Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod

Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him. But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation." And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.

Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod." And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread." But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?" They said to Him, "Twelve." "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?" They said, "Seven." So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"

- Mark 8:11-21

On Saturday, we read of Jesus' feeding of four thousand men. There was a previous miraculous feeding in the wilderness, of five thousand. In the first, Jesus had compassion on the multitude that was with Him, because they were "like sheep not having a shepherd." The second was similar: the crowd had followed Him for three days, and so He commanded His disciples to feed them. In both incidents, a few loaves of bread and fishes fed the crowds. But the first took place among Jewish followers, and this second takes place among a crowd which includes Gentiles, in the region of the Decapolis. See Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? Can He give bread also?

Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him. But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation." And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side. My study bible says, "A sign from heaven is an indisputable, spectacular act, the kind Jesus rejected in His temptations. Jesus has given countless signs by this time: causing the blind to see, the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, the dumb to speak, and the dead to rise. But these are not good enough for the Pharisees. Jesus sighed deeply, for they seek a sign out of hardness of heart, daring Jesus to force them to faith."

Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod." In some sense, we see mirrored in this story a part of the great struggle of the early Church, and perhaps in another sense, that which most specifically was a part of John Mark's life (John Mark was the full name of the author of our Gospel). His mother's home in Jerusalem was a meeting place for the early Church. Later Mark and Barnabas would accompany Paul on his first mission. But Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem, in a split with Paul. Later, however, Mark was called back to Rome in the later part of Paul's time there -- and this Gospel is considered to have been written for the church at Rome, which was comprised of both Gentiles and Jews. The "leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod" therefore may be something with which they contest at Rome: conflicts that would cause difficulties for the Christians, and lead to the persecutions of Nero. "Leaven," my study bible explains, "is frequently (but not always) a negative image in Scripture, symbolizing evil. Here it represents the erroneous understanding and evil intent of the Pharisees and Herod Antipas. Though they completely misunderstand the revelation of God in Christ, the Pharisees influence the people. Their teaching is like leaven; it permeates the whole. Their blatant legalism and hypocritical actions damage those who listen to them." What we have then is essentially a failure of faith. To continually seek a sign when there are those signs in abundance is a problem of the lack of faith, the lack of the heart's perception, blinded by other cares. "The leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod" would most specifically seem to be a preoccupation with power -- the rules that leave them firmly in charge and in control.

And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread." But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?" They said to Him, "Twelve." "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?" They said, "Seven." So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?" While it is an astounding failure to comprehend even what they have experienced themselves, this is rather a humorous spot in the Gospels. The disciples think Jesus is upset because they have forgotten bread! They have no idea what He is talking about when He refers to "leaven." It is an illustration of what happens when we listen to parables, metaphors, and are "hard of hearing" in the spiritual sense. Why do they not understand Him? This is seemingly an expression of great frustration on Jesus' part -- how could they not understand even after two miraculous feedings in the wilderness? Why would He be upset because they forgot bread?? So, we have a deeper understanding to be gained here: it's not just the Pharisees and Herod who are problematic, but this problem extends to His disciples, who can't seem to understand anything about Him, to perceive His real nature. My study bible says, "Men who do not yet understand the Lord's provision for them in the feeding of the five thousand and the four thousand are men whose hearts are still hardened. discipleship without an understanding of Christ is unthinkable."

What is it that the disciples need that they cannot perceive Christ nor understand Him? Where is the faith that would come from a comprehension and remembrance of the incidents of feeding in the wilderness, the two spectacular signs to which Jesus refers here? One thing we clearly understand is the coming at Pentecost of the Spirit, and how that Spirit of truth is necessary for us in our own understanding and perception and experience of faith. But another thing which we must take notice of here, and one with which Mark's Gospel is frequently preoccupied, is the nature of faith itself. As in the parable of the Sower, we ask ourselves, how does faith take root? And how does it blossom and grow and spread in us and through us? Faith is not a one-time declaration, but a lifetime of choices and decisions, of experience, of "putting things together" as in this example. Faith is a lifetime of developing those spiritual eyes and ears to perceive which Jesus speaks of in today's passage. So the real question becomes, here, whether or not we are developing our hearts in this way, the spiritual hearing and vision that we need. The "leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod" really hasn't left us at all, and we are subject to it ourselves. The demand for a sign, that we be convinced is a wrong-headed way to faith, in which we must suspect inner motives when this is all we focus on. What is it we are really holding onto that is threatened in some way by a faith that would open us up to something much greater than ourselves, and what we know, and can control? What takes life out of our own power? To open up to spiritual sight and hearing can mean a great change in life, an opening up to love which is unpredictable and expanding and life-changing. It is a kingdom that knows no bounds and cannot be contained, as we have seen. Where does it take you? How do you open up your spiritual eyes and ears, those of the heart, to take you on a life-changing and evolving and growing journey?