Scriptures: Exodus 13, Isaiah 30:20, 42:1-4, Micah 4:2, Matthew 5-7
In the last lesson we looked at how Jesus fulfilled the Passover, which is part of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, during which the Israelites were to eat only unleavened bread for 7 days. In Exodus 13, God tells us what this festival represents. “This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that this law of the Lord is to be on your lips” (Exodus 13:9). Revelation 13 tells us that in the last days the wicked ruler to come will insist on being worshipped, and the sign of his worship will be a mark on the hand or forehead. In Exodus 13, God tells us that observing this festival and keeping his law on our lips is our spiritual mark on our forehead (representing our mind) and hand (representing our works). What you believe, speak, and do identifies which kingdom you live in, either the Kingdom of Heaven or the kingdom of the antichrist.
Jesus came preaching the Kingdom of Heaven which will come down to earth with him when he returns. Through his teaching ministry, Jesus fulfilled God’s promise in Isaiah 30:20, “You will see your teacher with your own eyes. Your own ears will hear him” (NLT). Jesus described God’s kingdom value system in his sermon on the mount. In Matthew 5, Jesus declares what God blesses (those who recognize their need for him and hunger for righteousness, the meek, pure in heart, merciful, peacemakers, etc.), then the rest of the sermon describes what those attributes look like in daily life. Crowds followed Jesus because his teachings provide a solid foundation for those who follow them. Micah 4:2 declares that when God’s kingdom comes the nations will stream to God’s temple and say, “’Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’ The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”
Just as the crowds followed Jesus, hanging on every word, the nations will stream to him to be taught. Isaiah 42 describes how the Messiah would teach. “He will not shout or raise his voice in public. 3 He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. He will bring justice to all who have been wronged. 4 He will not falter or lose heart until justice prevails throughout the earth. Even distant lands beyond the sea will wait for his instruction” (Isaiah 42:2-4). Jesus taught with humility and gentleness. He brought justice by teaching us how to behave justly (through serving, being kind to the poor, keeping our promises) just like he brought peace by teaching us to be peacemakers who forgive offenses and bless those who curse us. When we obey Jesus’ teachings, we stand out from the world as though our hand and forehead are marked.
God’s laws are both foundational principles for kingdom living and the physical boundaries of his kingdom when Jesus returns. “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. (Revelation 22:14-15). This is why Jesus’ teaching ministry preceded his sacrifice and why John the Baptist preached repentance to prepare the way for Jesus. Before the Passover sacrifice comes the removal of every trace of yeast for the Festival of Unleavened Bread.
“On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel” (Exodus 12:15). The Apostle Paul identified yeast as representing wickedness, so sweeping your house clean of yeast is a symbol of repentance. “Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:6-8). Paul instructs us to keep the Festival of Unleavened Bread by removing the yeast of malice and wickedness. Jesus warned his disciples of three specific yeasts to be on their guard against.
The Yeast of the Pharisees: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (Luke 12:10). The word hypocrite is the Greek word for actor. The Pharisees acted righteous in public to receive praise from people but did not love God or people. In Matthew 15:9 Jesus tells the Pharisees, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 8 ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.” This yeast substitutes religious traditions and rules for the Holy Spirit. In 2 Timothy 3:5 Paul warns us to stay away from those who act religious but reject the power of the Holy Spirit that makes us godly.
The Yeast of the Sadducees: The Pharisees and Sadducees were dueling sects in Judaism who were both vying for power. “Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (Matthew 16:6). Jesus issued this warning after the Pharisees and Sadducees had come demanding a miraculous sign to prove Jesus’ authority. The Sadducees did not believe in miracles, the resurrection of the dead, angelic spirits, prophecy, or anything beyond the material world. In Acts 4, The Sadducees put Peter and John in jail for preaching that Jesus was resurrected from the dead because it didn’t fit their narrative. This yeast results in persecution of those who believe in the spiritual realm, preach the resurrection of the dead, or operate in the gifts of the Spirit.
The Yeast of Herod: In Mark 8:15 Jesus warns his disciples to watch out for the yeast of Herod. Herodians supported collaboration with Rome, even if it meant compromising their religious convictions, in order to gain power. It is the yeast of people-pleasing, which we see when Herod makes a foolish vow that results in him having John the Baptist beheaded, just to save face. We also see this when Jesus was arrested and brought before Herod. “When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort. 9 He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. 11 Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him” (Luke 23:8-11). When the teachers of the law started accusing Jesus, Herod went from delight in seeing Jesus to mocking him. The yeast of Herod causes people to deny Jesus, to go along with the crowd so they can hold onto power.
All three of these groups persecuted Jesus. The yeast of their teaching leads to persecution of Spirit-filled believers, which is why Jesus fulfills the Festival of Unleavened Bread by teaching us how to get rid of every trace of yeast. In the sermon on the mount, Jesus told us how to avoid being like the hypocritical religious leaders by doing good works in secret, praying to God in secret, and fasting in secret. Rather than outward piety to gain attention, he called for inner purity. Jesus confronted the unbelief of the Sadducees through his miracles and the resurrection of Lazarus, and then promised his disciples he would send the Holy Spirit to empower us to continue his work of preaching, healing, and casting out demons. “Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12). Jesus’ teaching combats the yeast of Herod, instructing us to give rather than store up treasures, view serving as the sign of true greatness, honor the dishonored of society, and take up our cross daily.
God gives us grace in this process of purging which is directed by the Holy Spirit. If we follow Jesus’ teachings, we automatically avoid these yeasts and instead are filled with the yeast of the Kingdom, which Jesus describes in Matthew 13:33. “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.” Little by little, the Holy Spirit works the yeast of holiness into our lives as we follow Jesus’ teachings. It becomes a mark on our forehead and hand, identifying us as followers of Christ. He turns us into yeast that works its way into the world as we spread the gospel, bringing transformation to society. Yeast causes bread to rise. The yeast of the Kingdom lifts up the downcast and fills the earth with the Bread from Heaven.
Response:
Thank you, Jesus, for teaching us the ways of your kingdom and demonstrating both humility and godly power. Fill me with the yeast of your kingdom, transforming me until I think, speak, and act like you. Make me holy as you are holy.
(Pictured above is a hillside by the Sea of Galilee where Jesus may have taught the sermon on the mount.)
