And he said to them: How do you not yet understand?
και ελεγεν αυτοις πως ου συνιετε
8 Church Fathers comment on this verse · 20 commentaries
Matthew says, of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees; Luke, however, of the Pharisees only. All three, therefore, name the Pharisees, as being the most important of them, but Matthew and Mark have each mentioned one of the secondary sects; and fitly has Mark added of Herod, as a supplement to Matthew’s narrative, in which they were left out. But in saying this, He by degrees brings the disciples to understanding and faith.
After that our Lord had worked the miracle of the loaves, He immediately retires into another spot, lest on account of the miracle, the multitudes should take Him to make Him a king; wherefore it is said, And straightway he entered into a ship with his disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha.
Or they seek for a sign from heaven, that is, they wish Him to make the sun and moon stand still, to bring down hail, and change the atmosphere; for they thought that He could not perform miracles from heaven, but could only in Beelzebub perform a sign on earth.
Now the reason why the Lord did not listen to them was, that the time of signs from heaven had not arrived, that is, the time of the second Advent, when the powers of the heaven shall be shaken, and the moon shall not give her light. But in the time of the first Advent, all things are full of mercy, and such things do not take place.
The Lord indeed quits the Pharisees, as men uncorrected; for where there is a hope of correction, there it is right to remain; but where the evil is incorrigible, we should go away. There follows: Now they had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf.
By a special providence1 also the disciples forgot to take bread, that they might be blamed by Christ, and thus become better, and arrive at a knowledge of Christ’s power. For it goes on, And he charged them, saying, Take heed, and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the leaven of Herod.
He means by leaven their hurtful and corrupt doctrine, full of the old malice, for the Herodians were the teachers, who said that Herod was the Christ.
But the disciples themselves thought that the Lord spoke of the leaven of bread. Wherefore it goes on, And they reasoned amongst themselves, saying, it is because we have no bread; and this they said, as not understanding the power of Christ, who could make bread out of nothing; wherefore the Lord reproves them; for there follows, And when Jesus knew it, he said unto them, Why reason ye because ye have no bread?
Now in Matthew we read that He entered into the parts of Magdala1. But we cannot doubt that it is the same place under another name; for several manuscripts even of St. Mark have only Magdala. It goes on, And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him.
Let no one, however, be perplexed that the answer which Mark says was given to them, when they sought a sign from heaven, is not the same as that which Matthew relates, namely, that concerning Jonah. He says that the Lord’s answer was, that no sign should be given to it; by which we must understand such an one as they asked for, that is, one from heaven; but he has omitted to say, what Matthew has related.
The Pharisees, then, seek a sign from heaven, that He, Who had for the second time fed many thousands of men with a few loaves of bread, should now, after the example of Moses, refresh the whole nation in the last time with manna sent down from heaven, and dispersed amongst them all.
Some may ask, how they had no bread, when they had filled seven baskets just before they embarked in the ship. But Scripture relates that they had forgotten to take them with them, which is a proof how little care they had for the flesh in other things, since in their eagerness to follow the Lord, even the necessity of refreshing their bodies had escaped from their mind.
Or, the leaven of the Pharisees is making the decrees of the divine law inferior to the traditions of men, preaching the law in word, attacking it in deed, tempting the Lord, and disbelieving His doctrine and His works; but the leaven of Herod is adultery, murder, rash swearing, a pretence of religion, hatred to Christ and His forerunner.
Taking occasion then from the precept, which He had commanded, saying, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the leaven of Herod, our Saviour teaches them what was the meaning of the five and the seven loaves, concerning which He adds, And do ye not remember, when I brake the five loaves amongst five thousand, and how many baskets full of fragments ye took up? For if the leaven mentioned above means perverse traditions, of course the food, with which the people of God was nourished, means the true doctrine.
When, as related above, He was about to refresh the believing multitude, He gave thanks, so now, on account of the foolish petition of the Pharisees, He groans; because, bearing about with Him the feelings of human nature, as He rejoices over the salvation of men, so He grieves over their errors. Wherefore it goes on, And he groaned in spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? Verily I say unto you, If a sign shall be given to this generation. That is, no sign shall be given; as it is written in the Psalms, (Ps. 89:36) I have sworn once by my holiness, if I shall fail David, that is, I will not fail David.
For a sign from heaven was not to be given to a generation of men, who tempted the Lord; but to a generation of men seeking the Lord, He shews a sign from heaven, when in the sight of the Apostles He ascended into heaven. It goes on, And he left them, and entering into a ship again, he departed to the other side.
As he was about to leave, he spoke to his disciples regarding their inquiry with a warning: be cautious of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, alluding to their teachings and pretense (Mt. 16:12; Mk. 8:15; Lk. 12:1).
Following a confrontation with the Pharisees and Sadducees in the regions of Dalmanutha and Magdala, Christ makes His way once more across the sea, specifically to its eastern shore, avoiding the hostility of those who oppose Him. As He arrives, He cautions His disciples, saying: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (Mt. 16:6), “of the Pharisees and Herod” (Mk. 8:15), and “of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees” (Lk. 12:1), addressing the secular thinking and materialism of the Sadducees, as well as the political motives that often overshadow spiritual truths among the Herodians.
The disciples, having neglected to bring enough bread, found themselves in distress, “for they had not bread with them in the boat except for one loaf” (Mk. 8:14). When Christ warns them about the influences of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians, they mistakenly interpret His words as a caution against purchasing bread from these groups, believing He was advising them to avoid any association with His adversaries.
With a heavy heart, the Lord began to address their lack of understanding: “Are your hearts still hardened? Do you not perceive, and do you not hear?” (Mk. 8:17-18). Had they not witnessed His miraculous provision for thousands with merely a few loaves? How could they fail to comprehend His message?
"Do you believe that I, who nourished five thousand individuals with only five loaves and fed four thousand with seven loaves, would be unable to provide for you, my twelve followers? Why do you, with sight, fail to see? Why do you, with hearing, fail to comprehend? Why do you not recall the miracles that have unfolded before you? Do you still not grasp the significance of what is happening around you? Is your heart as unyielding as stone? How can you misinterpret my words regarding bread when I cautioned you to ‘Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees?’ It was then that the Apostles realized that Jesus was cautioning them about the peril found in the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
After leaving the spiritually 'incurable' hypocrites behind, Jesus Christ re-entered the boat and journeyed across the Sea of Galilee. The disciples, having forgotten to bring provisions, found themselves with only a single loaf of bread. In the meantime, Jesus cautioned them, saying, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, and Herod's leaven,” as the holy evangelist Mark records. This warning highlighted the destructive doctrines and superstitions of the Pharisees, the disbelief of the Sadducees, and the moral corruption of the Herodians—each representing a harmful influence that he wanted to shield his sincere disciples from.
Misinterpreting his words, they believed he was admonishing them against consuming bread associated with the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians to avoid becoming ceremonially unclean. Since they had only one loaf with them, they considered his caution to be a reflection on their own negligence. They murmured among themselves, “We have no bread.” However, the Lord, knowing their thoughts, rebuked their lack of understanding and faith: “Why do you reason among yourselves, O you of little faith, that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?” They answered, “Twelve.” “Also, when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?” They said, “Seven.” “How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread, but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees?” The disciples eventually recognized that being in the presence of their Master meant they should focus less on physical bread and realize that His warning was about the harmful teachings of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 5 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS