He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.” Matthew 13: 33, NIV.
Heavenly Father, we give You thanks for Your love and mercy. We thank You for keeping us in the palm of Your hands. We ask for Your guidance and understanding as we study Your Word. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Before we begin our study today, I would like to say, that all of these parables that we have been looking at, were directed, primarily to God’s people, the Israelites, who in turn, were to share these truths with the rest of the nations. I am simply applying them to God’s people today; those who make up the “kingdom of heaven” here on earth; those who have accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on their behalf, and are sharing the love of Jesus, with “whosoever will.” Having said that, we will now continue.
Today, two new elements are added to our study of the kingdom: the main figure, the One in charge, is a woman, and the element at work is not seed, but yeast. This is very interesting! I call upon the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Scriptures, to help us see all that God wants us to see in this particular parable. Some of the thoughts that I will share, may, or may not, have been intended; nonetheless, I do believe, that in the study of the Word of God, the revelation of truth is limitless.
The obvious element of importance in this parable, is the yeast. However, there are some observations that we might be able to benefit from, in seeing a female baker. Jesus could have used the figure of a male. The baker in the story of Joseph was male. Perhaps by the time we come to first century Mediterranean, some, or all, of the bakers were women. It is said, that many of Jesus’ parables, were told, as He and the multitudes, observed the very actions that He was narrating. Perhaps this was the case.
Another reason could be that, Jesus, who, “in the beginning,” created “male and female” in His image and likeness, is making it plain that in God’s kingdom, we are of equal importance. He can choose to use any imagery to represent His love and work, in the life of His creatures (see Matthew 23: 37).
Now let us learn what we can, from the properties of yeast, as they apply to the kingdom of heaven. Maybe the characteristic of greatest importance in yeast, as we apply it to our study, is the fact that it works change in whatever element it is mixed with. This change is often seen in terms of growth. I believe that this parable is similar in meaning to the parable we studied yesterday. It serves to show how, once the message of the kingdom of heaven is shared, there is no limit to how far it will go. When Christ founded His church, it began, basically, with his twelve disciples (Matthew 10: 1, 2). But that twelve, became “a multitude” (Acts 6: 2)! Let us do our part in spreading the yeast of the gospel, in love, and watch the kingdom grow!
I also found a very warm and meaningful application of the metaphor of yeast, in Clarke’s Commentary: “As the property of leaven is to change, or assimilate in its own nature, the meal or dough with which it is mixed, so the property of the grace of Christ is to change the whole soul into its own likeness; and God intends that this principle should continue in the soul till all is leavened-till the whole bear the image of the heavenly, as it before bore the image of the earthly” (p. 148).
May this be our experience as we live and grow, “in the kingdom of heaven,”