“Jesus said to them, ‘Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’” – Matthew 16:6

Yeast, leaven, is invisible to the naked eye but radically transforms ordinary flour into dough. Even a tiny amount has a profound effect. In baking, this is generally a good thing. In matters of faith, Jesus warns that it isn’t. He warns His followers that even a small dose of the legalistic rules and traditions of the established religious authorities can damage the faith of His followers.

If this sounds harsh, it is. However, the message of Jesus – that we’re saved purely by God’s grace toward us when we believe in Jesus – is radically different from the message of the religious establishment. Jesus came to set us free from the burden of trying to save ourselves by obedience to the Law and the many man-made rules that had been piled on top of it by the Pharisees and Sadducees. What God had originally given Israel as a blessing had become a burden that couldn’t be carried by anyone.

Jesus came to lift that burden. He removed it through His own perfect obedience, perfect sacrifice, death, and resurrection. Jesus made it so we are reconciled to God by grace because God is gracious in Himself. Our right standing with God is based on His love and mercy rather than our rule-following. This glorious truth sets us free to live lives overflowing with grace and gratitude rather than lives of grim, grudging, grinding, self-discipline.

Nonetheless, Jesus knew that people would try to put those burdens back on our newly freed souls. It was true then, it remains true. As amazing as grace is, we struggle with it. We desperately want to add something to it. God’s grace makes us uncomfortable because we can’t control it. So, we want to add legalities and man-made rules back to our worship and joyous following of Jesus. That’s the leaven of the Pharisees and Scribes. That’s the temptation that religion easily falls into. The creation of man-made rules. The enforcement of those rules. The elevation of those rules. It remains a danger to our enjoyment of God’s grace. Obey Jesus, not man-made rules. Live by God’s grace, not by the permission and approval of people. Beware the leaven of modern day Pharisees and Sadducees! #FollowJesus

“And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over.” – Matthew 15:37

Jesus miraculously feeding a crowd is such a familiar story that most people forget Jesus did it twice. Why feed a second crowd? The answer can be found a few verses earlier, when Jesus healed many people and the crowd praised, “the God of Israel”. That isn’t how the people of Israel refer to God. That’s how Gentiles (non-Jews) refer to God.

In this section of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus went into a Gentile region and performed all the same Kingdom activities He’d done in Israel. He healed, taught, preached, and cast out demons. He also miraculously fed a crowd in the middle of nowhere. The significance of this repetition is profound. By His actions, Jesus makes clear that His Kingdom and its life, hope, and healing is open to all peoples. Jesus isn’t just a Messiah for Jewish people, He’s the world’s Messiah!

When Moses led a group of Israelites into the desert and God miraculously provided bread, that was an experience just for them. However, when Jesus led crowds into the desert and miraculously provided bread that was for all the nations of the world. We’re included in God’s glorious, eternal plan of salvation. By grace, through faith in Jesus, there’s a place in God’s family for people from every tribe, language, and ethnic group. Praise God for this!!!

We get one final hint of this in the story’s conclusion. When Jesus fed the Jewish crowd, there were 12 baskets of bread left over, symbolic of the 12 tribes of Israel. When Jesus fed Gentiles, there were 7 “large baskets” of leftovers. In the Bible, 7 is the number of completion. The number of baskets of leftovers emphasizes the universality and completeness of God’s kingdom. Everyone’s invited and welcomed. If you’re reading this, hopefully, you’ve already accepted God’s gracious invitation into His Kingdom by believing in Jesus Christ. If you haven’t, what holds you back from believing and being welcomed into the Kingdom of God? If you have, who do you know and love that needs to be invited in? Who needs to hear about Jesus and invited to #FollowJesus?

“The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord’s throne is in heaven;
his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.
The Lord tests the righteous,
but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.”
– Psalm 11:4-5

God isn’t a distant or disinterested observer of your life. Though He reigns from Heaven, He’s present everywhere. He sees everything and fully understands what’s going on in each person’s heart and mind. He created everything and everyone and He cares deeply about what happens here in His creation. He cares deeply about what happens in your life.

If you’ve been made righteous through faith in Jesus Christ, then let this be a great encouragement to you. No matter your situation or circumstance, God sees it and delights in your righteous thoughts, words, and actions. You will be blessed and rewarded, whether in your earthly life or in your eternal life with the Lord. You may become frustrated by your present situation but God sees the truth and His perfect justice will be done. You may feel alone and unnoticed but you aren’t. God is always with you and honors your desire to think, speak, and act for His glory.

On the other hand, if you’re still in your sins, having failed to believe and submit to Jesus Christ, this should be terrifying. Whatever it is you’re doing, whether in public or in private, God see its and hates it. You may consider yourself clever and believe you’re getting away with whatever your mind has conceived, but God knows the truth and you’ll pay for it forever. Eternity is an unimaginably long time. Don’t condemn yourself for trillions of years to gain some imagined advantage during this brief heartbeat of time on earth. 50, 70, or 100 years on earth is never worth eternal agony. Choose to #FollowJesus

“As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.” – Matthew 13:22

One of the greatest spiritual hazards of our marvelous modern age isn’t new at all. There are many who hear the good news about Jesus and aren’t hostile toward it. They may like it. They may even think they believe it. They may even go to church for a while. Yet ultimately, they’re more consumed by the opportunities and challenges of life on earth than by the eternal things of God. That’s what wills their minds and schedules.

Busy-ness is a tremendous spiritual threat to those who are positively inclined toward Jesus. When we’re overly focused on kids, careers, degrees, certifications, accomplishments, promotions, status, and hitting financial goals those things grow to consume all our time and energy. There’s simply nothing left for God. When we put everything we have into getting ahead in this world, we inevitably neglect those things which matter for eternity.

Is such a person even saved? That’s difficult to say. Fortunately, the answer to that is in the gracious and merciful hands of God. Nonetheless, this clearly isn’t how a Christian should live. Those earthly concerns may be good and important but they must always take second place to the eternal work and rewards of serving God’s Kingdom. Every follower of Jesus is called to live a fruitful life of spiritual growth and Kingdom impact that will last for eternity. Not later…not when life slows down…not when the kids are grown…TODAY. And every day.

Take time to talk to God. Make sure you aren’t like the thorny soil Jesus describes here. Then reflect on those close to you who may be living the thorny life. Pray for them and seek opportunities to lovingly discuss their priorities with them. Help them place God and His Kingdom above their own kingdom. Help them trust God’s provision enough to prioritize worship and obedience to Him over “getting ahead” here on earth. Help them #FollowJesus

“This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” – Matthew 13:13

There is a spiritual dimension that’s required to truly understand the teachings of Jesus and the word of Scripture. The Holy Spirit helps us understand in a way that no amount of education and expertise can replace. The words of Jesus aren’t intended to simply convey information. They’re meant to stir the soul to worship and obedience. A brilliant expert in language, history, and culture who lacks the Holy Spirit may know a tremendous amount of information about what Jesus said but they still won’t fully understand because they will neither worship nor obey.

Likewise, there must be a desire to truly understand. If the mind and heart aren’t open to what Jesus had to say, then it will remain stubbornly difficult to understand what He taught and what the rest of the Bible is communicating. This is why Jesus began teaching in parables after being accused of using Satanic power. He knew there would always be people who knew a lot but had no desire to understand. Communicating with them was no longer His priority. His desire was to communicate effectively with those who wanted to understand and who would have the Spirit within them to understand.

This is a good news / bad news situation for you. The good news is that if you’re a believer in Jesus, then you have what you need to understand the teachings of Jesus and the Bible. You have the Holy Spirit. You have (or should have) a desire to understand. That doesn’t mean it will always be easy to understand, but this should encourage you to start reading and studying God’s Word for yourself, confident that understanding will come when you want to understand and ask God’s help to understand.

The bad news is that you may have people in your life who don’t have the Spirit and don’t honestly want to understand Scripture. They may be more interested in scoring clever points, twisting Scripture, or mocking it. The painful reality is that they’ll continue to think you’re wrong and foolish for caring about, studying, and obeying the ancient words of Jesus. This will be discouraging, but remember – it’s because they literally can’t understand. Not fully. Don’t be surprised about this, be prepared. Help them believe in Jesus first, knowing that until they do, they’re always going to misunderstand God’s Word and be hostile toward it. Trust in Jesus, study His Word, share your hope with those who don’t understand. #FollowJesus