KINGDOM PARABLES: THE YEAST
(Message by Tanny Keng)
1. Kingdom Parables
a) The seven short parables teach us about the very great value of the kingdom of God. They also teach us of the universal nature of the kingdom.
b) There is something else that many people fail to appreciate, and that's the enormous value of the kingdom of God. People in every nation may possess these true riches if they enter into God’s kingdom.
c) The parables that Jesus told, reflect the great value of belonging to the world-wide kingdom of God. Nothing is worth having, that would rob us of that place. This lesson is about seven such parables.
d) We look at one of the parables that addresses the great value of the kingdom of God.
2. The Yeast
Matthew 13:33
“33 He told them another parable. 'The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.'”
a) The leaven or yeast in this parable represents the kingdom of God. The point about the yeast is that it permeated and leavened all of the dough into which it was placed. This represents the universal nature of God's kingdom. It is a world wide kingdom, a kingdom spread through all the earth.
b) Those who do not make bread themselves may not be familiar with the process of adding a little yeast or sour dough to fresh dough, kneading and proving the lump of dough, and setting it carefully to rise. Even those who do make their own bread may use an automatic electric machine. They may not understand or appreciate the process. It is probably worthwhile taking the trouble, if you get an opportunity, to see how bread is made in the old-fashioned manner, the better to appreciate the parable of the yeast.
c) The idea is the same as that in Daniel 2, where the kingdom of God is compared to some of the great world empires. The kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom with no national boundaries.
d) The figure of leaven or yeast is also used by Jesus and the apostles to represent the very opposite of what it does in this parable. Jesus said, for example, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees" (Matthew 16:6). We observe from this that evil also can permeate the whole world, just as much as can the goodness of God. We have to choose which of these leavens we will nurture, and which we will kill.
The End ...
1. Kingdom Parablesa) The seven short parables teach us about the very great value of the kingdom of God. They also teach us of the universal nature of the kingdom.
b) There is something else that many people fail to appreciate, and that's the enormous value of the kingdom of God. People in every nation may possess these true riches if they enter into God’s kingdom.
c) The parables that Jesus told, reflect the great value of belonging to the world-wide kingdom of God. Nothing is worth having, that would rob us of that place. This lesson is about seven such parables.
d) We look at one of the parables that addresses the great value of the kingdom of God.
2. The Yeast
Matthew 13:33
“33 He told them another parable. 'The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.'”
a) The leaven or yeast in this parable represents the kingdom of God. The point about the yeast is that it permeated and leavened all of the dough into which it was placed. This represents the universal nature of God's kingdom. It is a world wide kingdom, a kingdom spread through all the earth.
b) Those who do not make bread themselves may not be familiar with the process of adding a little yeast or sour dough to fresh dough, kneading and proving the lump of dough, and setting it carefully to rise. Even those who do make their own bread may use an automatic electric machine. They may not understand or appreciate the process. It is probably worthwhile taking the trouble, if you get an opportunity, to see how bread is made in the old-fashioned manner, the better to appreciate the parable of the yeast.
c) The idea is the same as that in Daniel 2, where the kingdom of God is compared to some of the great world empires. The kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom with no national boundaries.
d) The figure of leaven or yeast is also used by Jesus and the apostles to represent the very opposite of what it does in this parable. Jesus said, for example, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees" (Matthew 16:6). We observe from this that evil also can permeate the whole world, just as much as can the goodness of God. We have to choose which of these leavens we will nurture, and which we will kill.
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