Leaven

[NickHassan]

Hi,
Jesus spoke often of leavens.
Her warned against the leavens of the Pharisees, the Sadducees and Herod. Surely these are human driving forces of religion and of the world.

To be useful to God we must be unleavened.

1 Corinthians 5:8
Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

[NickHassan]

Hi,
It is hard to grasp the meaning of these verses

Mt 13
33Another 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.

[david]

Leaven, in Bible times, was a piece of sour dough that had been preserved and that was added to a new batch of dough to make it ferment and form gas bubbles that would leaven or lighten the whole mass. The fermentation is really a breaking-down process, a corrupting, so that it often causes spoilage.

For this reason it is generally used in the Holy Scriptures in a bad way figuratively, being used in the Bible to denote sin or corruption. Jesus Christ told his disciples: “Watch out for the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees,” and, “Watch out for the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” The disciples at first did not understand that Jesus was using a symbolism, but they finally discerned that he was warning them to be on guard against false doctrine and hypocritical practices, “the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees,” which teaching had a corrupting effect. (Mt 16:6, 11, 12; Lu 12:1) He also mentioned Herod (evidently including his party followers) in one of his warnings, saying: “Keep your eyes open, look out for the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” (Mr 8:15) Jesus boldly denounced the Pharisees as hypocrites concerned with outward show. (Mt 23:25-28) He pointed out the wrong doctrinal viewpoint of the Sadducees. He exposed the hypocrisy and political treachery of the party followers of Herod.—Mt 22:15-21; Mr 3:6.

The apostle Paul employed the same symbolism when he commanded the Christian congregation in Corinth to expel an immoral man from the congregation, stating: “Do you not know that a little leaven ferments the whole lump? Clear away the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, according as you are free from ferment. For, indeed, Christ our passover has been sacrificed.” He then clearly showed what he meant by “leaven”: “Consequently let us keep the festival, not with old leaven, neither with leaven of badness and wickedness, but with unfermented cakes of sincerity and truth.” (1Co 5:6-8) Paul here was drawing on the pictorial meaning of the Jewish Festival of Unfermented Cakes, which immediately followed the Passover celebration. Just as a bit of sourdough soon causes the whole lump, or batch, of bread to be leavened, so the congregation as a body would become unclean in Jehovah’s eyes if they did not clear out this corrupting influence of the immoral man. They must act to get the “leaven” out of their midst, just as the Israelites could have no leaven in their houses during the festival.

Interestingly, leaven was associated with corruption even in the minds of peoples of antiquity other than the Hebrews. For instance, Plutarch, a Greek biographer, spoke of it as “itself also the product of corruption, and produces corruption in the dough with which it is mixed.”—Moralia, IV, “The Roman Questions,” 109.

Which brings us to your second post. Because of the negative aspects associated with leaven, Jesus evidently had in mind corrupting elements when he said: “The kingdom of the heavens is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three large measures of flour, until the whole mass was fermented.” (Mt 13:33; Lu 13:20, 21) The Scriptures do indicate that corruption of truth would be brought about by individuals professing to be in line for membership in the heavenly Kingdom.—Ac 20:29, 30; 1Ti 4:1-3.

It seems that this pictures the stealthy corrupting of the professed Christian congregation with false Babylonish teaching and practice, resulting in the massive structure of Christendom’s counterfeit kingdom.

[NickHassan]

Hi david,
So why THREE?
Why a woman?
Why not Satan?
Is it Jezebel?

It seems such a negative picture of things.
Yet bread is good.

[NickHassan]

Quote (Nick Hassan @ Feb. 22 2008,11:00)

Hi, It is hard to grasp the meaning of these verses Mt 13 33Another 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.

Hi,
The Spirit of God will rule all of the new creation.

[terraricca]

Quote (Nick Hassan @ April 12 2012,15:49)

Quote (Nick Hassan @ Feb. 22 2008,11:00) Hi, It is hard to grasp the meaning of these verses Mt 13 33Another 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. Hi, The Spirit of God will rule all of the new creation.

yes but not yet many things have to be fulfilled

[Author]

Posts