Perspective: Internal and Invisible but Not Insignificant

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Internal and Invisible but Not Insignificant

Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known.

Luke 12:2 (NRSV)

It never was and never will be

You don't know how you've betrayed me

And somehow you've got everybody fooled

From "Everybody's Fool" by Evanescence

I have encountered a certain phrase twice in my daily Bible study over the last couple of months.

In the Gospel of Matthew, we read that, one day, Jesus is confronted by some Pharisees and Sadducees who demand that He give them some miraculous sign.  He refuses to comply with their demands.  Afterward, while crossing the Sea of Galilee, Jesus says to the Disciples, "Watch out, and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  At first the Disciples think that He is commenting on the fact that they have no bread with them, but, when Jesus reminds them of the times He miraculously fed massive crowds, they realize that He is not talking about literal bread.  Matthew, as narrator, suggests that Jesus was comparing to the Pharisees and Sadducees' teachings to yeast.¹

In the Gospel of Luke, we read that, after a dinner engagement at which Jesus goes on an angry tirade against the Pharisees and religious scholars in attendance, they become hostile toward Him and start trying to trip Him up and trap Him in His own words.  Soon afterward, as a crowd forms around Jesus, He takes the Disciples aside and says to them, "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy."²

Apparently, Matthew and Luke were not in total agreement in regards to what Jesus meant when He spoke about the "yeast" of certain religious groups.

Biblical Scholars generally agree that, of the four canonical New Testament Gospels, Mark's was written first and that both Matthew and Luke based their Gospels, in part, on Mark's.  Mark's account of the event in question is very similar to Matthew's.  While on a boat, Jesus warns the Disciples to "beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod," after an altercation with some Pharisees, and the Disciples think, at first, that He is referring to literal bread.³  Interestingly, Mark offers no explanation regarding what Jesus meant but rather allows Jesus' warning to remain open to interpretation.

It seems to me that both Matthew and Luke took what Jesus said in Mark's Gospel and worked in their own interpretations.  Of course, I don't think that this is necessarily a case in which one Gospel writer is right while the other is wrong: both bad teaching and hypocrisy are hazardous elements that might be found in religious circles.

So, why would Jesus compare such things to yeast?

Yeast is the single-celled microorganism that is responsible for causing bread to rise and for turning wort and grape juice into beer and wine respectively.  Yeast is internal, invisible, and seemingly insignificant, yet, over time, it makes a significant difference in its environment as it does what it was created to do.

In my opinion, yeast is a good analogy for hypocrisy.  Upon meeting a person, one has no idea whether or not the person is a hypocrite.  Over time, as one gets to know the person better, one will discover whether or not what the person says actually matches up to what he or she does.  In Luke, when Jesus warns the Disciples to beware the Pharisees' hypocrisy, He goes on to say that everything that is kept secret will inevitably be made known.  A person's hypocrisy is not immediately evident, but, like yeast, it will inevitably make itself known over time.

Yeast is also a good analogy for faulty teachings.  Questionable teachings might not seem to matter at first, but they have the potential to become extremely harmful once they have had the opportunity to take root in a person's life so that they work their way outward into the person's behavior.

Two of the Gospel writers disagreed about a certain teaching of Jesus.  The reality that there are inconsistencies in Scripture doesn't trouble me.  Actually, it fascinates me.  The fact that the Gospel writers themselves wrestled with the teachings of Jesus gives us license to wrestle with them as well.  Four writers sought to faithfully report the story and teachings of Jesus, but ultimately it is up to us to discern for ourselves what they mean for our lives.


Notes:

1. Matthew 16:1-12 (NRSV)
2. Luke 11:37-12:1 (NRSV)
3. Mark 8:11-21 (NRSV)

The photograph of the microscopic saccharomyces cerevisiae (or brewer's yeast) was taken by Wikimedia Commons user Masur and has been released into the public domain.  The photographer is in no way affiliated with this blog.