The Gospel Of Matthew Chapter 13 Part 8 The Parable Of Leaven & The Gospel
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Jesus is giving us powerful truths about His kingdom and gospel ministry in parable form.
The Parable of the Seed and Sower teach us about people's responses to gospel preaching.
Only one of the four types of soil is good soil where the gospel seed can take root and bear fruit.
Seed that fell by the way side pictures those who ignore or dismiss the gospel or who are careless hearers.
Satan easily takes away gospel truth so that they cannot be converted to Christ.
The seed that fell on stony ground pictures those who hear the gospel and seem to respond with faith, but when it comes to taking up their cross and following Jesus, they depart and revert to their old ways.
The seed that fell upon thorny soil pictures a professing believer who loves the world and the things of the world more than the things of God.
This person tries to serve two masters and never bears any fruit for Christ's kingdom.
Seed that fell on the good soil are those who hear the gospel, repent of their sins and put their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.
They are regenerated by the Spirit of God and bring forth fruit by living in conformity to gospel truth and sharing the gospel with lost people.
Then, Jesus gave us the Parable of the Wheat and Tares.
We saw that this pictures the state of the kingdom of heaven and Christ's church.
Satan planted "tares" in the field of God, thus contaminating the kingdom with children of the Devil mixed in with God's born again children.
This is why we see people profess faith in Christ while living for the world. They are "tares" or fake Christians who cause divisions, turmoil and trouble in the church.
Jesus then gave us the Parable of the Mustard Tree which shows how fast the growth of Christ's church would be and how rapidly fruit would be produced for His kingdom.
Though its beginnings were humble with just a few faithful followers of Christ meeting in an upper room, we saw that little is much when God is in it.
We can trace this out in the book of Acts and the gospel began with 120 faithful disciples and exploded into thousands of converts to Christ at the feast of Pentecost.
We benefit greatly by studying our Lord's teaching.
Jesus compared His kingdom and His church to the characteristics of leaven.
Matthew 13:33 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 the whole was leavened.
With the words "Another parable spake he unto them" Jesus spoke to His disciples and the multitude.
The word "another" means a parable of the same kind given for the same purpose of showing how the the gospel of Christ would increase and spread in the world.
This parable is very unique in that "leaven" is always presented as something negative in scripture, with one exception: this parable of Jesus.
In the law of God gave to Moses, leaven pictures or represents sin and corruption.
Exodus 12:15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.
In order to understand this parable from Jesus we must look at how leaven is portrayed in the scriptures.
These descriptions of leaven give us a right understanding of how this substances works and what it symbolizes.
Websters 1828 Dictionary: Leaven is a substance which makes a general change in the whole mass. It generally means something
which corrupts or depraves that with which it is mixed.
Easton’s Bible Dictionary: Leaven points to the
chemical definition of ferment or yeast is "a substance in a state of decay,
the atoms of which are in a continual motion."
Smith’s Bible Dictionary: Leaven has a secretly penetrating and diffusive power. The most prominent idea
associated with leaven is the corruption which it had undergone, and which it
communicated to bread, in the process of fermentation.
Thayer’s Greek Lexicon
defines leaven as a metaphorically or inveterate mental and moral corruption, with
a tendency to infect others.
God commanded Moses to tell the Hebrews that they must not eat leavened bread during the feast week of unleavened bread.
Those who ate leavened bread would be cut off from Israel, & covenant.
Leaven is small organism that exercises a powerful influence relative to its small size.
Its work is initially hidden and unseen, but it ultimately makes itself known.
Thus, leaven introduces fermentation, a process of spreading corruption. This is why scripture addresses leaven in the manner that it does.
Exodus 13:3-7 And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten. 4 This day came ye out in the month Abib. 5 And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month. 6 Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the LORD. 7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters.
God instructed His people to remove all leaven from their homes to ensure that their dwellings were pure.
Leviticus 2:11 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.
Leviticus 6:16-17 And the remainder thereof shall Aaron and his sons eat: with unleavened bread shall it be eaten in the holy place; in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation they shall eat it. 17 It shall not be baken with leaven. I have given it unto them for their portion of my offerings made by fire; it is most holy, as is the sin offering, and as the trespass offering.
The law did not permit any grain offerings for Jehovah that were made with leaven.
As a point of emphasis, no yeast (leaven) was allowed to be burned on the altar of Jehovah in any sacrifice.
The grain offering set aside for Aaron and his sons (the priests) could not contain leaven and it was to be eaten in a holy place.
Leaven is a picture of sin. It starts out hidden, a very small thing in our hearts.
Therefore, leaven was to be removed from the home of each Hebrew.
Leaven was not to be eaten by God's priests nor was it acceptable in any grain offering given to the LORD.
Removing leaven from their homes pictures believers confessing and forsaking sins and receiving a fresh cleansing from God (See 1 John 1:7-9).
Jesus and His apostles used leaven as a symbol of corrupting influences in the church.
Galatians 5:9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
A little leaven leavens the whole lump is a metaphor Paul used to compare the effects of false teaching in the church with the results of yeast in bread dough.
Just as a small amount of yeast will make a whole loaf of bread rise, a little bit of false teaching will quickly spread, infiltrating the hearts and minds of individual believers until the entire church is contaminated.
The “whole lump” Paul speaks of refers to an entire
batch of dough which pictures a whole congregation of
believers.
In like manner, leaven, like yeast, slowly permeates a lump of bread dough, causing it to rise so that it can be baked into bread.
Thus, the leaven of sin will always manifest itself with corrupt thoughts, words or sinful acts.
In Matthew 16:6–12, Jesus compared the false teaching of Pharisees and Sadducees to leaven. He warned His disciples against being taken in by their teachings (verse 12), which He compared to leaven.
The reason for His warning is that small portion of the leaven of false teaching, can permeate a person’s heart and mind.
Leaven represents a small amount of sin that spreads quickly and contaminates all it comes in contact with.
Luke 12:1-3 In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. 3 Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.
Jesus specifies that the leaven of the Pharisees was “hypocrisy.”
They claimed to be religious but their hearts were full of corruption and their thoughts were far from God.
They put on the right clothes and prayed publicly but it was all done so that they might receive praise of men.
They had a small horn or cymbal sound when they put in an offering to call attention to themselves as they gave tithes.
Pharisees claimed to be following God but they ignored God's command about caring for the widows and the poor among them.
Jesus always confronted and condemned hypocrisy in the people because it is offensive to God.
Pharisees has an external appearance of religion without true holiness.
Hypocrisy such as this is like leaven that gradually increases and spreads corruption, puffing up a person with vanity.
Leaven as a picture of the corrupting spread of sin in God's kingdom and church.
1 Corinthians 5:1-8 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife. 2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. 3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? 7 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: 8 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.
Paul warned the church at Corinth against tolerating sin in
their midst, using leaven as a metaphor for the corruption in our hearts that will quietly spread until we rise with sinful thoughts, words or deeds.
There was a man in the church who was guilty of sexual immorality but the church was puffed up with pride instead of being remorseful to his sins.
Why are they puffed up about sin in their midst? Because that is what leaven does-it ferments, dough rises, people puff up.This example indicates leaven in the church and the people were puffed up, boasting rather than mourning.
The church at Corinth was not repentant over this believer’s sinful actions.
They did not seek for this man to be taken away from the church, as Jesus commanded regarding church discipline.
The words "puffed up" refers to the fermenting action of leaven in a lump of bread dough.
Paul told them to remove the man from their fellowship because,
like leaven, his influence would permeate the whole church.
Paul pointed to Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread and said we must remove the old corrupt leaven of sin so that we can be a pure lump of uncontaminated dough for Christ.
A small amount of leaven penetrates the whole lump of dough.No man lives or dies to himself (Romans 14:7).
Believers in Christ suffer together and we rejoice together (1 Corinthians 12:16).
We are many different members joined together into our local church, and to the worldwide church.
We are all joined to Jesus Christ and to each other (Romans 12:3-5).
Leaven represents a small amount of sin that spreads quickly and contaminates all it comes in contact with.
To "purge out" means to thoroughly cleanse out, disinfecting completely.The goal is having our minds renewed by the power of the gospel of Christ so that we are a new lump, not tainted with leaven at all.
In this parable, Jesus used the process of leaven to illustrate the power of His gospel.
Matthew 13:33 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 the whole was leavened.
Luke 17:20-21 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: 21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
The kingdom of heaven is compared to leaven.
The word "leaven" is mostly used in a bad sense as a picture of immorality, malice, wickedness, or false doctrine, such as that of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
In this parable Jesus used leaven in a different and good way, by pointing to the qualities of leaven as it slowly spreads and make the dough rise.
Like leaven mixed into dough, when someone hears the gospel it is hidden in our heart and not seen
Like leaven, the gospel begins working slowly at the individual level.
Like leaven, the gospel will slowly but surely penetrate the heart of anyone who hears and believes it.
Like leaven as it increases its ability to make bread dough rise, so gospel power increases in its ability to change us from the inside out.
Like the manner how leaven makes bread dough slowly rise, so the gospel works in our heart to conform us to the image of Christ over time.
This is what Jesus replied when Pharisees wanted the kingdom of God to come with power to overthrow Rome.
He said that the kingdom of God is advanced through His gospel as a small, hidden living thing in our heart quietly doing a transforming work in us.
Thus, gospel preaching and its fruit is the development of the kingdom of God in us.
Psalm 119:9 BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. 10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. 11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
The Parable of the Leaven connects with hiding the Word of God in our hearts so that it diffuses a holy, purifying power in us so that we do not sin against God.
How can a young man or a Christian of any age cleanse his or her way?
By taking heed to what God says to us in His Word.
By seeking God with all of our heart and soul as we open the Bible to read God's Word.
By hiding His word through much reading, studying and committing it to memory.
By having our minds renewed as we read and study and listen to preaching of God's Word (See Romans 12:1-2).
Preaching the gospel of Christ to change people's lives began small and spread with great power.
Acts 6:7 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
Acts 19:20 So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.
Acts 12:24 But the word of God grew and multiplied.
Luke used two different Greek words to capture how God propelled His Word forward.
The word translated "increased" means to grow and become greater, more numerous.
It is worth pointing out that this word "increased" was applied to both plants and Christians maturing in their faith.
The word "multiplied" refers to a plentiful increase, an exponential growth as the gospel was preached and people were transformed by the Word.
Thus, we have connections with gospel seed being planted as well as the ability of a small amount of leaven to permeate a large mass of bread dough, changing it into something useful.
Thus, when we hear the gospel preached that is like the leaven being hidden in our heart to do it's transforming work.
It is hidden from view, but like leaven, the gospel proceeds to keep working in our heart to make us more like Christ, to transform us and renew our minds.
Eventually the gospel quietly at work hidden away in our heart, is going to manifest itself.
Colossians 1:5 For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; 6 Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:
We will begin walking in newness of life.
Our old way of life will fade away and be replaced with new life in Christ.
This leavening work of the gospel goes on in us until Christ calls us home to heaven.
2 Timothy 2:9 Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.
2 Thessalonians 3:1 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:
All of this pictures the power of the gospel and the truth that the Word of God cannot be bound up or restricted.
When it is preached and taught it will do the work God intends for it to accomplish (See Isaiah 55:8-13).
This is why we are instructed to pray for the preaching of God's Word to have free course, that it be unhindered so that people can hear and heed it's message.
These are things we must seek from God and things that we must pray about for ourselves and for others.
May the words of the Psalmist be a blessing to our hearts, an encouragement to our desire to be Christ's faithful witnesses.
May the truths sink into our hearts such that we long for the Lord to take the leaven of the gospel and do a mighty work in us to make us usable instruments in His hand.
May we readily submit to the calling of God upon our lives that we may love and serve Him wherever we are, and in whatever capacity He sees fit to use us.
Bob
Psalm 19:7-10 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. 8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
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