More than Enough
From scarcity thinking to Kingdom abundance
Scripture: The Living Word
Matthew 16:5–12 (ESV)
When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread.
Yeshua said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.”
But Yeshua, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread?
Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered?
Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered?
How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Hungry Crowds in the Wilderness
The crowds had been relentless. First in Galilee, then across the water in the Decapolis. Everywhere Yeshua went, people pressed in with hunger—hunger for healing, hunger for hope, hunger for bread. And twice, in the wilderness places, He fed them.
Twelve Baskets for Israel
The first miracle was on familiar soil—near Bethsaida, among their own people. Five loaves and two fish became a feast for thousands, with twelve baskets left over. Every Israelite who saw it could not miss the meaning: the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob still provided bread for His twelve tribes. He had not forgotten His covenant.
Seven Baskets for the Nations
The second miracle happened far from home, in the Gentile lands of the Decapolis. This time the disciples began with seven loaves and a few small fish. Again, the people ate and were satisfied, and this time seven baskets were left over. Seven—the number of fullness, completeness. The God of Israel was not just feeding His own. He was spreading a table for the nations.
A Blind Demand for Signs
From there, Yeshua and His disciples crossed back over the Sea of Galilee to Magadan. Immediately, the Pharisees and Sadducees met Him with demands: “Show us a sign from heaven”. They had just witnessed the multiplication of bread for Jew and Gentile alike, but their eyes were blind. They wanted proof while ignoring the bread in their hands. Yeshua refused them and left.
Beware the Yeast—And Pass the Bread
Back in the boat, the disciples realized they had forgotten bread. They whispered about their mistake, still thinking of the natural. Yeshua interrupted: “Beware the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees”.
The problem was never bread. The problem was perspective. The Pharisees’ yeast was unbelief, hypocrisy, and exclusivity. His yeast was abundance, expansion, and life for Jew and Gentile alike. And that abundance was not only revealed in His hands but also in the hands of those who shared it.
The miracles did not bypass the people. A boy offered his small lunch (John 6:9–13), but the increase came as the bread was being passed from hand to hand. Yeshua blessed and broke it, but He entrusted the miracle into the hands of His disciples, and as they gave, it multiplied. The same was true in the second feeding: seven loaves became more than enough, not because bread appeared in piles at their feet, but because it multiplied in the very act of giving.
The warning and the miracle are one lesson: the Pharisees’ yeast hoarded and excluded, but Yeshua’s yeast multiplied as it was shared. The Kingdom grows not in storing up, but in the motion of giving.
Context: Behind the Words
In Hebrew, chametz meant leaven, removed at Passover as a sign of purity. In Aramaic, the word was ḥametzā—a reminder that even a trace of leaven could spread through a whole lump of dough. In Greek, the word was zymē, a term for yeast or ferment, but also for unseen influence. Yeshua’s disciples would have heard His warning in the Passover key: beware of the hidden corruption that, once inside, alters everything.
The Pharisees’ yeast was their teaching—demanding signs, clinging to tradition, shrinking the covenant vision down to themselves. It puffed people up with pride but left them spiritually hungry. Yeshua’s yeast was different. It multiplied life. It turned scarcity into surplus. It opened Israel’s covenant to the nations.
Covenant: The Relational Core
This lesson takes us back to the heart of covenant. Yahweh gave manna in the wilderness not only to feed but to teach that His people live by His Word (Deuteronomy 8:3). He promised Abraham that Israel would be blessed in order to bless all nations (Genesis 12:3). The yeast of the Pharisees had narrowed this calling to exclusion and self-preservation.
Yeshua restored its wideness. Twelve baskets testified to Yahweh’s faithfulness to Israel. Seven baskets proclaimed His generosity for the world. His yeast expands the covenant until it fills the whole earth with life.
This detail reveals something profound about covenant. Yahweh’s abundance is not revealed apart from His people—it flows through them. In the wilderness, manna fell and Israel had to gather it daily. In the Gospels, Yeshua blessed and broke the loaves, multiplying them through His disciples’ hands. Covenant is always relational: Yah provides, His people respond, and together the world is fed.
Practice: Living It Out
The question is not whether bread is scarce but which yeast will rise within us. Communities shaped by Pharisaic yeast live under suspicion and scarcity: “There is not enough—keep it for ourselves.” Communities shaped by Yeshua’s yeast live in trust and abundance: “There is more than enough—invite others to the table.”
Discernment is required: every community must test its yeast, asking whether its teaching multiplies life or breeds hypocrisy.
Generosity must be nurtured: when communities share freely, Yah multiplies what seems small.
Dependence must remain central: abundance does not come from tradition or human control, but from Messiah Himself, the Bread of Life (John 6:35).
Yeshua’s yeast spread because His disciples trusted enough to pass broken pieces along. The miracle was not in stockpiling but in giving. In the Kingdom, generosity is not what follows having enough—it is the very means by which “enough” comes to be.
Modern-Day Example
During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, grocery store shelves went empty as people stockpiled flour, rice, and bread. Fear of scarcity spread faster than the virus itself. Yet at the very same time, local food banks, churches, and mutual-aid groups began sharing what they had. Volunteers delivered meals to the elderly, neighbors left extra bags of groceries on porches, and some bakeries gave away bread instead of letting it spoil.
In those acts of distribution, abundance emerged. What seemed insufficient when hoarded became more than enough when shared.
This is the principle of Yeshua’s yeast in action: provision grows not by holding tightly, but by passing bread along.
Discussion Questions
Why do you think Yeshua tied the miracles of the feedings to His warning about the yeast of the Pharisees?
How does the principle that bread multiplied as it was passed challenge our modern view of provision and security?
In what ways might our communities today be shaped more by the “yeast of the Pharisees” (scarcity, exclusivity, performance) than by the yeast of Yeshua (abundance, invitation, trust)?
Seven-Day Practice Rhythm
Day 1 (🪞): Reflect on which influences are shaping your faith—culture, tradition, or Messiah’s Word.
Day 2 (🤝): Share bread (literal or figurative) with someone in need. Pray for Yah to multiply it.
Day 3 (🙏): Ask Yah to expose areas of hypocrisy or unbelief in your own heart.
Day 4 (🪞): Journal about a time Yah provided abundantly when you felt empty.
Day 5 (🤝): Speak encouragement to someone who feels like they are running out of strength.
Day 6 (🙏): Read John 6:26–59. Pray for deeper hunger for Messiah as the Bread of Life.
Day 7 (Sabbath): Rest and reflect: Where did Yah multiply your little into abundance this week? Give thanks.
Closing Blessing
May you beware of yeast that puffs up but leaves the soul empty.
May you embrace the yeast of Messiah that multiplies life.
And may your life rise with His Spirit until the whole world tastes His abundance.