He
left them, and again entering into the boat, departed to the other side. They forgot to take bread; and they didn’t have more than one loaf in the boat with them. He warned them, saying, “Take heed: beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.”
Mark 8:13-15
Mark 8 [10.] Immediately he entered into the boat with his disciples, and came into the region of Dalmanutha. The Pharisees came out and began to question him, seeking from him a sign from heaven, and testing him. He sighed deeply in his spirit, and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Most certainly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
Mark 8 [13.] He left them, and again entering into the boat, departed to the other side. They forgot to take bread; and they didn’t have more than one loaf in the boat with them. He warned them, saying, “Take heed: beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.”
Mark 8 [16.] They reasoned with one another, saying, “It’s because we have no bread.”
Meaning:
After refusing the Pharisees’ demand for a sign (Mark 8:10-12), Jesus leaves them and sets off across the lake again with his disciples. On the way the disciples realise that they have forgotten to bring bread; there is only one loaf in the boat. Jesus, still thinking about the encounter he has just had, gives them a warning: “Take heed: beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” The disciples will misunderstand him, but his words remain one of the most searching warnings in the Gospels.
- Leaving the Pharisees behind
Mark simply says that Jesus “left them.” After the deep sigh of grief over their unbelief, he does not stay to argue. There is a time to move on from those who are determined not to listen. The boat journey takes Jesus and the twelve back toward the north-eastern shore, toward Bethsaida, where the next miracle will take place (Mark 8:22-23).
- One loaf in the boat
The disciples had collected seven large baskets of leftovers only a short time before, yet now they have just one loaf. Perhaps the leftovers had been given away or eaten; either way, they have forgotten to restock. Mark’s detail is honest and a little humorous. Some readers see a deeper irony too: the One who is the true Bread of Life was in the boat with them, and he was more than enough.
- What yeast means
Yeast, or leaven, was a small piece of fermented dough kept from a previous batch and worked into new dough. A tiny amount quietly spreads through the whole lump. At Passover every Jewish household removed all leaven from the house, and in Scripture leaven often becomes a picture of a spreading corrupt influence. Paul uses the same image: “a little yeast leavens the whole lump” (1 Corinthians 5:6-8).
- The yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod
The “yeast of the Pharisees” was the attitude they had just shown: outward religion combined with unbelief, a demand for signs while rejecting the evidence before them. Luke records Jesus naming it plainly: “the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (Luke 12:1-3).
“The yeast of Herod” refers to Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee who had imprisoned and beheaded John the Baptizer and who was curious about Jesus without wanting to repent. His influence stood for worldly power, political scheming and moral compromise. The Pharisees and the supporters of Herod had already joined forces against Jesus (Mark 3:6). Different as they were, both groups resisted God’s kingdom, and both could quietly shape the thinking of Jesus’ own followers, who still hoped for a political Messiah.
- Why the warning came at this moment
Jesus spoke these words just after two contrasting scenes: Gentiles in the wilderness receiving bread from his hands with gratitude, and Pharisees in Galilee demanding proof and refusing to believe. The disciples had seen both. Jesus knew that the greatest danger to his followers was not the hostility of outsiders but the slow absorption of wrong attitudes. They too could become people who saw miracles yet remained unchanged, or who wanted a Messiah of power and politics rather than the suffering Servant he would soon reveal himself to be (Mark 8:30-33). The word “take heed” is in a continuous tense: keep on watching, keep on being careful.
The Significance of Mark 8:13-15
- Guarding the heart
Hypocrisy and worldliness rarely arrive all at once. Like yeast they work slowly and quietly. Jesus calls his disciples to “take heed,” to be watchful and honest about the influences shaping their hearts. “Keep your heart with all diligence” (Proverbs 4:23).
- Inviting God to search us
The best protection against hidden yeast is to bring our hearts before God and ask him to expose anything that does not belong: “Search me, God, and know my heart” (Psalm 139:23-24). Believers today face the leaven of religious pride on one side and of worldly ambition on the other, and need the Spirit’s help to remain sincere and true.
Cross-References:
Luke 12:1: "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." Luke identifies the yeast of the Pharisees as hypocrisy.
1 Corinthians 5:6: "Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole lump?" Paul uses the same image to show how tolerated sin spreads.
Mark 3:6: "The Pharisees went out, and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him." The two influences Jesus warns about had already united against him.
Psalm 139:23-24: "Search me, God, and know my heart. Try me, and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way." A fitting prayer for anyone who wants to be free of hidden yeast.
Conclusion: In a boat with only one loaf, Jesus warned his disciples about a different kind of bread: the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod. Religious hypocrisy and worldly power can quietly permeate the hearts of even sincere followers. Jesus calls us to take heed, to invite God to search our hearts, and to remain with him, the true Bread who is always enough.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible