Articles
Leaven
Leaven
Bakers make bread by adding a tiny sprinkle of yeast to a large lump of dough. After a period of time, the yeast permeates the entire lump, digesting the sugars in the dough and expelling bubbles of gas that cause the lump to rise. When the dough is cooked, the loaf of bread comes out of the oven light and fluffy. It doesn’t take much leaven to do the job. In fact, many older folks can remember saving on the kitchen counter a little ball of dough from one batch, preserving a few of the microscopic yeast within, to use as a “starter” for the next batch.
The Bible uses leaven as a symbol of a small thing which has a thorough effect on the large thing into which it is mixed. Sometimes this effect can be positive, sometimes it can be negative.
Leaven as a Symbol of Good Influence
In Matthew 13:33, Jesus tells a parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.” This amount is equal to about 6 gallons, enough to feed a very large group!
In this parable, Jesus illustrates that the people of God may be small in number, but with God’s word in hand, they may completely pervade their community. From their tiny beginning in Jerusalem (Luke 24:47), God’s messengers have leavened the remotest corners of the world with Christ. They began with an assembly of just 120 (Acts 1:15); within a few chapters they number in the many thousands. “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world” (Rom. 10:18; see also Matt. 24:14; 28:18-20; Acts 8:1-4; 13:47; Rom. 1:8). There are hundreds of countries and billions of people in the world, and the word has the power to convict them all and make them disciples of Christ.
Right here in Brandon, our congregation is numerically small. Our membership is around 100, while the population of Brandon according to the 2020 census is 114,626 (up from 103,483 in 2010). That figures about 1:1100. And obviously, many, many more live within driving distance. This may seem like a daunting ratio! But the image of the yeast and the dough reminds us that we can permeate the community and affect it. That is, of course, if we are willing to fulfill the commission given to us by our Lord, to take the word of God to a lost and dying world. We can still turn our world upside down (Acts 17:6).
Leaven as a Symbol of Evil Influence
The Bible also uses leaven as a symbol of the pervasiveness of small amounts of evil. In Matthew 16:6-12, Jesus warns the disciples to “watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees...” They misunderstand, and assume He is talking about the kind of bread they would eat. Finally they realize that Jesus refers to the teachings of the Pharisees.
False teachings can corrupt even the most sincere believer. Every Christian must be careful to compare all teachings to the inspired word of God, accepting what is right and rejecting what is wrong. Otherwise, the false teaching can grow and overtake an individual or even a church.
—John Guzzetta
