Making Bread
Opening Prayer
Loving Lord, I am so very grateful for Your loving care and generous provision each and every day.
Read Mark 8:14-21
[14] The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. [15] “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.” [16] They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.” [17] Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? [18] Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? [19] When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied. [20] “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, “Seven.” [21] He said to them, “Do you still not understand?” Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
Reflect
Why is Jesus upset with them for worrying about bread?Does your Bible translation use “yeast” or “leaven” in this passage? More to the point, do you know the difference? I only really noticed the two words when I looked in a Romanian Bible rather than a dictionary to find the word for “yeast.” Never ask for leaven in a shop; they only sell yeast! So what is leaven?
In Jesus’ day—and in Romanian villages within living memory—fresh yeast wasn’t always readily available. So each day, as you made your bread, you would set aside a bit of the dough. This is the leaven. The next day, you would mix that dough with more flour and water to make a new loaf, setting aside a small amount for the following day. The yeast in the leaven would keep growing and be enough to ferment new dough for days.
In the New Testament, leaven represents the insidiousness of corruption. Just a tiny amount of corruption can be mixed into a society, making the whole society corrupt. Jesus warns his disciples to be careful what ideas and attitudes they allow to be mixed into their lives. Often the things that corrupt us on the inside begin very subtly, like a tiny amount of leaven.
Apply
Ask the Lord to show you any subtle influences on your life and your thinking that are not pleasing to him.
Closing prayer
Lord Jesus, help me to stay free of corrupting influences so that my life will more fully please You.
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