Judgment
Matthew 16
When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. Jesus said to them, “Watch out, and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” They said to one another, “It is because we have brought no bread.” And becoming aware of it, Jesus said, “You of little faith, why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand and how many baskets you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand and how many baskets you gathered? How could you fail to perceive that I was not speaking about bread? Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!” Then they understood that he had not told them to beware of the yeast of bread but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (Matthew 16)
If you know anything about us, the twelve closest followers of Jesus, you have to wonder. I mean, you have to wonder why on earth did Jesus choose us? You surely understand how unlikely we are. I don’t need to list our faults and shortcomings, you probably already know them. And when you think about it, you can’t help but conclude that there are no exceptions. I mean, Peter is a kind of leader of our group, and James and John are also prominent, but not one of them has risen above the rest in a way that anyone would recognize as outstanding.
Because I can offer you example after example of where we have failed or come up short of any reasonable expectation of leadership. But in the interest of time, I will not!
This current failure with the bread may seem a trivial example of our ineptitude. I have to say that we were and still are embarrassed about it, though for the wrong reason. I will explain that in a moment.
To begin with, the memory of a miracle feeding of a multitude was still fresh in our minds. It was just a day ago, and then the visitors from Jerusalem arrived to test Jesus, asking him for “a sign.” You may remember that Jesus not only refused, but he also criticized them as “evil and adulterous” and then told them that the only sign they’d get from him would be the “sign of Jonah.” I have to admit that I was a bit shocked at his harsh words.
It was only the next day, today, that we left for the other side of the lake. And yes, we did forget to bring bread. I won’t point out who among us is at fault, just that any one of us could have remembered.
And while this mistake may seem trivial to you, it is not so to us. Yes, it’s plain to see that we are unqualified to follow the literal Son of God. I mean, each of us has wondered over and over why Jesus did not choose a more prominent group of disciples. In a way, we suffer from feeling inferior.
Inferior? Yes, not so much to Jesus, who is clearly far, far above us. But instead, we suffer from comparing ourselves to the disciples whom Jesus could have chosen in place of us: able, smart, educated, and most of all, faithful. We are none of these!
And so, we try harder to measure up. Yes, we do, but then, time after time, we fail.
For example, you may remember the storm. Yes, the awful storm on the Sea of Galilee. Even though some of us were experienced fishermen on this same body of water, we were terrified, crying out to the sleeping Jesus that we were “perishing.” And you also remember the words of Jesus, as he tamed the storm:
“Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a dead calm. (Matthew 8)
Then, in a second storm, Peter actually got out of our boat to walk on the water to join Jesus. But soon, feeling the wind and the spray, Peter began to sink.
Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14)
So, what about forgetting to bring the bread? Yes, we forgot, and the blame can rest on all of us. And yes, we didn’t forget how, just yesterday, Jesus fed a multitude. We’re slow but we’re not that slow!
No, as I said, we all strive to perform at a level that we think Jesus should expect of us. And then, when we fail to measure up, we can get very hard on ourselves. So, to us, even something as trivial as forgetting to bring the bread is a sign that we are inferior. We must try harder and we must do better!
Or must we?
Now, I am remembering the words of Jesus. Yes, the words he spoke, about the “yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” And I am also reflecting on the words that Jesus did not speak. More about that in a moment.
What is the “yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees?” And why is Jesus so hard on them? He seems to think that they lead our people astray, and that they know better. Here is an example of what Jesus thinks:
Pharisees and Sadducees come to tempt Jesus
James Tissot, Brooklyn Museum
“Woe also to you experts in the law! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not lift a finger to ease them.” (Luke 11)
These leaders of our faith impose harsh rules of behavior on the people. And they set themselves up as judges, condemning even the slightest violation, while all the time they are just as guilty as anyone. Their “yeast” as Jesus called it, is a severe judgmentalism that poisons the faith of the people; people like us, who can become so discouraged when we make a small mistake like forgetting the bread. In short, they are the harsh voice of judgment.
And what did Jesus not say? It came to me that Jesus didn’t criticize us for forgetting the bread. We all assumed that he would, and that he would judge and maybe even punish us. But no, as he said, “How could you fail to perceive that I was not speaking about bread?”
Because I have come to the conclusion that Jesus was talking about faith and not bread. Just as in the storm, he didn’t criticize our seafaring skills, he faulted our faith. And he did the same to Peter, who lost his faith in the midst of the wind and the waves.
And then I remembered another time, when we could not rid a person of a demon. After Jesus exorcised the demon, we asked him why we could not.
He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17)
What does all of this mean? I think it means that we must stop fearing condemnation for the slightest mistake. That’s playing into what Jesus calls the “yeast” of our religious leaders. We must admit that we do make mistakes, and that we always will. We can’t allow the judgmental voice of others to drive out what little faith we have. And we can’t be so hard on ourselves that our faith doesn’t have a chance!
So, where does that leave us? For me, I believe Jesus was calling us out, not for a mistake about bread, but for allowing ourselves to be poisoned by the fear of judgment. He was calling us out, just as in the boat, for not believing in him, for not believing that faith in him can overcome any mistake, and that we need not feel inferior because we are not the person we’d like to be.
And so, my message to you is the same: look to Jesus, in faith. Admit that you will make mistakes, and stop comparing yourself to some impossible standard. If you listen to other voices of judgment, stop listening! Don’t be so hard on yourself, trying to measure up to someone else’s harsh voice. God is our only judge.
And don’t let your fear of failure paralyze you as you try to follow Jesus.
So, if you, like us, sometime forget to bring the bread, get over it and put your faith in Jesus!
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, you of little faith! (Luke 12)