yeast

Matthew 16:5-12

Jesus speaks in another parable, or cryptic saying in these verses. He warns his disciples of the yeast of the Pharisees. His disciples, again, completely miss the point and think that Jesus is referring to the fact that they forgot to bring bread and, I guess, warning them not to buy bread from the Pharisees. Jesus, of course, is not talking about bread but about the subversive and influential teaching of the Pharisees that permeates and affects the whole culture.
Jesus uses a phrase that he has used often: you of little faith. This seems to be his favourite commendation (you have much faith) and his favourite rebuke (you of little faith). In this case he rebukes the disciples' lack of faith in his ability to provide for their needs. It shouldn't have taken much faith because they had seen him provide for the needs of huge crowds with very little food. I'm going to have to keep my eyes open but I think Jesus mainly rebukes his disciples for their lack of faith and mainly commends the ordinary citizen, and maybe even most often the outcast, for their extraodinary faith.
There are three things I get from this passage: 1) I need to be on my guard against the subversive, damaging, pervasive affect of false teaching in my life, in my ministry and in my church. I can't allow it. I must speak against it and counter it with truth where ever I see it. If I don't, it will spread and affect everything. 2) I am at least as thick as the disciples were. I can't condemn them for not getting the things Jesus was teaching. At least they had left everything to follow him. I might understand what Jesus is teaching and it might be easy for me to look down my nose on the disciples fo not understanding but they obviously believed and acted on what Jesus was teaching. 3) I desperately want Jesus to commend me for my faith/faithfulness. I, like the disciples, am too quick to forget his miraculous provision and presence in the past and too prone to doubt and self-sufficiency.