Matthew 16:5-12 (NKJV)
"REMEMBER THE BREAD"
August 6, 2023
What is this doctrine of the Pharisee and Sadducee? Luke 12:1 teaches that it is the doctrine of Hypocrisy. It is a people that say we uphold law and order until they themselves must be held accountable for their lawless actions. It is a system of hypocrisy that brings charges against a black social media influencer for inciting a riot in New York the next day and it has taken 2 years to bring charges for inciting a riot at the capital. Jesus said, “Beware the leaven (the yeast) of the Pharisees and Sadducees (the religious right and the religious left).” Beware the religious hypocrite who makes speeches of family values but when put to the test, there are no moral standards at all. As we approach these verses today, we would do well to take a moment to consider the events that bring us to this point.
In chapter 14, Jesus takes five loaves of bread and two fish and He feeds 5,000! In chapter 15, Jesus takes seven loaves of bread and a few little fish, and He feeds 4,000 men plus all the women and children! In each miracle the disciples collect the leftovers and in the first there are 12 baskets and in the second 7 large baskets after everyone was full. In the opening verses chapter 16 the Pharisees and Sadducees are once again looking for a sign and demand that Jesus perform some miracle in the heavens to prove to them that He is really the Messiah. Jesus refuses to play their game, verse 4, and He simply leaves them standing there while He and His men get into a boat and sail away. That brings us to our text. Verse 5 finds Jesus and His disciples getting off a boat after sailing across the Sea of Galilee. They realize that they have forgotten to bring along any bread for themselves. Jesus knows what they are thinking! He uses their forgetfulness as an opportunity to teach them a lesson using bread as a metaphor. I want us to “Remember the Bread.”
I. v.6 THE COMMAND - He warns them to beware of the “leaven” of the “Pharisees and Sadducees”. Our Lord’s warning needs a little explanation. Leaven is another word for yeast. Yeast is added to dough to make it rise. Bread Yeast is a bacterium that feeds on the dough and these bacteria give off a gas that causes bread to rise. Human Yeast is a fungus. Yeast can lie dormant for many months, and then, at the first hint of moisture, it comes to life and begins its work. In the Bible, leaven is a picture of sin, evil and wickedness. It is used as a picture of corruption. Believers are commanded to “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened,” 1 Corinthians 5:7. We are to lay aside evil and spiritual corruption and live for the Lord. We are also warned in the same chapter that “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” The idea here is that a little sin is like yeast in our lives. When we tolerate sin in our lives, it will soon infiltrate every part of our lives. Jesus is saying in essence, “Beware the yeast infection!” An untreated yeast infection will always cause further irritation. He does not say beware the Pharisees or beware the Sadducees! Jesus says beware the leaven. Beware going through the motions of holiness with a hard heart! In Matthew 23:23 Jesus says, “you tithe but have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgement, mercy and faith!” He says tithing is good, but you shouldn’t leave out the rest! So, Jesus warns the disciples about “the evil influences” of the religious. The Pharisees were religious men, but their religion was external; it did not change their hearts. They claimed to love the Lord, but they were nothing but religious frauds. When they infiltrated the lives of those around them, like yeast, they corrupted those lives as well. Jesus is warning His men of the danger of having a hypocritical heart because it not only corrupts them it infects others. Jesus is simply telling His people, regardless of the age in which they live to beware of hypocrisy, worldliness and compromise. He tells us that if we allow just a little of those things to exist in our lives, they will infiltrate every area of life, just like yeast infiltrates an entire lump of dough. It is a simple command for the people of the Lord to be clean, holy and different. Peter said the world stumbles, because they are disobedient to the Word of God, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light!”
II. v. 7 THE CONFUSION - The disciples hear the Lord’s warning and they immediately misunderstand what He is trying to say. Their minds are so focused on the material, physical world that they cannot see the spiritual side of anything. Just like us! We come to church, we turn on lights, we teach the lesson, we sing the song, we preach the sermon, we count the offering, we pay the bills, we turn off lights and lock the doors. We are doing all the things of ministry and yet don’t understand what Jesus is saying to us! They hear the Lord’s word and immediately they start thinking is Jesus upset because we forgot the bread? Jesus isn’t talking about real bread at all. He is merely using the leaven found in bread as a metaphor, as a symbol of evil. They are so think-headed that they can’t grasp what the Lord is trying to tell them. The Lord will try to get us to understand His truth and we just keep on failing to get the meaning. That’s why we aren’t any farther along than we are right now. That’s why we continue to struggle with the flesh like we do. That’s why we don’t enjoy the victory like we could. We are think-headed and we often miss the spiritual truth that is all around us. We are so quick to dismiss what we see and hear without ever realizing that God is trying to grow us, teach us and develop us for His glory. The disciples were so focused on the material world that they failed to see the spiritual work of God in their midst. God is seeking to grow us, change us a develop us and we are so captivated by the world and the needs we think we have that we cannot see the Lord at work around us. When Jesus takes the bread and breaks it and gives it to His disciples He is calling our attention to Himself, “this bread is my body which is broken for you; Do this in remembrance of Me.” Remember the Bread!
III. v. 9 THE CHALLENGE - When Jesus senses their thoughts, He asks them a series of questions, v. 9-10, that are designed to awaken faith in their hearts. These questions are designed to cause them to remember what the Lord has done. Didn’t they see Him feed 5,000? Didn’t they see Him feed 4,000? Have they forgotten His mighty creative power? Are their hearts so hard that they cannot be penetrated by the things that they themselves have experienced? Then, Jesus asks them specifically about how many baskets of fragments were left over in the two feeding miracles. In Mark 8 they answer that there were twelve in the first and seven in the second. Our Lord’s point in this is to get them to see Who they are dealing with. They failed to understand that Jesus Christ was and is the Bread of Life. Isn’t it true that we are just like these men? The Lord has done so much for us, but when the next crisis of faith arises, we react in fear instead of faith. We need to take the time to reflect on what He has done and remember His power in our lives. He is trying to teach us that if He is in your boat, you don’t have to worry about where the bread will come from, because He is the “Bread of Life” and He knows how to minister to you.
In John 6:31 the religious folks said Our fathers ate the Bread from Heaven in the wilderness; as it is written, 'Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.' Then Jesus corrected them, "I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always." And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger…” Remember the Bread!
