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The Parable of the Yeast How do we read the New Testament?

The Parable of the Yeast How do we read the New Testament?. Matthew 13:33. The Parable of the Yeast. He spoke to them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until the whole batch was leavened .”.

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The Parable of the Yeast How do we read the New Testament?

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  1. The Parable of the YeastHow do we read the New Testament? Matthew 13:33

  2. The Parable of the Yeast • He spoke to them another parable: • “The kingdom of heaven • is like yeast • that a woman took and mixed • with three measures of flour • until the whole batch • was leavened.”

  3. The Parable of the Yeast • How is this parable understood by us Christians today? • Most Christians see itas a positive image of heaven… • With God portrayed as somethingfamiliar and comforting… • A woman baking bread.

  4. The Parable of the Yeast • Take another look: • "The Kingdom of heaven..." • To Jews living in Palestine in the 1st century, The Roman Empire was the only "kingdom" they knew- • it was an oppressive power, • its emperor demanded tribute and expected to be worshipped as a god.

  5. The Parable of the Yeast • "The Kingdom of heaven..." • Failure to do either was seen as treasonous. • Any statement Jesus made in favor of a kingdom other than Caesar's would have been seen as treason.

  6. The Parable of the Yeast • "...is like yeast..." • See Paul in Gal 5:7-12, • Also 1 Cor 5:6-8, • Also Luke 12:1

  7. The Parable of the Yeast • "...is like yeast..." • Gal 5:7-12, "A little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough." • 1 Cor 5:6-8, "Clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of dough, inasmuch as you are unleavened." • Luke 12:1- "Beware the leaven-that is, hypocrisy- of the Pharisees."

  8. The Parable of the Yeast • "...is like yeast..." • For Jews, leaven was impure, unclean. • To add leaven to bread was to corrupt or pollute it, • and leaven often symbolized moral corruption in ancient literature.

  9. The Parable of the Yeast • "...is like yeast..." • During the Feast of Unleavened Bread (assoc. with Passover) The Jews were to not only not eat leavened bread, • but to remove any leavened bread from their household. • It symbolized a corrupt Israel, unleavened bread symbolized a "pure Israel."

  10. The Parable of the Yeast • "...that a woman took and mixed..." • Again, for Jews, women symbolized the impure and unclean, and potentially evil (i.e. Eve). • The Greek word krypto actually means "to hide or conceal" rather than to mix.

  11. The Parable of the Yeast • "...in three measures of flour..." • Three measures (one ephah) is about fifty pounds- enough to feed over one hundred people. • Abraham instructs Sara to make cakes from three measures of flour when the Lord appears to them (Gen 18:6).

  12. The Parable of the Yeast • "...in three measures of flour..." • Gideon prepares an ephah of flour when the Lord appears to him (Judges 6:19). • When Hannah dedicates Samuel to the temple, she offers an ephah of flour to Yahweh.

  13. The Parable of the Yeast • "...in three measures of flour...“ • In the OT, and ephah of flour represents an epiphany, or revelation of God, at a time when the reader does not always recognize his presence.

  14. The Parable of the Yeast • "...until the whole batch was leavened..." • This suggests that eventually, the entire kingdom will become defined by that which is "corrupt.“ • - or at least that which the hearer thinks is corrupt.

  15. The Parable of the Yeast • Jesus' parable may more properly be stated as follows: • God's kingdom is unlike Caesar's...there, you will find the very people that you have been lead to believe are "unclean" and "impure" or shameful.

  16. The Parable of the Yeast • In fact, these are the very people that make up the kingdom, and the very people that make it grow- because these are the people most like God himself. • Do you want to be part of God's kingdom? Can you, and still be subject to Caesar?

  17. The Parable of the Yeast • This parable seems to suggest that preconceived ideas about the kingdom of heaven, • and who should be there and who should not, should be overturned-

  18. The Parable of the Yeast • it is the outcasts and the impure who are included, not the self-righteous and judgmental.  • This is consistent with Jesus' overall message, to the sinners and outcasts, tax collectors and prostitutes, the "sick" in need of a physician.

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