14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf. 15 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod. 16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread. 17 And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? 18 Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember? 19 When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve. 20 And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven. 21 And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand? (Mark 8:14-21 KJV)
The Leaven of the Pharisees and Herod
Observe the metaphor Christ uses to describe the corrupt doctrines of the Pharisees and Herodians. He compares it to leaven—partly because of its sourness, and partly because of how it spreads. Jesus warned his disciples against the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod (Mark 8:15): “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees”—their traditions, pride, hypocrisy, and ritualism. Matthew adds, “and of the Sadducees”; Mark adds, “and of Herod.”
Some believe Herod and his court were mostly Sadducees—deists, with no real religion. Others understand it this way: the Pharisees wanted a sign from heaven, and Herod wanted to see a miracle from Christ (Luke 23:8). So both groups had the same kind of unbelief: they rejected the signs they were given and demanded ones of their own choosing. “Watch out for this leaven,” Christ said. “Be convinced by the miracles you’ve already seen, and stop craving for more.”
In another school of thought, the leaven of Herod, or the Herodians, is the belief that Herod, being king of the Jews during the expected time of the Messiah, was himself the promised Messiah. Like leaven, such a false doctrine is not only corrupt in itself but tends to spread and influence others. Learn from this that error is as dangerous as immorality, and it is prudent to beware of those who are wrong in their beliefs just as much as those who are immoral in behavior. Anyone who truly cares about their soul’s salvation will be as afraid of false teachings as they are of corrupt lifestyles.
When they set out to sea, the disciples had forgotten to bring bread—only one loaf was in the boat (Mark 8:14). So when Christ warned them about the leaven of the Pharisees, they thought he meant they shouldn’t turn to the Pharisees for food when they landed, since the Pharisees had recently been offended about the issue of eating with unwashed hands. They reasoned among themselves, “It’s because we have no bread. He’s rebuking us for being careless and setting out on a journey with only one loaf.” They argued among themselves—one blaming the other for the poor preparation. Distrust of God makes even Christ’s disciples quarrel among themselves.
Christ rebuked them for their anxiety, which showed their lack of faith in his ability to provide, despite all they had already experienced. He spoke with intensity because he knew their hearts and that they needed a sharp correction: “Don’t you understand yet? Haven’t you learned anything from all the evidence you’ve seen? Are your hearts still so hardened that nothing will sink in? You have eyes—don’t you see? You have ears—don’t you hear? How can you be so dull? Don’t you remember what happened just recently—how I broke five loaves for five thousand people, and then seven loaves for four thousand? Don’t you remember how many baskets of leftovers you collected afterward?”
Yes, they remembered—twelve baskets one time, seven another. “Then how is it,” he asked, “that you don’t understand? As if the one loaf you have now is not enough material for another miracle!” If they thought one loaf was not enough for him to work with, they were being very foolish, forgetting that it’s the same to God to save by many or by few, and just as easy to feed five thousand with one loaf as with five.
It was right to remind them of not only the sufficiency, but also the abundance of what they had already received. And they deserved to be scolded for failing to understand what Christ intended by those miracles and what lessons they should have drawn from them.
The experiences we’ve had of God’s goodness in our duty greatly increase the seriousness of our doubts, which are very offensive to Christ. Not understanding the meaning of God’s blessings is as bad as not remembering them. When we forget what we’ve seen of Christ’s power and goodness, we fall into worry and doubt. Remembering the past would strengthen our faith, and if we don’t do that, we fail both God and ourselves. When we forget God’s works and doubt him, we should scold ourselves, just as Christ scolded his disciples: “Am I really so slow to understand? Why is my heart still so hard?”
Observe, our Savior does not command his disciples to break fellowship with the Pharisees or forbid them from hearing their teaching, but rather to beware of their errors, which were mixed in with their teaching. We may, and should, maintain fellowship with a church that holds some minor mistaken views, as long as those errors are not fundamental. Separation from a church is only justified when that church has separated itself from God, either through gross idolatry or by falling into heresy that endangers salvation.
Observe the fault our Savior finds in his disciples: It is hardness of heart. “Are your hearts still hardened?” (Mark 8:17). Even sincere Christians can experience some degree of hardness of heart. But this is not total hardness—it is something they are grieved by and humbled for, not something they accept or take pleasure in. Just as Christ is grieved by the hardness in his people’s hearts, so are they; it is both bitter and burdensome to them.
Mark Chapter 8
- Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand, Mark 8:1-9
- The Pharisees Demand a Sign, Mark 8:10-13
- The Leaven of the Pharisees and Herod, Mark 8:14-21
- Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida, Mark 8:22-26
- Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ, Mark 8:27-30
- Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection, Mark 8:31-33
- Self-denial to follow Jesus, Mark 8:34-38