Scripture

“Watch out!” Jesus warned. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

Observation

Some Pharisees and Sadducees come to Jesus, demanding that He perform a miraculous sign to prove His authority.

Jesus says, “Only an evil and adulterous generation demands a sign.” Later He warns His disciples to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

The disciples begin to argue among themselves because they had brought no bread with them. Jesus rebukes them because they have so quickly forgotten about how He had provided food for the crowds. Then they understand that the warning about the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees was not about food but about deceptive teaching.

Application

The deceptive teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees is all around us still, but we often fail to see it.

The Pharisees were the legalists who took the Law of Moses and made it more extreme. If the Law said, “Do nor work on the Sabbath,” they took that law and defined carefully what actions were allowable and what were not.

They believed that if they were good enough, God would bless them and raise them to eternal life.

There are people in every church who think that they have to prove themselves to God. Just say the prayer the right way, be a good person, and so on. This is the yeast of the Pharisees.

The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection. They were the people of unbelief, the “liberal” wing of the Jewish leaders. They believed in maintaining the traditions and co-operating with the pagan Romans.

If you believe that God does not heal people or perform miracles any more, you have the yeast of the Sadducees.

Prayer

Lord please deliver me from all forms of legalism and unbelief. I thank you that you love me, and that by your grace you have saved me. Amen.