Matthew 13:33
“The Power of Perseverance"
January 12, 2025
One of Jesus' shortest parables is the Parable of the Leaven, also known as the Parable of the Yeast. In this parable, Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to leaven mixed into bread dough. It’s important to define “kingdom of heaven.” By this, Jesus is referring to His domain as the Messiah. In the current age, the kingdom of heaven is spiritual, existing within the hearts of believers (Luke 17:21). Later, the kingdom will be manifest physically, when the Lord Jesus establishes His throne on this earth (Revelation 11:15). And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:3 “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” As we become a disciple of Christ our life must be in perfect harmony to the will of God. Our life should be contagious to those around us. When you are a follower of Christ, you will influence those around you. A Christian is an influencer; Christ-like in thought, in word, and in deed. The "yeast" in this parable represents the power of God's kingdom, which can work subtly and gradually to transform lives. Small beginnings can have a great impact: Even a small amount of faith can lead to significant change. The "flour": Represents the hearts and lives of people who are being influenced by God's message. Just like yeast works through the dough, God's influence works within people's hearts. The "woman": Represents a person who actively shares the message of the gospel. It’s a wonderful parable about the power of perseverance which is the process of transformation which takes time and patience, just like waiting for dough to rise. Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
1. Leaven works Inwardly - God works from the inside out. In the parable Jesus used leaven as a symbol of the wholesome influence of his Kingdom, the Church. In the Old Testament, Leviticus 23:17. The two loaves presented to the Lord at the Feast of Weeks were to be baked "with leaven." The Feast of Weeks foreshadowed what is recorded in Acts 2, where the "first fruits" of Church Age are seen. The two "loaves" represent saved Jews and Gentiles. In Matthew 16:11 Jesus told the disciples, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." In Luke 2:1 He said, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy." The metaphor of leaven has been used in many ways, but it always works from the inside out. From the heart flows the issues of life and builds character. In this parable, the leaven is hidden in three measures of meal (about 40 lbs.), and here it started its work. The Psalmist said, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Conversion and reformation must spring from the heart, from within. In Luke 17:21, Jesus says the “Kingdom of God is within you.” Paul in writing to the Church in Colossians 3:4 says God works within to change the without. If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Christ changes our ambitions to the heavenly - He changes our mind from earthly to heavenly. To set our affection is to direct our thoughts and desires toward things in Heaven, cultivate an earnest desire for them, following the paths that lead to them. By faith we are crucified to ourselves, we have died to our own life and now we appropriate the life of Jesus into ours.
2. Leaven will Influence – It influences and is not influenced. But leaven must make contact with the flour. In the parable the meal would have remained unleavened unless the leaven had been placed therein, so many will remain non-Christians unless we make contact with them. Church buildings don’t fill up on their own. We used to have a saying, “Each one has to reach one.” ILLS: Luigi Tarisio was an Italian violin dealer and collector in the early 1800’s and was found dead one morning with very little creature comforts in a small dusty old home, but with millions of dollars’ worth of exquisite violins, which he had been collecting all his life, crammed into an attic, the best in the bottom drawer of an old rickety dresser. In his very devotion to the violin, he had robbed the world of all that music all the time he treasured them; those who he bought them from over the years him had done the same, so that when the greatest of his collection, a Stradivarius, was finally played! It had sat 147 years in silence. Yet, how many of Christ’s people are like old Tarisio? In our very love of the church, we fail to give the glad tidings to the world; in our zeal for the truth we forget to publish it. When will we learn that the Good News of Jesus needs not just to be cherished, but needs to be told? I work very hard on my sermons and when I finish writing them, I post them on a public forum so that you can share them with others. Some have asked, Why do you give your hard work to other preachers on the forum? Do you care if someone will just copy what you have and not put the same amount of care or labor as you did? I asked in reply, If the elder preachers before me didn’t share their studies, where would I be today? All people need to hear it, and we should be about the business of telling it. Paul says, as we should also say, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.” Romans 1:16 Leaven changes the meal, the flour, that it comes in contact with. In the home Christians change strife to peace, selfishness to selflessness, harshness to kindness, hate to love. In the church we should change, indifference to zeal, pessimism to faith, turmoil to rest, defeat to victory. Christians whether on the job or in school or wherever they are should fight against evil by changing dishonesty into integrity, impure speech into wholesome language, immorality to purity. The world needs the preserving influence of Christians being the salt of the earth and the light of the world. We are not to conform, we are to transform. We are to overcome the world, not to be overcome by the world. Leaven influences and is not influenced.
3. Leaven will Impact – To discover a deeper meaning of the Kingdom Jesus is revealing we must understand the process of making bread back then. There were two types of Bread. Leavened and Unleavened. What we call yeast today had not been invented yet so the process of making bread then was more like we would go through to make sour dough bread. They would use wheat if they could afford it or more commonly barley. It would be ground by hand in a mortar and pestle. For the average person it was a daily task of collecting, crushing and preparing and baking the bread. In order for the bread to rise there has to be an active ingredient. People would keep some of the dough from the previous batch for the next batch. Making bread from leaven takes time. The kingdom of God may have small beginnings, but it will increase and only a little is kneaded into the dough. Yet, given time, the reaction will spread through all the dough. In the same way, Jesus’ domain started with twelve men in an obscure corner of Galilee, but it has impacted the world. The gospel makes progress. Every time we do something in the community, every time we share the love of God in practical ways it’s like a little bit of leaven going out. Eventually that little bit can make a big difference. God first changes the heart of a person, and that internal change has external manifestations. God always starts with our heart. The gospel influence in a culture works the same way: Christians within a culture act as agents of change, slowly transforming that culture from within. Love God and Love people. When we do that effectively we can change opinion, we can change attitudes, we may not change the law but don’t forget that the law has no power to change a heart or a mind. There could be a law passed that everyone must pray before the start of a workday. Does that mean everyone will pray? No! If laws change man’s heart, we would have been obedient to the 10 commandments! What has power to change hearts? Us living this kingdom centered lives. And that means we must have patience and perseverance. Just as yeast works until the dough has completely risen, the ultimate benefit of the kingdom of God will be worldwide. Impact takes time! So don’t give up! There is Power in Perseverance! I know you don’t feel the change right away but hold on, it just takes time. Habakkuk 2:14 says, For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Yeast does its job slowly, secretly and silently, but no one can deny its effect on bread. This is a perfect picture of the Christian life. It may seem like nothing is happening but after a while change is evident and you don’t walk or talk that old way anymore! You are changed!
