Daily Lesson for November 11, 2021

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Matthew chapter 16 verses 5 through 12:

5 When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6Jesus said to them, ‘Watch out, and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’ 7They said to one another, ‘It is because we have brought no bread.’ 8And becoming aware of it, Jesus said, ‘You of little faith, why are you talking about having no bread? 9Do you still not perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 10Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 11How could you fail to perceive that I was not speaking about bread? Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!’ 12Then they understood that he had not told them to beware of the yeast of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Here is a lesson on how to interpret the times.

Jesus is warning his disciples not to fall for the distractions and the evasions and all the shenanigans of the political leaders in the capital.

"Beware," he says, "of their 'yeast'."

Yeast puffs up. It makes big adoo. It makes a lot out of absolutely nothing.

"Don't be distracted," Jesus is saying. "Don't believe the headline. Don't buy into the party line."

I think he would have said, "Never, ever trust the name of a bill on a ballot in Texas."

Yeast. Fluff. Active agents of distraction.

"Beware," Jesus says, which means it's okay not to believe everything we read and hear.

Ryon Price is Senior Pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.