Matthew 13:33 (Luke 13:20,21); Galatians 5:7-9
Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
J. C. RYLE (1816-1900): There are some who see allegorical meanings in the “woman,” the number “three,” and the “meal.” My own conviction is that these meanings were not in our Lord’s mind when the parable was spoken. One great truth was intended to be conveyed. That truth was the small beginning of grace in a heart, and the influence which it gradually acquires over the whole character. To this view let us adhere.
MARTYN LLOYD-JONES (1899-1981): We must remember that men who are equally honest may differ.
C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): Is not leaven here used simply as another picture of an influence which appears feeble, but turns out to be active, conquering, and at length all-pervading? This, though hidden in obscurity, in the midst of nations comparable to “three measures of meal,” wrought with a mysterious rapidity, and will still continue to work in the whole mass of the world, and subdue the nations to itself.
THE EDITOR: So now the “three measures of meal” signifies the nations of the world? But read what our Lord said in Matthew 16, regarding His disciples not understanding His warnings concerning the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees: “How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees,” Matthew 16:11,12.
A. W. PINK (1886-1952): The last passage in the New Testament in which “leaven” is mentioned is Galatians 5:7-9, Note there three things: first, it’s called a “persuasion”—something which exerts a powerful and moving influence. Second, it hinders men “from obeying the truth.” Third, it is expressly said to be “not from Him which calleth you.” Thus, that which is a thing of fermentation—really, incipient putrefaction—is, throughout Scripture, uniformly a figure of corruption—evil.
C. H. MACKINTOSH (1820-1896): Without a doubt, then, leaven signifies evil doctrine—as “the tares,” and “the birds of the air,” pointed out evil persons, and, as its name implies, it works secretly, as yeast when mixed with meal. And can any one be so blind as not to see how wide-spread are evil doctrines in this our day?
C. H. SPURGEON: Many expositors argue that this relates to the power of evil in the church, or in the heart. On this interpretation we see why “a woman took” the leaven, and why she was so secret about it, that it is said she “hid it.” According to the rule which is observed in the use of this symbol, leaven must be taken as the type of evil; and if the rule must be applied in this case, the teaching is obvious and valuable. The leaven soon began its corrupting influence in the church, and it continues, in one form or other, working still.
A. W. PINK: If the “leaven” is the symbol of corrupting evil, and the meal stands for the pure Truth of God, and that this parable also supplies a picture of the Christian profession—then it necessarily follows that, ultimately, the Truth of God is to be corrupted throughout Christendom.
JOHN GILL (1697-1771): If the leaven of error is intended, that woman Jezebel is meant, who calls herself a prophetess, and teaches, and seduces the servants of God, Revelation 2:20; and “hid in three measures of meal,” among a few of God’s people at first, both among Jews and Gentiles, “till the whole was leavened,”—until all the elect of God are gathered in…But if the parable is to be understood of the false doctrine and discipline of the Antichristian and apostate church of Rome, it may denote the small beginnings of the mystery of iniquity, which began to work in the apostle’s time by the errors and heresies then propagated, and the manner in which the man of sin was privately introduced, 2 Thessalonians 2:7; whose coming is after the working of Satan, with signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness.
H. A. IRONSIDE (1876-1951): The woman in the parable is the false Church.
THE EDITOR: I cannot agree that the woman in this parable represents a false church like Roman Catholicism, nor the Jezebel of Thyatira, Revelation 2:18-23; given that Sarah, despite her dreadful unbelief in Genesis 18, was indeed a true believer and a holy woman, 1 Peter 3:5,6—and even a symbolic figure of Christ’s relationship with His true church, being both Abraham’s sister and his spouse, Genesis 20:12; Song of Solomon 4:12. But the leaven certainly represents a form of evil, and it does work secretly and insidiously, and will continue to do so until the “whole” truth of God is generally undermined in professing Christianity—but not absolutely, given the certain survival of God’s elect believing remnant, Matthew 24:22. Indeed this is that “mystery of iniquity” that Paul said “doth already work,” and which will appear ever more prevalent as God’s day of judgment draws nigh, Matthew 24:4-14, 32-33. The global apostasy happening today, suggests the “fullness of the Gentiles” mentioned in Romans 11:25 and Luke 21:24 is nearing its completion, and Christ’s return is fast approaching, Matthew 24:32-33.
C. H. SPURGEON: But the connection does not lead us so to interpret. The parable begins with the same words as the other, “The kingdom of heaven is like;” and there is not a word to warn us that the theme is changed, and that our Lord is not now speaking of the kingdom itself, but of evil in the kingdom.
THE EDITOR: There is no theme change. It’s in perfect context. Christ’s parable of the wheat and tares speaks of the removal “of evil in the kingdom” on the day of His final judgment, as does His parable about the net cast into the sea, Matthew 13:24-30; 37-43; 47-50; and they also begin with the phrasing, “the kingdom of heaven is like.”
JOHN GILL: How does it appear to thee, to thy reason and understanding?
THE EDITOR: See that same context in Genesis 18—when our Lord and His two angels stopped at Abraham’s tent that day, the destruction of Sodom was imminent, which our Lord said prefigures His final judgment upon the world, Luke 17:26-30. At that time, the entire believing church on earth consisted only of Abraham’s household, and Lot dwelling in Sodom. Given Sarah’s spiritual condition that day, and that of Lot, a “righteous man,” who “lingered” in Sodom when the angels urged him to flee to the mountain, and then begged the angel to let him enter Zoar, Genesis 19:12-23, it seems that many true believers in Christ’s church will not be in a very healthy spiritual condition when our Lord returns. Regarding my particular interpretation, I draw your attention to our Lord’s words of Matthew 13:52, “Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.”
C. H. SPURGEON: Let our friends take their choice of the two interpretations, and learn a good lesson from either or both. From evil leaven, the Lord preserve us; and by holy influences may we all be wrought upon!
