Matthew 16:7-12: The Bread of Life

“How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread?” Jesus, Matthew 16:11 

“If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?” (John Piper, God is the Gospel, p. 15) 

Have you ever tried to call a dog’s attention to something by pointing?  What does the dog do?  The dog totally misses what you are pointing at instead sniffs the end of your finger!   If we really want the dog to notice something, rubbing his nose in it seems to do the trick.   Often times God works among us and we miss his point altogether.   He must sometimes rub our noses in it in order for us to grasp what he is saying.

Before Peter’s confession of faith (see v. 16), Jesus endures two emotional encounters of non-faith.    The first involved the Pharisees and Sadducees demanding a sign in the sky (vv. 1-4).  The second encounter, unpacked here, involves the disciples focusing on the temporal and missing Jesus’ revelation of himself.    Jesus is with his disciples on the northeast shore of the Sea of Galilee.  They began discussing it, Jesus’ statement, among themselves (v. 7): “Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees,” (v. 6).

Their response to Jesus’ words was “We brought no bread,” (v. 7). They missed Jesus’ point altogether and thought Jesus was telling them to boycott the bakery run by the Pharisees.   They came to an “unimaginative conclusion” as Carson puts it in his commentary.  But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive?” (vv8-9a). 

On one hand, the disciples did have faith.   They “left their nets and followed him,” (4:20); when Jesus called, they “rose and followed him,” (9:9) leaving behind everything.    On the other hand, they were with Jesus around the clock; they were the ones Jesus poured himself into.  They saw things and heard things that the masses did not.   Even though they were very close to the Son of Man, they had lost sight of him.  Jesus had to rub their noses in it.

“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?” (v. 9b-10).    “If bread was the problem,” Jesus seemed to say, “I can create bread out of thin air.”    The problem with us humans is that, simply put, we forget the Lord.  We worry over bread, clothing and the circumstances of this life (Matthew 6:25-33). Even though the Lord has shown himself faithful, he must continually bring our attention back to himself.

 “How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread?  Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees,” (v. 11).  To trust God is not a natural part of our fallen human nature.   But unlike the Pharisees and Sadducees, the disciples eventually get it right.   Jesus was patient with them.   Soon the scales fell off their eyes and the disciples had an “aha moment;” then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees, (v. 12).

Jesus wanted the disciples to know that He is at the center of those miracles and that he can be trusted.   Like the lilies in the field, the sparrows in the air, the sheep in the pasture, the Lord will take care of his own.  As Christ-followers our faith is not perfect.  But the object of our faith is perfect: Christ himself.  He is our sufficiency, He is our provider, He is our healer, our helper, sustainer, banner, foundation and cornerstone; he is our everything.   

What is the goal of your Christian faith?  Is it to be a better person?  Is it to be healthier and wealthier?  Or is the goal of your Christian faith to know Christ better?   Often times the practice of religion gets in the way of knowing Christ personally.   When I was doing campus evangelism in the southeastern United States, frequently I had to convince a student he was NOT a Christian before I could share the gospel with him.   Here in Eastern Europe, the obstacles are similar; Christian symbols and practices abound but personal knowledge of Jesus is harder to find.  

Even as sincere Christ-followers, we all must beware that the very practice of our faith does not become an idol (i.e., the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees), lest it get in the way of our pursuit of Christ, the Bread of Life.