Luke 13:20

And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like unto leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened.

THE PARABLE OF THE LEAVEN (YEAST)

Despite the fact that "leaven" often is used of something evil, such as the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees, the declaration is that "the kingdom of God is like leaven," forcing the conclusion that it stands for the opposite of evil in this passage.

This and the parable of the mustard seed are in fact twin parables, setting forth different characteristics of the kingdom of God. The mustard seed which produced the great plant teaches the ultimate mighty extent and power of the kingdom as it would appear visibly to all mankind. The parable of the leaven however, stresses the invisible power "hidden" from all human observation, but producing such marvelous results. It also indicates the transforming effect of the kingdom, tending to assimilate into itself all who receive its influence.

ANALOGIES IN THE PARABLE

The leaven = the teaching of Christ

The meal = the people who receive the truth

The quality of leaven that changes the whole mass into one kind = the transforming power of the gospel

Leaven rising silently = nature of church's progress

A little leaven, given time, can change a great mass = the vast power of historical Christianity

A woman took the leaven = the church as the teacher of the kingdom message

Three measures = three divisions of humanity.

The three measures of meal ... are usually understood by interpreters as an inert factor in the parable (and well they may be), Boles, for example, affirming that three measures of meal was "the amount used for one meal";[21] however, Summers calculated the amount of meal in the three measures as "four and one-half pecks,"[22] which goes beyond any ordinary meal. Likewise, Tinsley made the three measures to be "half a hundredweight of flour."[23] Thus it is clear that the three measures must be understood as something significant. In the analogy above, the flour is seen as representing humanity; and since there is a threefold division of humanity in the three sons of Noah - Shem, Ham, and Japheth - it appears quite logical to see the three measures as the threefold posterity of Noah. Trench was not unfavorable to this analogy, admitting that they "do indeed answer to three elements"[24] of humanity. Barclay gives an outline of the teaching of this parable thus:

1. God's kingdom starts from the smallest beginnings, a tiny pinch of leaven.

2. The power of the kingdom works unseen, as leaven.

3. The kingdom's power works from inside, as leaven.

4. The power to change humanity (the lump) must come from outside itself, the leaven being a power not of the lump at all, but from without. It is not in man to transform himself. The leaven of God from without must do it.[25]

Note: It will be observed that there is here a different position taken with reference to the "three measures" than in my Commentary on Matthew, Matthew 13:33; but the change is due to more mature study of the parables.

In both of these remarkable parables, there is evidenced the ultimate power and extent of Christ's kingdom. The teaching in both of them is stamped with an originality and power which only Christ could have imparted. As Major said, "There is a quality in this teaching which marks it as HIS; it is above the level of his contemporaries and his reporters."[26]

[21] H. Leo Boles, op. cit., p. 274.

[22] Ray Summers, op. cit., p. 169.

[23] E. J. Tinsley, The Gospel according to Luke (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1969), p. 148.

[24] Richard C. Trench, op. cit., p. 120.

[25] William Barclay, op. cit., pp. 186-187.

[26] H. D. A. Major, T. W. Manson, and C. J. Wright, The Mission and Message of Jesus (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1940), p. 72.