The Leaven

By Gerry Watts

 

“He told them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of the heavens is like leaven which a woman, after getting it, hides in three seahs of meal, till the whole dough was leavened.””

 

(Matthew 13:33 FT; also Luke 13:20-21)

 

  Jesus now continues to focus on the more negative aspect of the secrets of the kingdom, which He began to introduce in the parable of the Wheat and the Darnel – that is, the increase of wickedness and error throughout this present age, that is, apostasy.

  Leaven or yeast is a kind of fungus that is used for the process of fermentation in baking bread and cakes, as well as in brewing wine and beer. During the fermentation process in baking bread, the yeast breaks down the carbohydrates giving off small bubbles of carbon dioxide gas. This permeates the mixture causing the dough to ‘rise’ by becoming light and porous. In fact, the Greek word for leaven is zume, which literally means ferment.

  Throughout Scripture, leaven is used as a symbol of wickedness, corruption and error. In Exodus 12, we have the first account of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which was connected to the Passover.

“For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day until the seventh must be cut off from Israel.”

 

(Exodus 12:15 NIV; also 18-20)

  This feast introduced the principle to Israel that yeast was symbolically a bad thing, even though the initial reason as to why leaven was not used during Passover was because the Israelites had to leave Egypt quickly, so they didn’t have time to add leaven to their bread. Nevertheless, in the Law, yeast was not generally allowed in any of the offerings made to Yahweh for the reason given above – it symbolises corruption (Exodus 23:18). But there was one major exception to this rule of unleavened sacrifices – the two loaves of bread offered as firstfruits at Pentecost (Leviticus 23:17-20).

  These were to be leavened loaves because they symbolised the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, which was a firstfruits of the Spirit poured out on humans who are still in bodies of sinful flesh. The Ecclesia of God is made up of Jews and Gentiles who have received the firstfruits of the Spirit in sinful flesh (represented in the two loaves of bread made with yeast). This truth is also symbolised in the Fellowship or Peace Offering, which included leavened cakes of bread as part of the sacrifice (Leviticus 7:11-14).

  The firstfruit loaves offered at Pentecost represents the collective Ecclesia as a whole, and the cakes offered as Peace offerings represent the individual believer before God. In Christ, leavened humans are made clean by the word of truth, that is, we become unleavened, nevertheless, we still have a body that belongs to the Old Creation, cursed by sin and death, until we receive our spiritual body at Christ’s return, and then our deliverance will be complete.

  Paul is alluding to the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the clear symbolism of yeast in the following texts.

“…Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? Clean out the old yeast, then, that you may be a fresh batch without yeast – as you really are. For Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed for our sakes so that we may be keeping the Festival, not with old yeast, the yeast of evil and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”

 

(1 Corinthians 5:6-8 FT)

 

“A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.”

 

(Galatians 5:9 NIV)

  As far as the contexts of these words are concerned, in the first instance, he is rebuking the Corinthian church for their indifference to some immorality and sins of the flesh being tolerated amongst them. And in the second text, he is reminding the Galatians that false teaching and error, particularly that which opposes the gospel of grace and exalts religious rituals instead, is a seductive and corrupting influence, and it spreads.

Hypocrisy and False Teaching

  Jesus Himself confirms these two aspects of the symbolism of yeast, that of personal sin and doctrinal error, in the following texts. Both are a corrupting influence.

“ “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy…Be careful…Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod…Be careful…Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees”…Then they understood that He was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

 

(Luke 12:1; Mark 8:15; Matthew 16:6, 11-12 NIV)

  It is clear from these three passages that the yeast of the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and that of King Herod, was 

a) hypocrisy (that is, pretending to be something you’re not, or saying one thing and doing another, both are false), whether religious or political hypocrisy; and 

b) false teaching or doctrine. 

  The rabbinical sect of the Pharisees, which Paul belonged to at one time, were considered more ‘fundamental’ and ‘orthodox’ than the priestly sect of the Sadducees, yet Jesus told His disciples to be on guard against both these sects and their respective teaching, because, not only did they contain error due to the traditions and teachings of men, but they were largely composed of hypocritical liars who did not know God in their hearts, in spirit. They would rather cling to their traditions rather than seek out and believe the truth of God. Believers on the other hand are to be like unleavened bread, full of sincerity, truth, goodness, righteousness and love, those who worship the Father in Spirit and in truth.

The Woman and the Yeast

  So in this parable of The Leaven, we have the following picture. A woman gets some yeast and mixes it into three measures of meal until the whole batch of dough is leavened. Now notice from the original quote that we started with, that the original Greek says that the woman hides the yeast in the dough. This should’ve been an unleavened batch, but the woman secretly introduces yeast into the dough! Even this intimates that seduction is involved.

  Now this leavening process will eventually cause carbon dioxide gas to form in the dough, which will distend or ‘puff up’ the dough and make it light and porous. This is what sin does! It releases poison that corrupts, which fills us with pride and all manner of sin and wickedness – but it is all light and fluffy and full of holes, with no real substance. Jesus is saying here that this hypocrisy, and false teaching, and evil, and wickedness, and corruption, and lawlessness, will be subtly and seductively introduced into the Church and it will eventually permeate the whole lot as the age progresses!

  It is worth noting here, that even in relation to the physical body, yeast and fungal overgrowth is often the root cause of many illnesses and various symptoms of disease. The yeast, Candida Albicans, is the most common, which causes Candidiasis and all manner of distressing and debilitating symptoms. This doesn't mean that all yeast is bad for our health, because, to the contrary, many good bacteria thrive in fermented foods, but in general, yeast and fungi need to be kept in check. It's all about positive or negative; perfect or imperfect; good or bad.

  Anyhow, you could be thinking, 'Is there any significance as to why it says ‘three seahs or measures of meal?’ I firmly believe it is referring to the three divisions of humanity. Firstly, the whole of mankind is divided into three major portions, that of Shem, Ham and Japheth. The table of nations in Genesis 10 gives us the original tribes and peoples that descended from Noah’s three sons, from which all of mankind subsequently descended. 

  These three divisions are also represented in the book of Acts, whereby the gospel went out to all nations, namely, the Jews and Samaritans (Shem), the Ethiopian Eunuch (Ham), and the Roman Centurion, Cornelius (Japheth). Paul also refers to another three-fold division that encompasses all mankind – the Jew, the Greek (or Gentile), and the Ecclesia (or Church) of God (1 Corinthians 10:32). It could also be referring to Body, Soul and Spirit.

  So it appears evident that Jesus was saying that the whole of Christendom and the world, throughout all nations, shall be tainted with this ‘yeast’ in this age of the kingdom of the heavens. And it would also make sense that ‘the woman’ who introduces the yeast into the dough is representing Secret Babylon, the Prostitute (Revelation 17-18).

Copyright © Gerry Watts 2004; expanded 2007

 

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