Mark 8:14

Mar_8:14

Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees.

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The leaven of the Pharisees

Our Lords warning against false doctrine.

I. A suggestive figure of speech. Leaven.

(1) A suggestive figure of the power of influence, good or bad.

(a) Aggressive.

(b) Subtle in its aggressiveness.

(c) Unless resisted, all-conquering in its subtlety.

(2) Our Lords suggestive use of this figure.

(a) To represent the powerful influence of erroneous doctrine.

(b) To represent the danger to which His disciples were exposed from erroneous doctrines, notwithstanding their superior advantages, arising from the instructions He gave them.

II. A suggestive example of the exercise of bad influence.

(1) Its agency. Pharisees.

(a) The secret of their power.

1. Their ecclesiastical, social, and political position.

2. Their great pretensions to piety-in fasting and prayer.

(2) Its method. Doctrine.

(a) Public teaching a great power for good or evil.

(b) As the respect felt for the Pharisees enhanced their power, so our respect for either the genius or supposed sincerity of a public teacher enhances his power.

(3) An imperative duty in view of this fact. Prove all things: hold fast that which is good. (D. C. Hughes, M. A.)

The leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees

This caution was probably suggested by His late interview with the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

I. The doctrine of the Pharisees chiefly hinged upon two tenets.

1. Acceptance with God on the ground of legal performances.

2. The obligation of the tradition of the elders. These led to multiplied observances of a legal kind, pride and boasting, hypocrisy, laxity of morals.

II. The doctrines of the Sadducees, here called the leaven of Herod, were opposed to these. Notice only three, as having a practical influence. They denied-

1. The separate existence of the soul.

2. The resurrection of the dead.

3. The superintending providence of God.

These led to the removal of restraint to vicious indulgences. Sadduceeism characterized the generation which has disappeared. Phariseeism the present.

III. Their doctrines are compared to leaven.

1. They affect the whole character.

2. The whole mass of society. Take heed, etc. The one, sanctimoniousness; the other, licentiousness. (Expository Discourses.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mar 8:14-21. The disciples had forgotten to take bread, &c. — For an explanation of this paragraph, see note on Mat 16:5-12. Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod — By the leaven of Herod the doctrine of the Sadducees is intended, which was, in almost every point, in direct opposition to that of the Pharisees. Of the two sects, see the note on Mat 3:7. And they reasoned among themselves — They talked privately among themselves about the meaning of their Master’s exhortation, and agreed that it was a reproof for their neglecting to take bread along with them. When Jesus knew it — Which he did immediately, for the thoughts of their minds, as well as the words of their tongues, were all observed by him; he saith, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? Why should your neglecting to take bread with you make you put such an interpretation upon my words? Perceive ye not yet, &c. — After having been so long with me, are ye still ignorant of my power and goodness? Have ye your heart yet hardened? Is no abiding impression made yet upon your minds by the many and great miracles I have performed, and the many discourses which you have heard me deliver? Having eyes, see ye not, &c. — As if he had said, My miracles being all the objects of your senses, no extraordinary degree of capacity was requisite to enable you to judge of them. How came it then, that, having the senses of sight and hearing entire, you were not struck with the two miracles of the loaves and fishes, so as to remember them, and derive instruction from them? Our Lord here, it must be observed, affirms of all the apostles, (for the question is equivalent to an affirmation,) that their hearts were hardened: that, having eyes they saw not, having ears they heard not; that they did not consider, neither understand; the very same expressions that occur in the xiiith of Matthew. And yet it is certain that they were not judicially hardened. Therefore all these strong expressions do not necessarily import any thing more than the present want of spiritual understanding.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8:14-21 This account of the journey across the Sea of Galilee reflects on Jesus’ greatness, as manifested in the two feeding miracles, and emphasizes the dullness of the disciples, who do not see, hear, or understand because of their hardened hearts (see 4:9-20; 6:52).

8:14 The reference to having only one loaf of bread reminds readers of recent occasions when the disciples had not had enough bread and Jesus miraculously provided enough bread to feed thousands of people.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Mar_8:14-21. See on Mat_16:5-11, whose narrative is less concise and more explanatory.

ἐπελάθοντο] quite as in Mat_16:6, and therefore not: viderunt se oblitos esse (Fritzsche, Kuinoel). The disciples (Mar_8:15) form the subject, as is evident of itself; for they ought to have taken care as to the provision of bread, but forgot it.

εἰ μὴ ἕνα κ.τ.λ.] a statement, which is quite in keeping with the peculiarity of Mark, and perhaps proceeds from Peter (in opposition to Hilgenfeld).

Mar_8:15. ὁρᾶτε is absolute; and ἀπὸ τῆς ζ. κ.τ.λ. belongs only to βλέπετε, the construction of which with ἀπό (comp. Mar_12:33) is not, with Tittmann, Synon. p. 114, and Kuinoel, to be analysed: avertere oculos, but: take heed on account of, etc. Comp. προσέχειν ἀπό (Mat_16:6); φόβος ἀπὸ τῶν πολεμίων (Xen. Cyr. iii. 3. 53), al.

τῆς ζύμης τῶν Φαρισαίων] According to Matthew (see on Mar_16:6), ζύμη is a figure for pernicious doctrine, and there appears no reason for assuming any other reference here, such as to the mali mores, the character (Bleek, Holtzmann), the mental tendency (Schenkel), and the like. See on Mat_16:6. Jesus warns against the soul-perilling doctrines, which at that time proceeded as well from the leaders of the hierarchy (the Pharisees) as from the political head (Herod Antipas). Herod was a frivolous, voluptuous, unprincipled man (see Ewald, Gesch. Chr. p. 47 f.); and the morally vile principles and maxims, given forth by him, and propagated by the Jews who adhered to him (the Herodians, iii. 6; see on Mat_22:16), are the ζύμη Ἡρώδου. A wrong attempt at harmonizing will have it that Herod is mentioned (Heupel) as a Sadducee (which, however, he never was; see on Mat_14:2), because Mat_16:6 has καὶ Σαδδουκαίων.

Mar_8:16. According to the correct reading (see the critical remarks): and they considered with one another, that they would have no bread. With respect to the indicative present ἔχουσι, comp. on Mar_6:45, and Dissen, ad Dem. de Cor. p. 203.

Mar_8:19-20. This dialogue form is characteristic of Marks vivid mode of representation.

πόσων σπυρίδ. πληρώματα κλασμάτων] See on Mar_6:43. Observe here, also, as well as in Matthew, the alternation of κοφίνους and σπυρίδων, in accordance with Mar_6:43 and Mar_8:8.

By the fact that, after those two miraculous feedings, they still could take thought one with another about want of bread, they show how much they still lack discernment. The reproach of Mar_8:17-18[113] refers to this. But in ΟὔΠΩ ΣΥΝΊΕΤΕ, Mar_8:21 (see the critical remarks), the ΟὔΠΩ applies to the instruction that has just been catechetically conveyed Mar_8:19-20, and is therefore a later οὔπω than that in Mar_8:17, standing related thereto by way of climax. Schenkel regards as incorrect all that is said of this reference to the miraculous feedings, in consistency with his view that these did not happen at all in the manner narrated.

[113] On the thought of ver. 18, comp., besides Isa_6:9 f., Xen. Cyr. iii. 1. 27: ὦ θαυμασιώτατε ἄνθρωπε, σὺ δέ γε οὐδὲ ὁρῶν γινώσκεις, οὐδὲ ἀκούων μέμνησαι, Dem. 797. 3 : οὕτως ὁρῶντες … ὥστε τὸ τῆς παροιμίας ὁρῶντας μὴ ὁρᾶν καὶ ἀκούοντας μὴ ἀκούειν.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mar 8:14 . εἰ μὴ ἕνα ἄρτον : a curiously exact reminiscence where so much else that seems to us more important is left vague. But it shows that we have to do with reality, for the suggestion of the Tübingen critics that it is a mere bit of word painting is not credible. The one loaf seems to witness to a Christ-like easymindedness as to food in the disciple-circle. Let to-morrow look after itself!

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 14. Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread] See all this, to Mr 8:21, explained at large on Mt 16:4-12. In the above chapter, an account is given of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(14) Now the disciples.—Better, and the disciples, in close connection with the preceding verse, and not as the beginning of a new section.

More than one loaf.—Another detail peculiar to St. Mark.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14. had forgotten] In the hurry of their unexpected re-embarkation they had altogether omitted to make provision for their own personal wants.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Now the disciples had, forgotten to take bread,.... At Dalmanutha, or Magdala, or whatever place in those parts they were at, before they took shipping, as was their usual method.

Neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf; for thirteen passengers of them. The Persic version reads the whole thus: "and they forgot to take bread with them, not indeed one loaf, and there was no bread with them in the ship"; See Gill on Mat 16:5.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

We met with this whole history, with some additions, in Mat 16:5-12;

See Poole on "Mat 16:5", and following verses to Mat 16:12. It teacheth us both a lesson of human frailty, and what is our Christian duty: of our frailty, in not considering the works of the Lord for us, so as to make any use of them for the time to come. God doth his great works of providence to he had in remembrance, and that not only with respect to himself, that he might be glorified by us upon the remembrance of them, and this not only by our rejoicing in him, but also by our trusting in him, and not desponding under such like difficulties as God by any of them hath delivered us from. And also with respect to our duty, that we might in present exigences relieve ourselves from former experiences: and if we do not thus conceive of God’s dispensations, we do not perceive, nor understand, the meaning and will of God in them; though we have eyes we see not, though we have ears we hear not, and in remembering we remember not, our remembrance is of no benefit, no advantage at all unto us. Our Saviour, indeed, did not at all speak here of bodily bread; though he did bid them beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod, he spake to them about the doctrine of the Pharisees, and so Matthew tells us they (after this reproof) considered, though he (after his accustomed manner) spake to them under a parabolical expression. Saith he: What though you have forgotten to bring bread, do not you know, have not I, by two miraculous operations, taught you that I am able to furnish you with bread, though you have none, or such a quantity as is very insufficient? God expects of us that we should so keep in mind his former dispensations of providence to us, under straits and difficulties, as to trust in him when his providence brings us again into the like difficulties, yet not declining the use of any reasonable and just means for providing for ourselves. Thus David knew, and understood, that God had delivered him from the lion and the bear, while going against Goliath, 1Sa 17:31-58; he made it a ground of his confidence: so also Psa 116:8; and Paul, when he concluded God would deliver because he had delivered. God, when he brake the heads of leviathan in pieces, gave him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness, Psa 74:14; he intends former mercies to be food for his people in following straits and exigences.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And they had forgotten (epelayonto) literally, they forgotto take bread (artouv); loaves. The conversation which follows took place on the boat while they were crossing. The passage would take perhaps six hours. And it was during that time that they would want food; for when they reached the port, they would find it in abundance.

Vers. 14-21. The leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod.

The parabolic habit of mind of Christ was essential to the setting forth of Divine truth to the comprehension of men; but as yet the persons who might have been expected to understand his teaching most thoroughly, were continually mistaking it. Whilst their Master discoursed of heavenly things, the thoughts of the disciples were upon the earth. There is nothing so reveals the moral and spiritual distance of persons from one another as the difference in their habits of mind.

I HOW TOO GREAT A REGARD FOR OUTWARD THINGS BETRAYS ITSELF.

1. In over-anxiety. The disciples had by inadvertency omitted to take in a supply of bread ere leaving the shore, and their minds were full of trouble. They began to forecast the inconvenience to which it might expose them. Over-carefulness is a common feature of worldly character. It arises from too great self-dependence and too little faith in God. A certain, moderate attention to earthly wants is a duty, and will be bestowed by every well-regulated mind; but there are limits to be observed. "Be not anxious for your life," etc. (Mat_6:25) It is a great aim of the spiritual life to be free from this bondage to minute worries and cares.

2. In failure to attend to or understand Divine things. The disciples were so taken up with this little matter that they utterly failed to perceive Christ"s meaning, when he warned them against the Pharisees and Herodians. That they should be so was also a proof that they had forgotten the teaching of the two miracles of the loaves and fishes. For this Christ reproved them. His cross-questioning elicited the fact that the details of these miracles were still recollected; but the spiritual lessons had been completely lost. So to speak, these spiritual tours de force had been thrown away upon them. How hard a race has the Divine life with earthly concern and anxiety in the soul! There is a littleness in such habits of thought that effectually prevents the great ideas of the Divine kingdom from entering the mind. Herein is to be found the explanation of the failure of many services and sermons, which in themselves may have been faithful and devout enough: the hearers are occupied with worldly cares. "The cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the Word, and it becometh unfruitful". (Mar_4:19)

II THE DANGER TO WHICH IT EXPOSES.

1. Christ, referring to the doctrine of the Pharisees and Herodians, warned against that conception of the Messiah, as one who was to be an earthly king, establishing a temporal dominion, which the leaders of Judaism held. The state of mind of the disciples was eminently favorable to such a view. In them it was only a tendency, in the Pharisees a fixed point of view; and thus the latter wholly missed the spiritual element in the Saviour"s teaching. They were filled with visions of national restoration and individual aggrandizement; and failing to receive encouragement from Christ in these, "they were offended in him," and began to seek his destruction. The same danger still haunts the Church of Christ, the absolutely spiritual nature of the Divine kingdom having been one of the most slowly developed of Christian doctrines.

2. The power and the insidiousness of this point of view are suggested by the figure of leaven." Leaven works slowly, but a very little affects a large amount. "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." To minds already prepared by habit and tendency in that direction, it would be a comparatively easy thing to adopt the worldly interpretation of prophecy given forth by the Pharisees. Indeed, if they were only let alone, the "leaven" was already within them, and would assuredly develop into the same fundamental heresy. To think thus of Christ and his kingdom is "to come short of it," to our own hurt and ruin; "for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost". M. (Rom_14:17)

Vers. 14-21. Leaven.

After the great miracle of the feeding of the four thousand, Jesus "entered into a boat with his disciples, and came. for rest, probably the parts of Dalmanutha. And they forgot to take bread." Had not emphasis been laid on their forgetfulness, we might have supposed they had been led to think "one loaf" enough; for if the Master could feed four thousand with seven loaves, surely he could feed twelve men with one! These men were yet but children in understanding, and Jesus, their watchful Guardian, therefore warns them against the spirit of the men who had recently made the strange demand from him for signs leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod," "the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees." Strangely enough, they think the reference is to "leaven of bread," which must find an explanation in the engrossment of their minds by the astounding miracle they had witnessed. And yet they see not the thing signified. Jesus, by a brief teaching on the two bread-miracles, draws them away from the "leaven of bread" to "the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducecs." Is this a lesson for all time? Was the leaven of Herod wholly put out of the house with his name? Do Sadducecism and Pharisaism still linger amongst men; and are the disciples of Jesus still exposed to their corrupting influence? It is but too true that these questions must be answered by one affirmative. Herod is described as "a frivolous, voluptuous, unprincipled man." His name symbolizes a morally vile life. Readers of the Gospels know well what the word "Pharisee" stands for leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." The Sadducees, though less prominent, are not wholly unknown. Their rejection of great truths on no higher authority than their own opinion points at once to the dangerous tampering with revealed truths. These two rivals as schools were one in the evilness of their teaching so aptly alliterated as "unbelieving hypocrisy and hypocritical unbelief." They stood in united opposition to the Lord"s Christ. Thus is the Church for all ages warned against evils that threaten the entire strength and the very existence of the life of the Spirit. Those evils are

I HEATHENISH SELF-INDULGENCE. Faith grows not in a heart given over to self-indulgence. "The Author and Perfecter of our faith" has made demand, in unmistakable terms, of all who would be his disciples: "Let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." Evil self-indulgence saps the strength of all faith. The highest evidence of the truth and authority of Christ"s teaching is given to the obedient. "If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it be of God, or whether I speak from myself." Evilness of life puts men out of harmony with the truth; and as all disobedience is a denial of authority, it disposes men to desire that its authority may be questioned: while the continuous acknowledgment of the authority of the truth makes disobedience the more guilty. These "hold down the truth in unrighteousness." This spirit will support the second evil, namely

II SADDUCEAN SCEPTICISM. If scepticism were a true spirit of inquiry, or even that sensibility of faith that longs to know, and is eager to defend itself from deceit, it were a healthy guard against childish credulity. But if it become a proud self-sufficiency, a resolute resistance and despisal of truths that are apprehended only by faith truths which by their very nature do not admit of scientific demonstration, or of truths that do not harmonize with preconceived notions it then stands in the way of all holy and healthy influence from the highest truths that could reach the heart. It is the opposite of the hearing ear, of the childlike teachableness, There is a faith which is wrought in the heart by the truth"s own testimony the belief that cometh of hearing," the hearing that is hearkening. But yet another danger lies in the path of the followers of Christ. It is

III HYPOCRITICAL PRETENTIOUSNESS. Here the truth is acknowledged, but neither the heart nor the life is true to it. It is unfaithfulness, deceit, hypocrisy. It is the vice against which the severest words that escaped the lips of Christ were directed. A "double-minded man is unstable," but a double-faced man is utterly unworthy. He is open to all seductions; he may become the tool of all evil, and all the time hiding the filthiness of his evil heart in a show of righteousness whose deceitfulness reduces it to the lowest grade of evil. Of this leaven all disciples from the earliest hour have been in danger. Even a little may be "hid" in the heart "till all is leavened." To how many of the disciples may it be said to-day, "Do ye not understand? G.

Vers. 14-21. Misunderstanding.

The evangelists have left untold much which we would fain know, and they have recorded some things which our unwisdom would have dispensed with. The incident here recorded seems trivial, and the conversation arising upon it commonplace. Yet it was not without a purpose that two evangelists were directed to preserve this passage in our Lord"s ordinary life.

I THE WARNING WHICH THE DISCIPLES MISUNDERSTOOD. Christ"s ministry of teaching seems to have been one long protest against the current doctrines and practices of the religious leaders of the time. The Pharisees were very generally formalists, and the Herodians secularists, and against both tendencies our Divine Lord"s opposition was unceasing and uncompromising. Using figurative language, Jesus cautioned his disciples against the leaven, i.e. the influence, of such errors as were characteristic of these religious schools. Although they were so much in his society and so attached to his ministry, they were not deemed by the Master beyond the need of this wise and faithful admonition.

II THE CONSTRUCTION WHICH THEY PUT UPON HIS WORDS. The word "leaven" reminded them of bread, and the thought of bread reminded them of their negligence in not having made proper provision for their journey. But their misunderstanding was scarcely due to their oversight; it was rather the consequence of their own slowness of mind to take in their Master"s manner of speech. We do not trace impatience, but we do trace a certain dissatisfaction and reproachfulness, in the Lord"s language: "Do yo not yet perceive, neither understand?" How often has Christ occasion thus to expostulate with his too unspiritual and inappreciative disciples! We often take Christ"s words too literally, without that discernment and sympathy which a wise and gracious Master expects from his scholars.

III THE CONSIDERATIONS BY WHICH CHRIST REPROVED THEIR MISUNDERSTANDING.

1. They should have known him better than so to misapprehend him. Where were their eyes, their ears, their heart? Had they been susceptible and active, surely a truer, a loftier judgment would have been formed of the Christ, the Son of God. In this case they would not have supposed that he was troubling himself or them with such a trifle as now excited their concern.

2. They should have better remembered the past, especially the occasions upon which the Lord had supplied the wants of multitudes in the exercise of his omnipotence. Such a recollection would have saved them from the misapprehension into which they had fallen.

APPLICATION. Christ"s words are to be understood in the light of his nature and his works. To understand what Christ says we must think of him aright, and we must study his teaching in the light of the wonderful deeds which he has performed for the relief and the salvation of mankind. It is want of sympathy and of remembrance which often leads to misunderstanding. He that will do the Divine will shall know of the doctrine.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The disciples’ worry about bread:

v. 14. Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf.

v. 15. And He charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the leaven of Herod.

v. 16. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread.

The departure from the region of Dalmanutha or Magdala had been very hurried. Their course was directed to a country which did not offer much in the form of food. A single loaf, probably one left over from the previous day, was all the provisions the disciples had in the boat. Note: The Lord literally lived up to the precept He had given that the believers should take no thought for the morrow, just as He had taught them to pray for the food which was enough for this day, which would sustain life till the next morning. But that one lonely loaf of bread was on the mind of the disciples like a heavy load. Jesus, meanwhile was concerned about much more important things. The encounter with the Pharisees had given Him food for anxious thought with regard to His disciples. Here was a real danger menacing His disciples and the believers of all times. And so He turned to His fellow-passengers and charged them, gave them the earnest precept to keep their eyes open, to watch, to beware against the leaven of the Pharisees and also that of Herod. It was a figurative, proverbial saying, which was in general use among the Jews, since they often applied this word to something foreign to a substance, something that might cause fermentation and rotting, 1Co 5:6. "With this expression something should be indicated that in itself is small and insignificant, but when mixed with other things exerts a most extensive influence, which can scarce be resisted. The Lord warns against the pharisaic and Herodianic leaven. Theirs is a hypocritical manner, that emphasizes the external appearance, that pretends to be strict in worship and yet transgresses and sets aside God’s commandments; their blindness in spiritual things should be indicated, which they gloss over with a show of sanctity. Before one is aware of it, the whole heart is filled with it, even if one has made only the slightest concession. But just as earnestly the Lord feels constrained to warn against the leaven of Herod. This reigning family professed adherence to the tenets of the Jewish Church, but its members drove out the devil of Pharisaism with an equally wicked devil; they wanted to introduce among the Jews the heathenish, loose, dissolute life, of which we had an example in the birthday festival of Herod Antipas. Instead of a hypocritical religion they introduced the religion of the flesh. Also in this respect the disciples of Christ must beware of the slightest beginnings."

But the disciples were as dense as usual. They received the charge in silence and then talked the matter over among themselves quietly, lest the Master should hear. The conclusion they arrived at was this, that the words of the Lord were a reprimand because they had neglected to bring enough bread along. That one fact was worrying them. And, like them, the believers of all times find it very hard to separate their minds from the cares of this life. Christ, the Lord of heaven and earth, was with them in the boat, but that did not reassure the disciples. He is with us just as surely, according to His promise, even though His physical. visible presence has been withdrawn, but our hearts are usually just as badly beset by our concern for daily food.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Observe here, 1. How dull the disciples of Christ were under Christ’s own teaching, and how apt to put a carnal sense upon his words. They apprehended he had spoken to them of the leaven of bread, what he intended of the leaven of the Pharisees doctrine.

Observe, 2. The rebuke our Saviour gives his disciples for not understanding the sense and signification of what he spake. Christ is much offended with his own people, when he discerns blindness and ignorance in them, after more than ordinary means of knowledge enjoyed by them: How is it that ye do not yet understand?

Observe, 3. The metaphor by which Christ sets forth the corrupt doctrines of the Pharisees and Herodians. He compares it to leaven; partly for its sourness, and partly for its diffusiveness. Now the leaven of Herod, or the Herodians, is supposed to be this: That because Herod was made king of the Jews, and lived at the time when the Messiah was expected, there were those that maintained the opinion that he was the promised Messiah; which opinion Christ compares to leaven, because as that diffuses itself into the whole mass or lump of bread with which it is mixed, so false doctrine was not only evil and corrupt in itself, but apt to spread its contagion farther and farther, to the infecting of others with it.

Learn thence, That error is as damnable as vice; and persons erroneous in judgment to be avoided, as well as those that are wicked in conversation; and he, that has a due care of his soul’s salvation, will be as much afraid of erroneous principles, as he is of debauched practices.

Observe, 4. Our Saviour does not command his disciples to separate from communion with the Pharisees, and oblige them not to hear their doctrine but only beware of their errors; which they mixed with their doctrine. We may and ought to hold communion with a church, though erroneous in judgment, if not fundamentally erroneous. For separation from a church is not justifiable upon any other grounds than that which makes a separation between God and that church, which is either apostasy into gross idolatry, or in point of doctrine, into damnable heresy.

Observe, 5. The fault observed by our Saviour in his disciples, hardness of heart; Have ye your hearts yet hardened? There may be, and oft-times is, some degree of hardness of heart in sincere Christians; but this is not a total hardness; it is lamented and humbled for, not indulged and delighted in. As Christ is grieved for the hardness of heart in sincere Christians; but this is not a total hardness; it is lamented and humbled for, not indulged and delighted in. As Christ is grieved for the hardness of his people’s hearts, so are they grieved also; it is both bitter and burdensome to them.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14–21. The disciples had forgotten to take bread. For notes on the warning against the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod, see Matt. 16:5–12. Matthew says “Sadducees” instead of “Herod.” Herod was a Sadducee, and the Sadducees generally were his supporters.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Connecting Statement:

While Jesus and his disciples are in a boat, they have a discussion about the lack of understanding among the Pharisees and Herod, though they had seen many signs.

Now

This word is used here to mark a break in the main story line. Here the author tells background information about the disciples forgetting to bring bread. (See: Background Information)

no more than one loaf

The negative phrase "no more" is used to emphasize how small an amount of bread they had. AT: "only one loaf" (See: Litotes)

Keep watch and be on guard

These two terms have a common meaning and are repeated here for emphasis. They can be combined. AT: "Keep watch" (See: Doublet)

yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod

Here Jesus is speaking to his disciples in a metaphor they do not understand. Jesus is comparing the Pharisees' and Herod's teachings to yeast, but you should not explain this when you translate it because the disciples themselves did not understand it. (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

disciple

bread

watch

yeast

Pharisee

Herod Antipas

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

14–21. THE LEAVEN OF THE PHARISEES AND THE LEAVEN OF HEROD

Mat 16:5 b–12. Cf. Luk 12:1

14. ἐπελάθοντο. They forgot (R.V.). This is not quite parallel to Mar 5:8, where “He had said” best represents the meaning of the imperf. But Burton (§ 48) supports A.V. in rendering “they had forgotten” here.

ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ. According to Mt., what follows took place after they had landed on the other side. The “one loaf” is an unimportant detail which is well remembered. Syr-Sin. has “not one loaf.”

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14-21.] Warning against the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod. Mat 16:5-12. Our account is fuller and more circumstantial,—relating that they had but one loaf in the ship, ver. 14; inserting the additional reproofs, ver. 18, and the reference to the two miracles of feeding more at length, vv. 19-21. Mark however omits the conclusion in Matt.,—that they then understood that He spake to them of the doctrine, &c. Possibly this was a conclusion drawn in the mind of the narrator, not altogether identical with that to be drawn from our account here—for the leaven of Herod could not be doctrine (καὶ τ. ζ. Ἡρ., ver. 15—Mark only), but must be understood of the irreligious lives and fawning worldly practices of the hangers-on of the court of Herod.

14.] ἐπελ. is not pluperfect: see on Matt. ver. 5. The subject to the verb is the disciples, unexpressed: see next verse.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The one loaf is a detail given by Mark only.

22 - 26. Peculiar to Mark.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.