Did you ever accidentally put salt on your cereal instead of sugar, or put salt in a cake recipe instead of sugar? At first glance salt and sugar look alike, but they sure don’t taste alike. Sugar “influences” our cereal to make it more enjoyable, whereas salt ruins the taste of it.
Jesus talked about different types of “leaven” that influence the lives of people. On the outside they resemble each other as do sugar and salt, but when we mix them into our souls they have profoundly different effects. He spoke to his disciples about this while they returning home from an amazing mission (Mark 8:14-21).
“Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. They concluded among themselves that it was because they had no bread.”
They only had one loaf of bread in the boat and were probably arguing about who was responsible. When Jesus mentioned “leaven,” all they could think about was their growling stomachs. Jesus was talking about the influence that the teachings of the Pharisees and the values of Herod had on the people. This leaven was death-producing. Instead of causing the bread to rise, it had the effect of ruining the bread. Because what the Pharisees and Herod had to say resembled the truth, it could easily be mistaken for the real thing. And so, Jesus warned his disciples to be on guard against them.
He got on their cases for missing the point.
“Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have yes and not see, ears and not hear? And do you remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?” They answered him, “Twelve.” “When I broke the seven loaves, how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?” They answered him, “Seven.”
These numbers were not accidental. By allowing a certain number of wicker baskets of scraps, God was putting an interpretation on these incidents. Twelve and seven were numbers that indicated “fulfillment.” These were kingdom numbers. The outpouring of miracles that took place among the people and the abundance of bread indicated that the long-awaited Kingdom of God had come. When the “leaven” of God’s Kingdom was present—as it was in Jesus—healings took place, demons were driven out of people, and bread was multiplied. Something new and powerful was taking place, and the disciples hadn’t bothered to reflect on its meaning. All they could think about was their stomachs. If the disciples had any idea of the full significance of what had taken place, they would still be struck with awe. They would be discussing the meaning of the twelve and the seven baskets. They were caught up in the middle of the greatest manifestation of the power of God in the history of the world, and all they could think about who was responsible for providing lunch.
“(Jesus) said to them, ‘Do you still not understand?’”
How do these words apply to us? Are we so preoccupied with what we’re going to have for dinner that we miss out on the presence of God’s Kingdom in our lives? Or have we unknowingly bought into the leaven of such people as the Pharisees and Herod, and thus closed our minds and hearts to the power of the Holy Spirit? Who and what are influencing our lives?
“The voice of the Lord is over the waters…” (Ps 29:3)
