Friday, October 23
The Leaven Principle
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.”
-- Matthew 13:33
Throughout the Bible leaven is almost always used in the bad, sinful sense. The only exceptions are found in the wave offering, Leviticus 23:17, and possibly in our text today.
The principle of leaven is how a small, nearly undetectable substance works it way through something much larger, with the smaller having a great influence, and ultimately taking over, the larger.
In our parable today expositors are divided over the interpretation. Many see the leaven as symbol of the gospel working itself through the world and taking over, with the woman representing the church figuratively. Many others see just the opposite! They see the leaven as representative of sin and false teaching working its way throughout Christendom (that which is Christian in name, both real and false).
We must be very careful not to build doctrine on our interpretation of parables. In this case, there may well be truth to both interpretations! Yes, it is a good thing that yeast (like leaven) works through a loaf of bread, making it rise. But Jesus warned His disciples, “How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” (Matt. 16:11–12)
Think about how fast rumors and bad news circulate compared to good reports.
Thank God that He has warned us against false doctrine and given us His Word, the Bible, to know what is right.
The Leaven Principle
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.”
-- Matthew 13:33
Throughout the Bible leaven is almost always used in the bad, sinful sense. The only exceptions are found in the wave offering, Leviticus 23:17, and possibly in our text today.
The principle of leaven is how a small, nearly undetectable substance works it way through something much larger, with the smaller having a great influence, and ultimately taking over, the larger.
In our parable today expositors are divided over the interpretation. Many see the leaven as symbol of the gospel working itself through the world and taking over, with the woman representing the church figuratively. Many others see just the opposite! They see the leaven as representative of sin and false teaching working its way throughout Christendom (that which is Christian in name, both real and false).
We must be very careful not to build doctrine on our interpretation of parables. In this case, there may well be truth to both interpretations! Yes, it is a good thing that yeast (like leaven) works through a loaf of bread, making it rise. But Jesus warned His disciples, “How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” (Matt. 16:11–12)
Think about how fast rumors and bad news circulate compared to good reports.
Thank God that He has warned us against false doctrine and given us His Word, the Bible, to know what is right.
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