It is evident that Jesus' disciples did not understand His words about leaven—or rather, they understood them in their own, wholly inadequate way. The Savior had to remind them of the recent miracle of the multiplication of the loaves so that they would realize He was not speaking about what they had imagined. At first glance, it may seem that...
It is evident that Jesus' disciples did not understand His words about leaven—or rather, they understood them in their own, wholly inadequate way. The Savior had to remind them of the recent miracle of the multiplication of the loaves so that they would realize He was not speaking about what they had imagined.
At first glance, it may seem that the apostles simply failed to understand the allegory used by their Teacher. But that was probably not the whole matter. On the one hand, one could say that the apostles had indeed forgotten the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves; on the other, they probably thought that such miracles could not happen continually.
By “the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees” they undoubtedly understood leaven itself and nothing else. In other words, they continued to think in the categories of their former life, the categories of the untransformed world—a world where miracles do occur, of course, but only as exceptions, and where one must live by the laws of that untransformed world, trying merely to avoid, as far as possible, a direct violation of the Torah, the commandments given by God.
This is how the disciples understood the Savior's words about leaven: they could no longer have dealings with either Sadducees or Pharisees. But then, as the apostles reasonably concluded, there would be nowhere for them to obtain bread. Jesus, however, is speaking of something entirely different: spiritual leaven, that which spiritually nourishes a person seeking the Kingdom. And it turns out that the spiritual food offered by people who live chiefly or exclusively by religion is not suitable for such a person.
Indeed, now that the Kingdom, in the Savior's words, had “drawn near” and was ready to begin its transforming advance through our world, anyone wishing to partake of its life could not limit himself to what religion could offer, even the most spiritually profound and systematically developed religion. The fullness of the Kingdom cannot be contained within the framework of any religion on earth, which is hardly surprising, since every religion is the work of human hands and minds. Jesus calls His disciples to feed directly on the life of the Kingdom, sharing in it through Him Himself—the only way anyone can share in the life of the Kingdom.
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1:12 Happy is the man that endureth temptation - Trials of various kinds. He shall receive the crown - That fadeth not away.Which the Lord hath promised to them that love him - And his enduring proves his love. For it is love only that "endureth all things."
1:13 But let no man who is tempted - To sin. Say, I am tempted of God - God thus tempteth no man.
1:14 Every man is tempted, when - In the beginning of the temptation. He is drawn away - Drawn out of God, his strong refuge. By his own desire - We are therefore to look for the cause of every sin, in, not out of ourselves. Even the injections of the devil cannot hurt before we make them our own.And every one has desires arising from his own constitution, tempers, habits, and way of life. And enticed - In the progress of the temptation, catching at the bait: so the original word signifies.
1:15 Then desire having conceived - By our own will joining therewith. Bringeth forth actual sin - It doth not follow that the desire itself is not sin. He that begets a man is himself a man. And sin being perfected - Grown up to maturity, which it quickly does. Bringeth forth death - Sin is born big with death.
1:16 Do not err - It is a grievous error to ascribe the evil and not the good which we receive to God.
1:17 No evil, but every good gift - Whatever tends toholiness. And every perfect gift - Whatever tends to glory.Descendeth from the Father of lights - The appellation of Father is here used with peculiar propriety. It follows, "he begat us." He is the Father of all light, material or spiritual, in the kingdom of grace and of glory. With whom is no variableness - No change in his understanding. Or shadow of turning - in his will. He infallibly discerns all good and evil; and invariably loves one, and hates the other. There is, in both the Greek words, a metaphor taken from the stars, particularly proper where the Father of lights is mentioned.Both are applicable to any celestial body, which has a daily vicissitude of day and night, and sometimes longer days, sometimes longer nights. In God is nothing of this kind.He is mere light. If there Is any such vicissitude, it is in ourselves, not in him.
1:18 Of his own will - Most loving, most free, most pure, just opposite to our evil desire, Jam 1:15.Begat he us - Who believe. By the word of truth - The true word, emphatically so termed; the gospel. That we might be a kind of first - fruits of his creatures - Christians are the chief and most excellent of his visible creatures; and sanctify the rest. Yet he says, A kind of - For Christ alone is absolutely the first - fruits.