“Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened.” – Matthew 13:33 (KJV)
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PARABLE OF THE LEAVEN
The parable of the mustard seed we looked at last week taught us not to despise small beginnings – from a tiny mustard seed grew a tree that was thousands of times bigger. This week, we have a 1-line parable – so tiny that you might skip over it and not even pay it any attention – but remember, every word here is God-breathed, and profitable for our instruction! Let us approach with reverence and see what wonders are revealed here….
Context: This parable is to be found only in the gospel of Matthew. He places it immediately after the telling of the parable of the Sower/Soils, the wheat/tares, and the mustard seed. This particular parable was given to the public at large – but was not explicitly explained to the disciples. We therefore need to dig a little deeper to understand what is being conveyed here.
One area of difficulty in interpretation is that Leaven (or Yeast as we know it) is uniformly a symbol of evil in the Bible – with very few exceptions (this being one of them)!
In the Old Testament, it was prohibited from any sacrifices that were burnt in the fire - “ No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the LORD, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the LORD made by fire.” (Le 2:11). Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning. (Ex 23:18). There is particular emphasis on this during the Passover, where the Law says –
“And ye shall observe the feast of -unleavened- bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even. Seven days shall there be -no leaven- found in your houses - : for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be -cut off- from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land. Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread. (Ex 12:17-20)
Wow! That’s a very strong prohibition!
In the New Testament, our Lord Himself warns His disciples to beware of the leaven (or false doctrine) of the Pharisees (Matt. 16:6–12; Mark 8:15; Luke 12:1). The Apostle Paul likewise warns the Corinthian church of allowing even a little sin creeping in – which has the power to take down the whole church! “Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 Co 5:6-8) He even uses the same analogy as the parable – a little leaven leavens the whole lump!!!!
What do you think is the message of the parable? We strongly encourage you to just close your eyes for a minute and meditate – what is being conveyed here? ……………
Key Message: The parable illustrates to us the - HIDDEN TRANSFORMATIONAL PROCESS of the Word of God that ushers in His Kingdom in our hearts.
The best way to deal with the leaven difficulty is to appreciate that our Lord, like He did in the agricultural parables, took an example from everyday life (a woman preparing bread) to illustrate a kingdom principle. The focus is not on the leaven, but it is the -MEANS and PROCESS- of leavening that are in view here, that are important. Matthew, being an observant Jew, was probably so struck by the illustration that he recorded it for us here!
Like the seed growing secretly in the ground, the operation of the yeast/leaven is invisible. Like the mustard seed that grows into a big tree, a minute amount of yeast is enough to transform 3 measures of dough (a standard amount of dough that could be kneaded by one person). Like the parable of the soils, the yeast must find a receptive home – it will not transform metal, wood or cloth – but needs to be in grain/meal in order to do its work. Hopefully you are beginning to see the connection between this parable and the ones that went before…
The one thing that is different and NEW is that we are shown a picture of TRANSFORMATION here.
The Word, like yeast, is ALIVE. Yeast is a fungus, and what it does – as it reproduces by budding – is to break down the sugars in the bread into carbon dioxide gas, which causes the dough to rise as the gas forms bubbles. The Word, hidden in our heart, active and alive, begins to grow and effect an internal spiritual transformation in much the same manner. It breaks down our spiritual calluses and transforms our hardened hearts into tender dough! What a picture of the sanctification process - starts in one one small area, transforms it, then the surrounding area, then the next, and so on! Its why sanctification takes time!!!
Some commentators (and Amillenialists) have taken this parable to be a picture of the gospel pervading the earth till the whole earth is converted. There are numerous problems with this view, especially the words of our Lord Himself – “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8. We could treat this as rhetorical, were it not for the fact that He also compares the time before His coming to that of Noah &Sodom and Gomorrah, and in the book of Revelation, it is amply clear that there are wicked on the planet when He comes!
No, this parable is about the growth of the kingdom of God in our hearts – “And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”- (Lk 17:20-21). There it is folks! A hidden kingdom (not coming with observation), that is within men’s hearts(within you).
This is why we are already kings and priests in Christ, because the kingdom of God is WITHIN us! The joys, peace and fellowship of Heaven are always at hand – the external world may give us tribulation – but the kingdom in our hearts tells us that we will overcome, we are not forsaken, we are LOVED!
This is why being born of the Spirit is key to the kingdom experience. Jesus tells Nicodemus in John 3:5 “ Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”. The entry He is talking about is not JUST some future entry into Heaven (which will happen in good time), but He is talking about the kingdom of God that begins inside us once we have been baptized and born of the Spirit! This why the Great commission to make disciples begins with baptism in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Water and the Spirit begin the journey, and the indwelling Word makes us children of the kingdom.
What a small beginning! A confession of faith, a baptism in water, and a birthing by the Spirit. This yeast, grows in the 3 measures of man– Body, Soul, & Spirit – transforming and renewing us.
If you think we are stretching the interpretation of the parable to physical transformation – consider the words of the Apostle Paul - “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you (Ro 8:11). Paul uses the word meaning resurrect (raised up) for Christ, but a word meaning invigorate or refreshing for the “quickening” of our mortal bodies. He is talking about real physical benefits here!
The Word of God, spoken, caused the Universe to come into being. The Word of God incarnated, took away the curse of Sin. The Word of God indwelling, transforms us!
“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Cor 3:18, 2 Cor 4:6)
Hallelujah!