Jesus' Parable Of The Leaven

 Parable of the Leaven Introduction

In Parable of the Leaven Jesus told a very important story about how bad things that seem small can influence things that they are a part of. In our time, leaven is referred to as yeast.  

Yeast, baking soda and baking powder are three examples in our day.  are These products are raising agents. They are used to make bread and other products made with flour.

We do not need a lot of leaven to do baking. When even a little is added, the dough will become double in size. So let's continue to story. 

How People Made Bread In Bible Times

Imagine you lived in Bible times, long, long ago. People made their own bread almost every day. In those days, bread was very important, just like rice or pasta might be for you today. People used to grind wheat into flour using big stones. Then they would mix the flour with water and something called leaven.

As a reminder, leaven is the ingredient that makes bread rise and become fluffy. Think of it like a secret ingredient in the bread! In Bible times, they would often keep a little piece of dough from the last time they made bread. 

This old dough already had leaven in it. They would mix this old dough with the new dough, and slowly, slowly, the whole big bowl of dough would start to grow! It was like a mystery, but it was really the leaven working!

Parable Of Leaven Scripture

When Jesus told the story about the leaven. He said:

 "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all the dough had risen." (Matthew 13:33).

What Is The True Meaning Of The Parable Of Leaven?

Jesus is talking about a message deeper than how people baked bread

After all, everyone listening knew that they had to use leaven to bake bread. So what is the true meaning of the story?

Jesus said that leaven means false teachings and behaviors

To understand the parable of the leaven, we'll look at other scriptures in which Jesus used the word  leaven.  Here's what Jesus said when He spoke about leaven in other places.

In Matthew 16 verse 6, He told His disciples to "beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees." They were very puzzled, thinking that they must not eat bread given to them by these people. However, Jesus was really talking about the false teachings and behaviors  of this group of religious leaders.

For example, the Scribes and Pharisees loved to go into the homes of widows and rob them, even though the law said they were to care for these families.

The hypocrite took away the widow's money

Jesus said that leaven means hypocrisy

In Luke 12 verse 1, Jesus also warned His disciples to "beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy."  

In the bible, a hypocrite  is someone who says with their mouth that they love God. They even perform religious deeds to make other people believe that they love God.  However, they do not love God in their hearts. What they do is to pretend, but their actions say the opposite. 

For example, the law commanded everyone not to hate others or to kill. Instead of obeying the law, the Scribes and Pharisees spent a lot of time trying to trap Jesus and plotting to  kill Him.

According to Jesus, hypocrites look righteous on the outside. However, on the inside of their hearts, they are full of sins  (Matthew 23: 28).

The hypocrite pretending to be better than others - Free Bible Images

Why Did Jesus Warn His Disciples To Beware Of The Leaven Of These Wicked Religious People?

In bible times and still today, it took just a small amount of leaven or yeast to cause a large amount of dough to double in size. In the same way, it takes just a small amount of false teaching and hypocrisy to lead others astray.

This is why we must do THREE Things To Escape From Hypocrites

1. Pray and ask God to deliver us from evil . 
2. Study the Word of God to make sure that people are teaching us the right things.
3. Make sure that people are living what they teach from the Bible.
4. As God to show us if the people around us truly love Him or not. 

I hope that you enjoyed the Parable of Leaven. See you next time!

Jesus' Parable Of The Vineyard

 Introduction to Jesus' Parable of the Vineyard

Today we are talking about Jesus' parable of the vineyard. A vineyard is a beautiful garden with lots and lots of grapevines. Let's talk about grapevines and grapes in Bible times! Grapevines were super important back then, just like they are in some places today. Imagine fields and fields covered with these climbing plants, their branches heavy with bunches of juicy grapes! It was a beautiful sight!

Uses for grapes in bible times

Grapevines weren't just pretty, they were incredibly useful. First, and most importantly, they were used to make wine! Remember the winepress we talked about? That's where they would crush the grapes, often by stomping on them with their feet (imagine that!), to get the juice. This juice would then be turned into wine. Wine was a common drink in Bible times, used at meals and celebrations. It wasn't exactly the same as the grape juice we drink today, but it was an important part of their lives.

But grapes weren't just for wine! People also ate them fresh, right off the vine. Imagine how yummy and sweet they must have tasted! They also dried grapes to make raisins, which were easy to store and could be eaten later as a snack or added to food. Think of them like little energy bites!

Sometimes, they even used the grape leaves for food! They would stuff them with other ingredients, kind of like we do today in some cultures. So, every part of the grapevine was valuable!

Growing grapes was a lot of work. People had to take care of the vines, prune them, which means carefully cutting off some branches to help them grow better. They also had to protect the grapes from animals and thieves. That's why they planted the grapes in enclosed yards.

Growing grapes was a year-round job! But all that hard work was worth it when they harvested the grapes and enjoyed all the wonderful things they could make from them. Grapevines were a blessing, a gift from God that provided food and drink for the people. They pointed to a good life and God's blessings.

What is a parable?

A parable is like a special kind of story that Jesus told. He used stories about everyday things, things people could easily understand, like farms and seeds and, in this case, a vineyard, to teach big, important lessons about God and how we should live. 

Jesus' parables were like little puzzles with hidden meanings. Sometimes the meaning is easy to see, and sometimes we have to think a little harder to figure it out. Jesus used parables to help people understand God's love and what it means to be part of His family. 

So, when we hear a parable, we should listen carefully and try to understand what Jesus is trying to teach us. They're like secret messages just for us! Are you ready to unlock the secret message in this vineyard parable?

Now for Jesus' parable of the vineyard

Jesus told the people a parable about a vineyard. Imagine a big, beautiful garden with lots and lots of grapevines. This is called a vineyard! Jesus said that the owner of the vineyard took really good care of it. He put a fence all around it to keep animals out, like a big hug for the grapes! 

He even dug a special place called a winepress where they would squish the grapes to make yummy grape juice. And guess what? He built a tall tower so someone could watch over the vineyard and make sure everything was okay. It was like a super cool lookout!

Now, the owner couldn't stay at the vineyard all the time, so he asked some farmers, called tenants, to take care of it for him. He said, 

"You can use my vineyard and grow grapes, and at harvest time, you can give me some of the fruit." 

Then he went away to another place.

The owner sent his helpers to collect fruit from the vineyard

When it was time to pick the grapes, the owner sent his helper to the tenants to ask for his share of the grapes. But the tenants were mean! They grabbed the helper and hit him! Poor helper! They didn’t give him any grapes, and they sent him away with empty hands!

The owner was sad, so he sent another helper. But the tenants hit this helper on the head! Oh no! And they treated him very badly. The owner sent even more helpers, but the tenants were so naughty! They beat some and even killed others! Can you believe it?

The owner sent his son to collect fruit from the vineyard

The owner was very, very sad. He loved his vineyard so much. He had one more person he could send, his own son, whom he loved very much. He thought, "Surely, they will respect my son." So, he sent his son to the vineyard.

But guess what the tenants did? They saw the owner's son and said, "Look! This is the owner's son! If we get rid of him, all this will be ours!" So, they grabbed him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard! How terrible!

The owner was heartbroken. He must have wondered, “What am I going to do?” Well, the story tells us that the owner will come back and punish those bad tenants and find new people to take care of his vineyard. People who will do the right thing.

Clues to the parable of the vineyard

The vineyard is God's special people Israel

The owner of the vineyard is God. 

Do you remember the winepress? It was like a big strainer. This was the place where the people stomped on the grapes at the end of harvest. When they did so, the juice would press out of the grapes and would become wine after a special process.  The people would shout and be happy as they worked at the winepress. This represents the praises of God's people.

Remember how I said the owner built a tower? In those days, vineyards often had towers for watchmen. These watchmen would keep a lookout for thieves or animals that might try to harm the grapes. They were like the guardians of the vineyard. Also, sometimes the owner wouldn't live near the vineyard. He would leave it in the care of these tenants, trusting them to do their work and give him his share of the harvest. It was a big responsibility!  

In the parable, the tenants were supposed to warn the people about their sins and about attacks from satan who wanted them to fall.  The tenants or caretakes of the vineyard are the priests and prophets who God put there to teach His children to obey God. However, these tenants hated God.  

The tower represents the place of  protection. It also was the place where the tenants were to teach the Word of God.

The helpers are the prophets that God sent to warn the children of Israel about their sins.

The owner’s Son is Jesus, whom God sent to save His people from their sins. However, they did not listen to His message and killed Him on the cross.

Conclusion to Jesus' parable of the vineyard

The parable warns us that we must listen to the Word of God and obey it. The people of Israel killed their prophets and refused to do what pleased God. 

When they killed Jesus, God became angry and punished them. Remember that Jesus the Son of God died to save us from our sins in order to give us eternal life. 

Go here to discover how to be saved from the eternal punishment that God set aside for sinners.

Parable of the Vineyard Scriptures: Mark 12: 1 - 12.

1 And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country.

 2 When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 

3 And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 

4 Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. 

5 And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. 

6 He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 

7 But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 

8 And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. 

9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. 

10 Have you not read this Scripture:

“‘The stone that the builders rejected

          has become the cornerstone

11  this was the Lord's doing,

    and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

Images from FreeBibleImages.Org