<p>16:6- see on Mt. 15:2.</p>
<p><i>And Jesus said to them</i>- The disciples heard the Lord&rsquo;s warning about yeast, missed the danger of the Pharisees and Sadducees, and therefore wrongly assumed the Lord was saying something about the bread they had not taken.</p>
<p><i>Beware of the yeast</i>- Their fear that they might have done something ritually wrong regarding bread was an outcome of their being influenced by the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Their doctrines led to folk like the disciples becoming paranoid and self-suspicious over issues which were irrelevant, and indeed a distraction from the thrust of the Lord's teaching and intended way of life for His followers. The same effect can be observed in sincere believers who have fallen under the influence of Christian legalists.</p>
<p><i>Of the Pharisees and Sadducees</i>- Here, yeast is used in a negative sense. The preaching of the Kingdom by us is also likened to yeast- a symbol for that which is unclean (Mk. 8:15; 1 Cor. 5:6-8). Perhaps the metaphor is simply of &lsquo;spreading&rsquo;. Or maybe the Lord used this symbol to show that it is our witnessing as humans, as the sons of men, which is what will influence the &lsquo;lump&rsquo; of humanity. People are increasingly acting like the personalities they feel they are expected to be, rather than&nbsp;<i>being</i>&nbsp;who they&nbsp;<i>are</i>.</p>