‘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”‘ (Matthew 13:33 ESV).
Jesus often spoke in parables when describing the kingdom of heaven. In this parable, He compared it to leaven. Leaven is an ingredient, typically yeast, added to dough to make it rise. It only takes a small amount to permeate and change the whole loaf. As the apostle Paul noted, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump” (Gal. 5:9).
It was this quality of leaven, which elsewhere in the Bible is usually used in the bad sense, that Jesus used in the good sense to describe the kingdom of heaven. It may be small and hidden as it begins in the heart of a man or in a nation, but over time it affects the whole.
The gospel of Jesus has this effect. When accepted, it begins to permeate the soul with its grace, eventually sanctifying the whole person. From small beginnings, the kingdom of heaven will pervade individuals and eventually the nations of the world until they are all affected.
Has the leaven of the kingdom affected you? Now you are called to be the leaven in your family, your neighborhood, your workplace, and your world.
PRAYER: Dear Father, help us to spread the leaven of the gospel to the whole world. Strengthen us to obey the Great Commission of Jesus to make disciples of all nations. In Jesus’ name, amen.