Matthew 13:33 He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
Yeast or leaven in the Old Testament occurs twenty-two (22) times and seventeen (17) times in the New Testament. It almost always symbolizes some form of evil or sin. The first mention of yeast in the Old Testament was in (Exodus 12:15). It appears right before the first Passover, where God destroyed the firstborn of all in Egypt but saved the firstborn of the Children of Israel. God instructed them to eat bread without yeast for seven (7) days and to remove all yeast from their homes on day one.
Just as most things in the Old Testament points to the Promised Messiah, our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus, the “unleavened bread” (Bread without yeast) does as well. Jesus represented Himself as the “bread of life” (John 6:35), and He was, of course, without sin (1 John 3:5; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22). So it is fascinating that God commanded the Peace Offering and the Wave Offering to contain Yeast (Leviticus 7:13; Leviticus 23:17).
It was not so much as the yeast was evil or detrimental to the wellbeing of human beings. If that were true, then a total prohibition on yeast itself would be in place, which there was not. This point brings us to the Parable that Jesus was teaching in our text today, as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 13:33). Jesus used the illustration of someone mixing yeast into their bread to describe the Kingdom of Heaven. Christ Jesus was making the point that the Kingdom of Heaven should integrate itself throughout the earth. Yeast is not the primary ingredient in making bread; however, it transforms and alters the dough.
This Bible excerpt is an excellent illustration of how we, as followers and believers in Christ Jesus, are supposed to connect with the world around us. God wants to work us into the bread of all aspects of our lives, our jobs, and our local communities. As well as all that we meet so that all people might rise towards the Cross of Calvary. Our work for our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus should be far more involved than just what occurs inside the confines of our local churches. The mission of all that claim Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior and call themselves followers and believers in Christ is to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). We do this by being ready to share the Gospel at any time that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit leads us, be prepared in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2). The very nature of the Kingdom of Heaven and the heart’s desire of God Himself is that all people accept the truth of the Gospel of Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:4).
No comments:
Post a Comment