The Meaning of Matthew 16:6 Explained

Matthew 16:6

KJV: Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

YLT: and Jesus said to them, 'Beware, and take heed of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees;'

Darby: And Jesus said to them, See and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

ASV: And Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Then  Jesus  said  unto them,  Take heed  and  beware  of  the leaven  of the Pharisees  and  of the Sadducees. 

What does Matthew 16:6 Mean?

Context Summary

Matthew 16:1-12 - Beware Of Evil Influences
The signs of the times in our own day are much as they were in that. Still men are lovers of pleasure rather than of God. Still they who will live a godly life must be prepared to suffer persecution. The forms of hatred and dislike of the gospel change, but the hatred of the Cross is as inveterate as ever. The sign of Jonah was his resurrection to take up his cry against Nineveh; the resurrection of Jesus is the Father's seal of endorsement. See to it that He shall rise, not only in Joseph's garden, but in thy heart! That is the best evidence of the truth of our holy faith.
There is abroad today much teaching which may be compared to leaven. The germs of hurtful and false doctrine are as thick as microbes. Propagated by the agencies of the spoken address and the written page, they produce fermentation and unrest in the young and unstable. We must judge these pernicious teachings, not by their pleasant and innocent appearance, but by their effect on heart and character. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 16

1  The Pharisees require a sign
5  Jesus warns his disciples of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees
13  The people's opinion of Jesus,
16  and Peter's confession of him
21  Jesus foretells his death;
23  reproves Peter for dissuading him from it;
24  and admonishes those who will follow him, to bear the cross

What do the individual words in Matthew 16:6 mean?

- And Jesus said to them Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees Sadducees
δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Ὁρᾶτε καὶ προσέχετε ἀπὸ τῆς ζύμης τῶν Φαρισαίων Σαδδουκαίων

  - 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Ἰησοῦς  Jesus 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰησοῦς  
Sense: Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses’ successor.
εἶπεν  said 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω  
Sense: to speak, say.
αὐτοῖς  to  them 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
Ὁρᾶτε  Watch 
Parse: Verb, Present Imperative Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: εἶδον 
Sense: to see with the eyes.
προσέχετε  beware 
Parse: Verb, Present Imperative Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: προσέχω  
Sense: to bring to, bring near.
ζύμης  leaven 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: ζύμη  
Sense: leaven.
τῶν  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Φαρισαίων  Pharisees 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: Φαρισαῖος  
Sense: A sect that seems to have started after the Jewish exile.
Σαδδουκαίων  Sadducees 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: Σαδδουκαῖος  
Sense: a religious party at the time of Christ among the Jews, who denied that the oral law was a revelation of God to the Israelites, and who deemed the written law alone to be obligatory on the nation, as the divine authority. They denied the following doctrines:.