This parable is one of the most misunderstood of parables. Leaven is what you put into bread to make it rise. The usual interpretation of the parable is that the leaven represents the Gospel, the three measures represents the church and the loaf the world. It is obviously wrong:-

The whole world will not be saved. The loaf will not all be changed by the preaching of the gospel. The church is a minority. Many will be deceived. See Matthew 24:4-14. After many years of preaching the gospel there is still great hatred and evil in the world. Nothing has gone wrong with God’s plan. He is not out to Christianise the world. The wheat and the weeds grow up together. The gospel is given to save people from the wreckage of this world.

1 – The bread that is baked

What is the meaning of three measures of meal. See Genesis 18:6 Abraham asks Sarah to make three cakes for the angels. See Judges 6:19 Gideon made unleavened bread for angels. This bread is blessed bread. It speaks of communion between man and God. See 1 Corinthians 10:7. It is the seed that produces wheat which is used to make bread. It is crushed and put through the fire but the result is bread. We are God’s bread.

2 – The leaven that is latent

The sneaky housewife has hidden leaven in the three measures of meal. Leaven works slowly. It causes fermentation. It causes things to swell up. It works best in lukewarm conditions. See Exodus 12:8 – leaven is a symbol of evil in the Bible. Leaven would be removed throughout the house before the Passover. The church at Corinth had allowed sin in the church. 1 Corinthians 5:6-8. They were to purge out the leaven! Unleavened bread stands for sincerity and truth. Leaven puffs you up. We have a church today that is full of leaven and like the church at Corinth is puffed up with pride and sin.

• The leaven of the Pharisees. (See Matthew 23:13-32) They were legalists. They pretend to be givers but they are really takers. They pretend to be gatekeepers but they are really roadblocks. The pretend to be intercessors but they are really extortioners. They pretend to be converters but they are really corrupters.They pretend to be be guides but they are really blind. They pretend to be givers but they are really takers. They pretend to cleanse but they are really filthy. They pretend to be mourners but they are really murderers.
• The leaven of the Sadducees (See Matthew 16:11) Liberalism is heads and tails of the same coin. Acts 23:8. Both legalists and liberalisers are dangerous.
• The leaven of Herod (See Mark 8:15) Licentiousness or pleasure seeking. Can you see how the devil has injected these three things into the church today?

3 – The woman that is wicked

Here was a woman that hid leaven in three measures of meal. It is a deliberate act on her part. Satan knows what he is doing. He was a deceitful act – it was hidden. Jesus did nothing in secret. The gospel is not a secret. The church is called a woman (bride of church) and so the false church is called a harlot. This woman in the kitchen is the bride of the devil and represents the false church. The church is being infiltrated with leaven – Pharisee, Sadducee and Herod. Check the ingredients before you eat and realise that not all that you see is from God.

Categories: Matthew