The Yeasty Beasty Series

M16: THE YEASTY BEASTY

M16: LEAVEN THAT’LL KEEP YOU FROM HEAVEN

Matthew 16:5-12

#m16sermons

INTRODUCTION… My First and Only Breadmaker (p)

When Kelly and I got married in 1998, we had a wedding registry like all couples do nowadays. A wedding registry, if you do not know, is a list from various stores and folks buy from those lists so the couple gets what they need or want. Among the things I wanted, was an automatic bread maker. I imagined starting the bread each evening and then letting it do its thing and waking up to the smell of fresh baked bread every morning with little to no effort. I remember telling Kelly that we would never have to buy bread from a store ever again. I was so confident at the time that I would never again step foot in the bread aisle.

Well, we did get the bread maker. The bread maker was awesome and new and shiny and so complicated to use. You had to put flour in it and then have yeast for some reason, but the yeast had to be activated by warm water and not cold water or water that was too hot. My first batch of bread looked like a ramp in that only half of the bread rose. My second batch of bread looked good, but did not taste good. My third batch of bread never happened. The bread maker that I desired so much sat in storage for 20 years until we sold it at a yard sale for $10.

I blame the yeast.

CONTEXT OF MATTHEW 16

Jesus is gaining some fame in His ministry and people are responding to His teachings and people all around are talking about Him. Jesus has been healing many people (Matthew 15:29-31). Lame folks are getting popular with their friends… no not that kind of lame… but physically lame people are physically walking. Mute people are speaking. Some with demon possession are healed. Blind people are seeing. Mothers-in-law are nicer. Jesus is performing miraculous healings and signs along with His teaching and preaching to show that He is Who He says He is… the promised prophet called the Messiah Who would bring salvation.

Not only has Jesus been healing, but He has also been doing other miracles like feeding 4,000 people (Matthew 15:32-39) with just a few loaves and a few fish. Not only did He feed all those people with the small food on hand, but there were leftovers. The feeding of the 4,000 is mentioned at the end of chapter 15 right before chapter 16 begins. This means the disciples has bread on their minds which is probably why Jesus teaches the way He does in chapter 16.

Jesus is gaining popularity among crowds of people and they are listening to Him about repentance and the Kingdom of God and forgiveness and love and holiness. While Jesus is doing all of this, He is also being monitored by religious leaders. In Matthew 16, we are told that Pharisees and Sadducees come and test Him and try to discredit Him because they felt threatened by Him. Pharisees were popular among the people as religious leaders and the Sadducees were politically powerful as religious leaders. Together they make up the religious leadership of the Jews and together they are a dangerous team.

THE METAPHOR OF YEAST

Yeasts are single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. Yeast is a natural bubble making fungus that people have used for years. Different types of yeast are used in beer, wine, different breads, to remove environmental pollutants, ethanol fuels, root beer, kambucha, vegemite, some probiotics, aquariums, and can even bee found in bee stomachs. Yeast is also probably that thing that makes your dog smell bad. Yeast is everywhere and gets everywhere. That is sort of the point!

The phrase "yeast of the Pharisees" that we will read about in a moment in Matthew 16 originates from a biblical metaphor used by Jesus Christ in the Gospel of Luke chapter 12 and in this passage (Matthew 16). In these passages, Jesus warns His disciples to beware of the "yeast of the Pharisees," which he explains metaphorically as hypocrisy or the tendency towards several; related bad attitudes.

Yeast, in this context, symbolizes something that spreads and permeates, much like how yeast leavens bread and causes it to rise. It is supposed to do that anyway, based on my limited experience. Overall, Jesus was cautioning His followers against adopting the attitudes and behaviors of the Pharisees, who were religious leaders known for their strict adherence to outward religious laws while often lacking genuine faith or humility on the inside. It is the nature of yeast to spread and infect everything around it that makes it a good metaphor for Jesus.