Matthew 16:6–12: “‘Watch out,’ Jesus said to them, ‘beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’ So they began to discuss this among themselves, saying, ‘It is because we brought no bread.’ When Jesus learned of this, He said, ‘You of such little faith, why are you arguing among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the 5,000 and how many baskets you took up? Or the seven loaves for the 4,000 and how many baskets you took up? How could you not understand that I was not speaking to you about bread? But beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’ Then they understood that He had not told them to be on guard against the yeast in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

It’s interesting that if you wanted to learn anything in Israel at that time, you went to the Pharisees—the “high” people—or to the Sadducees. In a way, the Pharisees were one camp of Bible interpretation at that time, and the Sadducees were another.

They have their own way of interpreting things; the Sadducees have theirs as well. For example, the Sadducees did not believe in resurrection; the Pharisees did (Acts 23:6–8). So you can see the divide. The Pharisees are probably the ones who will add to what God commands, in a way, to make themselves “extra compliant” by adding to it. You just have different views, different things they regard as important, different perspectives and explanations.

Rather than going into all those details, Jesus simply says, “Beware of their teaching”—meaning be on guard against their teaching. In effect He is saying, “Look, I am your Teacher. Do not allow what they are teaching to begin to influence you. Guard against what they are teaching.”

And Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). There was a time He fed a lot of people and then told them, “You are looking for Me not because you saw the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled” (John 6:26). After He said other hard things, some decided not to follow Him anymore. He asked His disciples, “Do you also want to leave?” Peter said, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:67–68).

So the teaching is equated with truth, and He is saying: whatever these people (Pharisees, Sadducees) stand for, beware of them. If you are going to “beware of the Pharisees” and “beware of the Sadducees,” who then are you going to pitch your tent with? You have to pitch your tent with Christ. You have to zero in your understanding with Christ.

We read the Scriptures, thinking they are supposed to tell us about ourselves. No. The Scriptures are meant to tell you about Christ because “in His light we see light” (Psalm 36:9). When we see Him clearly—and we are in Him—we see ourselves clearly.

The Scriptures are supposed to be our gateway into Christ, because He is the One we cannot see. We can see you, but we cannot see Him. So this word that has been written has been written to us so we may know God. And the embodiment—the One who is “the fullness of the Godhead bodily”—is Christ (Colossians 2:9).

Philip said, “Show us the Father.” Jesus said, “Have I been with you so long, and still you do not know Me?… He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:8–9). That tells you the focus is Christ.

The focus is Christ. And you should beware of teaching that does not help you to focus on Christ.

God bless you. See you later.