Matthew 13:33
He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
How do we reconcile that verse with:
Matthew 16:5-12
5 When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. 6 “Be careful,”Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”7 They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.”
8 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? 9 Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 11 How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
These two verses are the only ones in the New Testament, regarding any kind of yeast. So what exactly is the “Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees?”
Outwardly religious people will weigh down other believers, with new and additional rules, in order to proselytize or make disciples.
Matthew 23:15
15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
Why do law makers feel as though they need to invent new laws? We already have a law. No need to reinterpret for “modern day.”
Such as the contemporary Jewish rule, making eating a hamburger with cheese on it a “sin.”
Where does that come from?
Exodus 23:19
“Bring the best of the first fruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God. “Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
So they reinterpret that as saying cheeseburgers are made of the same stuff. It really isn’t though.
- A young goat is NOT cooked in milk. It is most commonly grilled. Not boiled. Definitely not in milk.
- The slice of cheese on a burger is NOT of the same family of livestock.
- Most of us do NOT eat veal (beef made from young cows). Certainly NOT on cheeseburger. The beef at the grocery store, unless otherwise specified, is produced from mature animals.
What is another example of the “Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees?”
One of the 10 commandments is “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.” Does that interpret the cooking with microwaves as “kindling a fire?”
My common sense says NO. The reason kindling a fire is mentioned in the laws for the Sabbath, is because back then starting a fire was A LOT of work. So saying pushing a button on a microwave is the same as kindling a fire, clearly that person has never gone camping.
Jesus doesn’t invent new laws. He combines them all into two simple commandments. That is, to do His will.
Matthew 22:34-40
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together.35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”