Their misunderstanding of Jesus’ command to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees arose from partially disrupted communication, which Matthew recounts very honestly. His account puts us right there in the boat, in the midst of the confusion, following the exchange closely. The disciples are not guilty of shallow ignorance. In faithfulness to Jewish dietary laws, they abstained from certain foods and avoided certain shops. Now Jesus seems to add a new rule: No longer buy bread from followers of the Pharisees and Sadducees—seemingly shielding them from unbelievers by treating them as Gentiles, whose yeast and bread are unclean due to not being prepared according to the law. Their readiness to follow this rule raises a problem: Where could they buy bread? They had no bread, and Jesus seems to forbid them to buy bread on the other shore—from the Pharisees and Sadducees. The disciples were going to the deserted, semi-pagan eastern side of the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 16:13; Mark 8:22), where it would have been difficult to find a Jewish baker. They had already set sail when they found that they had not brought bread, but they must still have been close to the western shore, for their misunderstanding only makes sense if they thought they would just have to land again briefly to buy bread, but would have to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees: that is, that they should buy nothing from them.
The disciples’ misunderstanding of Jesus’ command to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees naturally arose as a result of a partially disrupted act of communication—the kind that Matthew recounts with refreshing candour. His narrative places us right there in the boat, in the midst of the confusion, following the exchange and its unfolding closely.
Yet it would be unjust to accuse the disciples of ignorant superficiality here. After all, they were Jews who remained faithful to their people’s dietary laws. They were accustomed to abstaining from certain foods and to avoiding certain shops. Now Jesus seems to add a new rule: From now on, do not buy bread from followers of the Pharisees and Sadducees. They understand him to mean that he wants to shield them from unbelieving interrogators—to treat such people as Gentiles, whose yeast and bread are unclean because they have not been prepared according to the Law of Moses.
Their readiness to comply with this new, seemingly isolationist rule immediately raises a practical problem: Where, then, could they buy bread? As it happens, they had failed to replenish their supply, and now Jesus’ words seem to forbid them from buying bread on the other shore—from his opponents, the Pharisees and Sadducees.1
The disciples had just left Jewish territory to go to the deserted, semi-pagan eastern side of the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 16:13; Mark 8:22). They had already set sail when they discovered that they had forgotten to bring bread. It would also have been difficult to find a Jewish baker where they are now. However, they must still have been close to the western shore when they noticed this, for the disciples’ misunderstanding can only be understood if they thought they would simply have to land again for a moment to buy bread—but in that case they would have to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees: that is, that they should buy nothing from them.2
7 And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.”