“That may have been what I said; that’s not what I meant.”

Sound familiar?

I’ve lost count of how many times Anthony and I have said that very statement to one another over our many years of marriage together!

But, it’s not just married folks who struggle with communication gaps, breakdowns, and misunderstandings.

Everyone has to deal with this.

Even Jesus’s 12 closest friends got their communication wires crossed when interacting with Him.

Matthew 16 provides a stellar example of this communication confusion in action.

Jesus had just wrapped up an encounter with the Pharisees and Sadducees, a couple groups of religious men bent on His demise.

As was typically the case, they had “tested” Jesus (again) to see if they could catch Him off guard and trap Him in a questionable answer.

With this engagement fresh on His mind, Jesus catches up to His disciples and tells them, “Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (vs. 6)

The disciples heard what He said and thought Jesus was referring to the fact that none of them had packed any bread for their time together.

(Because, leaven = bread, so Jesus must be talking about bread, right?)

But Jesus quickly reminds them of the recent times where they had multiplied physical bread to feed thousands of people and even had leftovers.

He wasn’t talking about literal bread.

He was referring to the teaching of these religious groups of men and warning His disciples to beware of it. (vs. 12)

Jesus was saying one thing but the disciples heard something else.

They were listening with their ears but not with their hearts.

How often have we done that? To our spouses, our children, our parents, our coworkers?

More importantly, how often have we done that to God?

We can become so entangled in the temporary (the tangibles of our finite lives – what we can see, feel, taste) that we miss the eternal (the heart and spirit of what God is actually teaching us, moment by moment).

The disciples weren’t always the sharpest tools in the shed, but isn’t that what makes them so relatable to you and me?

And, just like them, we can learn to listen intently to understand what Jesus is saying to us today.

But, we’ll have to use our heart more than our ears.

“For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Corinthians 3:6 CSB)

Until next time, Grace and Glory!