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!