The Parable of Leaven
The Parable of Leaven is another parable told by Jesus about what the kingdom of heaven is like.
Matthew 13:33-34; Luke 13:20-21
The Parable of Leaven is another parable that Jesus tells about the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
Before we can understand the parable we need to understand a couple of things. First who Jesus was speaking to and why He was speaking to them. Second we need to understand some of the words such as leaven, hid, measures, meal, and whole and leavened. This will help us understand the parable better.
Jesus was talking to the disciples who wanted to know why Jesus spoke in parables. Jesus told the disciples that the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven are not given to all men. He speaks in parables for His followers because the people’s hearts have gown cold, and their ears are dull, and their eyes are closed.
So who can understand the parables? Those who understand with their heart, and should be converted and they shall be healed. Those who follow Jesus are blessed because they shall see and hear. That is why Jesus talked in parables.
The day Jesus told this parable about the kingdom of heaven he was sitting by the sea side and a great multitude were gathered together. Jesus went into a ship and spoke to the multitude from there. He told them the parable about the sower and what this parable means (we will hear this parable soon). He also told the multitude about the mustard seed.
Next was the parable about the leaven. Leaven is used in the Bible to confirmed mental and moral corruption, viewed in its tendency to infect others. Leaven is used in small quantity yet it infuses or mixes into the thing it is being mixed with. So leaven is usually used in a bad sense. Apparently the only good sense that leaven is used is in Matthew 13:33. All the other times leaven is mentioned in the Bible is in a bad sense of a wicked, destructive, or harmful influence, “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.”
The woman took and hid, {which mean to 1) to conceal in something 2) to mingle one thing with another}. Measure is a kind of dry measure this measure was in three measures { 3 gallons (14 liters)}. Meal is flour. That means that One liter is equal to 4 cups so three measures would be 12 cups of meal or flour. Ten cups of flour would make about 5 loaves of bread.
Now let’s look at the parable. Jesus was speaking about the kingdom of heaven being like the leaven. If you take the fact that the leaven, like yeast, are tiny particles that are capable of raising a large batch of dough. The truth of the Word of God is capable of raising our lives closer to Him.
When the Word of God or the Truth gets corrupted then it can corrupt the whole of the person and the person can become corrupted as well. It is important that we keep the influence of the lies about Jesus, the LORD God and the Bible out of our lives and only allow the Truth of God to touch our lives.
What Does This Story Teach Us?
We are going to look at this parable from two different prospective. Leaven is used to mix with flour until the whole was leavened. This is like taking the Word of God or the doctrine of God is hid or mingled with the lives of people. People are made up of good and the bad elements. Yet the leaven produced by the LORD God that is placed in our lives is capable of raising us up to be good people for Him.
Equally even though there are the good leaven put in us it mixes with the bad leaven and can lead us astray. The leaven of man is destructive, harmful, fatal, and wicked. It is our responsibility to make sure the good. Another way of putting it is the truth of God can be mixed with the lies of the world full or error. It is important we always turn to the Word of God and go by what the Bible tells us and not listen to the teachings of men of the world.
There are many steps in making bread. Just like there are many steps in our lives. The kingdom of heaven is made up of lots of tiny partials that are leavening agents. These agents are capable of being used to make people who into powerful agents for the LORD God. Hold on to truth that is given us by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Cite Article Source
MLA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne “The Parable of Leaven:.” Becker Bible Studies Library Dec 2014.< https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=1816,>.
APA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2014, December) “The Parable of Leaven:.” Becker Bible Studies Library. Retrieved from https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=1816,.
Chicago Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2014) “The Parable of Leaven:.” Becker Bible Studies Library (December), https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=1816, (accessed).
