The Pharisees and Sadducees came and, to test him, asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 He said to them in reply, “[In the evening you say, ‘Tomorrow will be fair, for the sky is red’; 3 and, in the morning, ‘Today will be stormy, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to judge the appearance of the sky, but you cannot judge the signs of the times.] 4 An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away. 5 In coming to the other side of the sea, the disciples had forgotten to bring bread. 6 Jesus said to them, “Look out, and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7 They concluded among themselves, saying, “It is because we have brought no bread.” 8 When Jesus became aware of this he said, “You of little faith, why do you conclude among yourselves that it is because you have no bread? 9 Do you not yet understand, and do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many wicker baskets you took up? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you took up? 11 How do you not comprehend that I was not speaking to you about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that he was not telling them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
The Pharisees and Sadducees had little in common doctrinally and usually were opposing sects with different beliefs and religious practices. In this instance, they worked together and challenged Jesus to produce a miraculous sign that would prove his authority. They demanded to see a physical sign descend from the heavens (Jn. 6:49). The sign they expected could have been a miracle similar to the manna in the desert in the time of Moses (Jn. 6:49; Ex. 16:4-15). Jesus told them that they could recognize the natural signs in the sky but could not recognize the supernatural signs of his miracles indicating that the long-awaited Messiah had arrived. Jesus refused to work miracles at their command. He told them that a sign will be given to this generation that is evil and lacking in faith, but they will not recognize it. His reference to Jonah is a foreshadowing of his death, burial, and resurrection after three days. That is the only sign they will receive.
Jesus and the disciples sailed to the other side of the lake, but the disciples forgot to bring bread. Jesus warned them to avoid the corrupting influence (leaven) of the Pharisees, but they thought he was speaking about the physical bread they forgot (vv. 6-7). Jesus chastised them for their lack of understanding especially after they had witnessed the two miracles involving bread: the feeding of the five thousand (Mt. 14:17-21) and the feeding of the four thousand (Mt. 15:34-38) which they seemed to have quickly forgotten. After Jesus repeated “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees” they discerned that he was telling them to beware of their teaching. A true disciple understands Jesus’ teaching, remains faithful to it, and does not accept the false teachings and hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Almighty God, grant us the wisdom to understand the depths of your word and the faith to discern the signs of your presence in everything that we do. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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