Matthew 15:32--16:12
The Feeding of the Four Thousand
15:32 Then Jesus called the disciples and said, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have already been here with me three days and they have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry since they may faint on the way.”
15:33 The disciples said to him, “Where can we get enough bread in this desolate place to satisfy so great a crowd?”
15:34 Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They replied, “Seven – and a few small fish.”
15:35 After instructing the crowd to sit down on the ground,
15:36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and after giving thanks, he broke them and began giving them to the disciples, who then gave them to the crowds.
15:37 They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.
15:38 Not counting children and women, there were four thousand men who ate.
15:39 After sending away the crowd, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.
The Demand for a Sign
16:1 Now when the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.
16:2 He said, “When evening comes you say, ‘It will be fair weather, because the sky is red,’
16:3 and in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, because the sky is red and darkening.’ You know how to judge correctly the appearance of the sky, but you cannot evaluate the signs of the times.
16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away.
The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees
16:5 When the disciples went to the other side, they forgot to take bread.
16:6 “Watch out,” Jesus said to them, “beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
16:7 So they began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “It is because we brought no bread.”
16:8 When Jesus learned of this, he said, “You who have such little faith! Why are you arguing among yourselves about having no bread?
16:9 Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up?
16:10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand and how many baskets you took up?
16:11 How could you not understand that I was not speaking to you about bread? But beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!”
16:12 Then they understood that he had not told them to be on guard against the yeast in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.