puff up

Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?” (Mark 8:14-21, ESV)

This is probably one of the greatest Jesus jukes I have ever heard or read about (if you don't know what a Jesus Juke, reference http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZta3v0utak).

While the disciples are talking about their physical lack of bread, Jesus somewhat randomly ties it in to the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod. But since the disciples are still stuck in their flesh-focussed mindset. They actually have to discuss whether they have bread from Pharisees or Herod. But Jesus calls them out on their hard-heartedness, and begins to remind them of the miracles concerning bread that He had done.

And then He ends this passage with a question, “Do you not yet understand?” Why does He end it so cryptically?

Maybe it's not that cryptic. Maybe what's really going on is that the disciples are proving Jesus' point right in the beginning.

It's interesting that Jesus refers to the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod. Specifically, a leaven is a substance, usually yeast, that is added to dough to make it rise. Obviously, it's not that the Pharisees and Herod are made of yeast. But they do have something else in them that causes them to puff up in themselves.

It's their pride and self-reliance. Christ calls His disciples to not rely on themselves in the same way that the Pharisees and Herod do. But with the disciples being hard-hearted, they don't understand what Jesus is saying, and they go back to discussing their lack of bread and what to do with it.

And that's why Jesus refers to His past miracles. He is trying to remind them that He and only He is the great provider who is able to provide beyond what they need, which is why He emphasizes the leftovers they Had. Christ is able to abundantly provide for their lives spiritually, and maybe even physically. But still much more so spiritually.

This reminds me of 1 Corinthians 8, where Paul talks about how there were seasoned Christians damaging the consciences of younger Christians, who were fresh off the pagan boat, by telling them to eat meat that pagans often considered unclean and not meant for eating. Although, theologically, they are correct, their act of eating meat and pushing the younger Christians to follow suit was sinful. To this, Paul says, "this 'knowledge' puffs up, but love builds up."

Even knowledge that is correct can lead to puffing yourself up. All because their delivery of the truth was done in pride and force, much in the same way the Pharisees did. Pride is a dangerous leaven that only leads to puffing yourself up.

But Christ shows another way. Paul continues his statement by saying that love builds up. So Jesus, in opposition to what the Pharisees and Herod display, demonstrates an active love towards His disciples. He loves them, despite their hard-heartedness and bone-headedness. He loves us first, so that we might learn to love others, instead of trying to puff ourselves up. This is how He builds us up.

So the answer to our pride is not necessarily just humility, it is love in its fullness, which is Christ. Again, this is why Jesus refers back to His miracles. He's saying, "don't rely on yourself and your knowledge, but rely on me, the one who had compassion on the hungry people, and provided for them abundantly. The one that will build you up because I love you." 

God has compassion on us, and desires to provide for and feed us. God loves us, so that we may not be puffed up. God loves us, so that we may respond in love.

So be aware and careful of the leaven of pride that can puff us up and cause us to implode. But instead, know that love builds us up, and that love is Jesus Himself.

-simon