Quick-Acting Yeast

 

Quick-Acting Yeast (Mark 8:1-21)

“Be very careful. Keep a sharp eye out for the contaminating yeast of Pharisees and the followers of Herod.” (Mark 8:15)

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Everywhere Jesus goes, large crowds seem to find him. Earlier today, about 4,000 people gathered around Jesus. Just like that other time when about 5,000 people came to hear him teach, Jesus had compassion on this crowd, too. So he took the few loaves of bread that we had, along with several fish, and he fed the entire crowd. One day I’m sure people will talk about having a power lunch, but they will have no idea what a real power lunch looks like!

Because we’ve been in the region of Lake Galilee, we spend a lot of time in the boat. So, after we fed the 4,000 people (and by “we,” I really mean Jesus, because he was the one who miraculously fed the people; we just gave him what little bread we had), we got into the boat and went to the region of Dalmanutha. We were met by a bunch of Pharisees who wanted to put Jesus to the test. I’m sure they must have heard about everything Jesus had been doing, including the latest mass feeding. But the word of others wasn’t good enough for them; they demanded that Jesus prove himself to them by showing them their own private miracle.

Jesus just rolled his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. Looking to nobody in particular, he vented his frustration. “Why does this generation clamor for miraculous guarantees?,” he said. If I have anything to say about it, you’ll not get so much as a hint of a guarantee.” Then we got back into the boat and headed toward the other side of the lake.

While we were in the boat, Jesus said to us, “Watch out, be careful and be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” Being the dull-headed dolts that we can be at times, we misunderstood what Jesus was saying about when he spoke of yeast. But that’s a story for another day. 

Later in the evening, I did go back in my mind and think about Jesus’ warning against the yeast of the Pharisees and Herod. Given the Pharisees’ persistent refusal to believe or even acknowledge that Jesus is sent from God, and given the Herod’s propensity to act with evil and violence against anyone who poses a threat to his power, I have concluded that the “yeast” of which Jesus speaks is the contaminating influence of unbelief and evil. 

I know that yeast, when it is mixed into a batch of flour and water, will cause the whole mixture to grow. A ball of dough the size of a fist can grow into the size of a large melon in only a matter of a few hours. It’s pretty amazing. If Jesus is comparing the unbelieving and evil spirit of the Pharisees and Herod to yeast, then I feel like he’s saying that their influence can quickly become very contagious, and their influence can quickly spread.

As I walk with Jesus, I realize that I must be careful not to let even a little bit of a bad influence to creep into my heart, because in no time at all it can take hold and spread into every aspect of my faith. And it’s not only my faith that is threatened by the “yeast,” but the faith of everyone else with whom I associate. The whole movement surrounding Jesus and the kingdom he is establishing can quickly become infected if any of us lets the unbelieving and coercive spirit of the Pharisees and those who follow Herod get a foothold in our lives. 

I need to be very careful. It doesn’t take much of a bad thing to ruin all the good things about my walk with Jesus. 

Dear Jesus, I pray for a spirit that is able to discern things that would become a bad and infectious influence within me and everyone else who walks with you, because we know how quickly the bad influences can overtake us.