Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (Matthew 16:11)
In the Galilee crossing, Jesus warns his disciples about the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Once he explains that, no, he is not upset they forgot to bring sandwiches; he refers to the religious leaders demanding a sign before they would believe. Sign refused.
After the lesson in the boat, upon arriving in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus queries his friends as to what people are saying about him. After hearing their range of answers, Jesus asks, Who do you say I am? (v. 15) Peter volunteers, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God (v. 16), information that could have come only from God himself.
In Luke, Jesus parables the rich man and Lazarus (16:19-31). In hell, the rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his five brothers so they might change their ways and avoid his fate. Abraham’s answer? If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead (v. 31). Proof denied.
The truth illustrated by the rich man and his brothers, as well as the Pharisees and Sadducees, is that our problem is not a lack of information – not a shortage of proof – but a dogged refusal to believe. Peter, in one of his few shining moments, illustrates a man embracing belief.
Do you ever blame your unbelief on a poverty of proof?
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