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 loves 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 large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"

Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him and begged Him to touch him.  So he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."

- Mark 8:11-26

Yesterday we read that at this time in Jesus' ministry, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.  And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar."  Then His disciples answered Him, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?"  He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.  They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them.  So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments.  Now those who had eaten were about four thousand.  And He sent them away, immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

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."   My study bible explains that a sign from heaven means a spectacular display of power.  The Pharisees want Him to "prove" that He is the Christ (the Messiah) by such a sign.  The time of the Messiah was expected to be accompanied by miraculous signs, but these men fail to recognize the signs which are in fact happening through Christ's ministry and its expression of God's love.   Jesus will not give proofs upon demand; His ministry must unfold according to the will of the Father. 

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 loves 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 large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"  My study bible says that the leaven of the Pharisees is their doctrine and their hypocrisy (Matthew 16:12, Luke 12:1).  My study bible adds that in various places in Scripture, leaven is used both positively (as in Jesus' parable given at Matthew 13:33), and also negatively, as Jesus uses it here.  In both cases, leaven represents a force which is both powerful and subtle -- so that it permeates and affects everything around it (see 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 in which St. Paul uses the term both ways).   Jesus also expresses clearly that the two feedings in the wilderness are separate events.  It is essential for us to be aware that the disciples also misunderstand Christ and seemingly fail to "take in" the facts of His ministry.

Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him and begged Him to touch him.  So he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."  My study bible comments that the people of Bethsaida were unbelieving (Matthew 11:21), and therefore Jesus leads the blind man out of the town in order to heal him.  It is yet another occasion in which He avoids the scoffing of the crowd (see also the healing of Jairus' daughter, in this reading).  But my study bible adds another important reason for this, and that is because those who would scoff would bring upon themselves greater condemnation.  Note clearly that the Gospel presents this blind man's healing as progressing in stages.  My study bible says that this shows he had only a small amount of faith, as happens according to one's faith (6:5-6).  Nevertheless, this little faith was enough, and it increased with Christ's touch and presence.  His command not to return to the town can be seen symbolically as the idea that we mustn't return to our sins -- this environment in which there is scorn for the things of faith -- after we've been forgiven.

There are elements which tie all of today's Scripture together in each event recorded.  There is the element of hard-heartedness, which Jesus mentions in the context of the disciples' lack of comprehension that by speaking about leaven, He wasn't referring to bread.  He asks them how they could make that particular mistake in the light of the two separate occasions upon which the miracle of the multiplication of loaves of bread occurred.  In this case, He asks them if their hearts are hardened as symbolizing the inability of the inner self to grasp the things of God, to "take them in."  Hard-heartedness also applies to the Pharisees who demand a sign, at the beginning of our reading today.  But such hard-heartedness as they present is a deeper problem than that of the disciples, as it is not only more ingrained but present in these men who are experts in Scripture and the work of the Holy Spirit throughout the spiritual history of the Jewish people.  The disciples do not have the kind of education and knowledge that the Pharisees do.  The Pharisees' hard-heartedness is complicated by envy (15:10), a jealousy for their places of authority over religious life in Israel.  Jesus also mentions Herod, another who is fearful of losing his place of power and authority to the holy.   Hard-heartedness is linked to spiritual blindness or deafness (4:10-12), and also the hypocrisy against which Jesus teaches here (7:6).  Then we come to the healing of the blind man.  He must be taken out of the town, away from those whose faith is non-existent.  These townspeople, in effect, function in the same way that the demand for proof by the Pharisees functions, to cast doubt on the action and presence of the Spirit at work in Christ's ministry, to deny the presence of the holy.  Moreover, this blind man's healing is gradual, teaching us that no matter where we are, there is capacity and potential for growth in our faith and our spiritual understanding:  the perfect example for the disciples' own lack of understanding of Christ's words about the Pharisees and Herod.  In the Pharisees and Herod, Christ gives us a picture of the potential to cast scorn and doubt upon anything, to deny the presence of God at work where holiness is manifest.  In effect, this kind of "leaven" creates an impermeable hard-heartedness, a barrier to spiritual perception.  But the disciples are in a different place; their lack of comprehension will change with growth in faith, a receptiveness to the things of God which Christ brings into the world, and a response through repentance (metanoia in the Greek, meaning "change of mind") that will enable them to grow and cast off the thinking that makes them blind.  In the blind man, we see the stages of growth in faith, the work of ongoing repentance and enlightenment, the change that is possible in us through time.  Let us understand that each one of us possesses this potential, but the further along we go down a road of denial, the more there is to overcome, to reverse and change in our minds and hearts.  It is in this context that my study bible comments, above, that by taking the blind man out of town for healing, Jesus prevents the townspeople from incurring a deeper condemnation.  We begin with Christ Himself at the center of all of this, and His clear frustration even with His closest disciples.  It cannot have been easy for Him, and yet His patience and love for us is infinite.  He walks with us, inviting us always to the journey on which He will take us, if we but let ourselves hear and see what He's showing us, and where He would have us go.   He illuminates the sight of the blind man, and His light illuminates the way, if we accept in trust to take it.  It's easy and simple to cast doubt and aspersion on anything.  What is more difficult is accepting, cherishing, and growing the precious treasure that is offered to us.  That takes faith, and our struggle for our faith is real and true.