewish man (the Son of man), but that He was also divine, of God ( the Son of God). For that reason, the Pharisees came asking for a sign from heaven that would prove this truth.

Of course, Jesus was not going to provide any such thing, because the evidence was already there and in abundance. He answered that a wicked, evil, and adulterous generation requests signs when the evidence is as plain as the nose on one's face. In this new kingdom, revelation of truth comes by faith and not continual natural proof. Besides, even if Jesus had provided them with some sort of sign, they never would've believed it! Their hearts were hardened and calloused; they were blind and deaf and doomed to destruction (in 70AD).

Jesus warned His disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, meaning the man made doctrines that make the Gospel of no effect. At first the disciples thought He was talking about bread, but Jesus always speaks of spiritual things before dealing with natural issues. The spiritual sin or leaven of this Pharisaical/temple system would be the greatest obstacle to the Gospel message advancing forth. This is still true today. Religion (even some facets of Zionism), Christian watch-dogs, and denominationalism are the greatest hindrance to the advancement of the Gospel of grace. All of us need to examine the teaching we are sitting under and purge out anything that does not line up with God's precious Word!