“The Parable of the Leaven”

Sunday, January 31, 2021

One of the parables found in Matthew 13 is the shortest of all Jesus’ parables recorded for us in the Gospels.  It has some competition later in the same chapter—the parable of the hidden treasure in verse 44 is just 30 words long in the original Greek, and the parable of the pearl of great value in verse 45 is only 25 words.  But at just 20 words long in Greek (or 21 in Luke 13.20-21), the parable of the leaven easily wins the title:

“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” (Matthew 13.33)

Yet, for how short it is, this parable is surprisingly complex to interpret.  The reason Jesus spoke in parables was that the common people, if they really wanted to, could understand important spiritual truths brought out from everyday, physical matters.  Yet the common people seldom use leaven any more, and so we’re starting at a disadvantage.

It’s a surprise to see Jesus comparing the kingdom of heaven to leaven at all, since from the time before the Israelites were even a real nation, God had used this substance as a symbol of corruption and unholiness, and it carried over into the New Testament as well.  When God rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt, they ate unleavened bread.  A practical reason is given:

And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves. (Exodus 12.39)

Yet, it clearly wasn’t only due to the hurried nature of their departure; God had actively planned and prepared not just for the exodus, but for this feast and the attending analogy of leaven and corruption.  Just before the exodus, on that very night, Israel observed the first Passover, and among the careful instructions God gave them about the meal they were to share was this one: “with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it” (Ex 12.8).  Just after this, he told Moses that this was to be the beginning of a yearly memorial, saying in verse 15,

“Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.”

Clearly, he means business.  Leaven was prohibited from their sacrifices as well—not just during Passover week, but forever.  “No grain offering that you bring to the Lord shall be made with leaven” (Le 2.11).

In the Old Testament, God more or less leaves it up to his people to infer the analogy between leaven and uncleanness.  Just as nothing ceremonially unclean was permitted in God’s presence—death, decay, disease, filth, and such things—leaven was also excluded.  But Jesus makes the connection clearer when he says, “beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (Mt 16.11).  In the next verse, Matthew helpfully explains that Jesus meant their teaching, which is a corruption that pervades the entire nation.  Going even farther than this, Paul tells the Christians at Corinth that they “really are unleavened” (1Co 5.7), and then goes on to describe “the leaven of malice and evil,” in contrast to “the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (v8).  He makes a similar point in Galatians 5.9.

Yet, here we have Jesus saying, “the kingdom of heaven is like leaven,” and we are understandably confused.  It doesn’t help that, as noted above, the common people in general don’t use leaven anymore.  We harvest our bread from its natural habitat, the supermarket, and if for some strange reason we desire to play around with the chore of making it ourselves, we buy a packet of yeast to add to the dough.  But before that sort of approach became possible starting in the late 18^th century, those who made bread—which is to say, everyone—had to keep a leaven on hand at all times.  This was a small amount of continuously fermenting dough, and would be mixed in with the other ingredients—generally just flour, water, oil, and salt—and allowed to rise.  Then, while most of the dough was baked, a little would be kept back, and perhaps fed some more flour and water.  It was now the leaven, and would be used to start the next batch, of which another portion would be saved.  This process can go on indefinitely, and is still occasionally seen in the sourdough starters that some bakers like to use and even share with their friends.

Jesus’ point, then, is not just that the kingdom of heaven spreads out to fill the whole earth.  His point is that this very process strengthens it, and it’s never used up, even when mixed into nearly 50 pounds of flour (the quantity in the parable), because it’s not an exhaustible resource.  It’s alive, and when it spreads to another part of the world or another segment of the population, it’s not diluted or weakened.  Instead, it breeds new life, and any portion of it can serve to continue the spread of God’s kingdom, farther and farther.  It always starts small, and like the tiny mustard seed in the parable right before this one (Mt 13.31), it’s easy to underestimate.  Don’t misjudge it!  Don’t try to save it for fear of running out.  Let it do its work in you and your immediate vicinity, and then spread it around as much as you can!

Jeremy Nettles

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