The Parable of the Leaven

Developing the same idea about the future of the Kingdom of God founded by Him on earth, Jesus Christ told the parable of the leaven. And he said, "To what shall I liken the kingdom of God?" It is like leaven, which a woman took and put into three measures of flour, until everything was leavened. It is known that an insignificant amount of leaven (yeast) put into a dough that is huge (in comparison with leaven) in volume imparts its properties to the whole dough and stimulates fermentation in it. In the same way, the little flock of Christ (John 6:32; Luke 12:32), having entered into the world, will create a vast Kingdom of God on earth, which should unite all mankind.

"Do not say to Me, what can we, twelve men, do, having entered into the midst of such a multitude of people? In this very thing your strength will be more clearly revealed, that you, who are mixed up in the multitude, will not give yourselves up to flight. Just as leaven only leavens the dough when it comes into contact with flour, and not only touches it, but even mixes with it, so you, too, when you enter into indissoluble bond and unity with your enemies, then you will overcome them" (St. John Chrysostom, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, 45).

According to the testimony of the Evangelist Mark, Jesus Christ preached the word to them (that is, to the people) in such many parables; but not all the parables he spoke then were written down by the Evangelists. The Evangelist Matthew, who paid special attention to the fulfillment of all the prophecies about the Messiah by Jesus in writing his Gospel, says that by teaching in parables, Jesus fulfilled what God said through the prophet David. The seventy-seventh Psalm begins thus: Hearken, O my people, to my law, incline your ear to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable (Psalm 77:1).

When Jesus had finished the parables, the disciples came to Him and asked, "Why do you speak to them in parables?"

Therefore I say to them in parables, – Christ answers, – that when they see they do not see, and when they hear they do not hear, and do not understand. They are neither blind nor deaf, but, corrupted by their false teachers (the scribes and Pharisees), they have almost lost the ability to understand the signs they saw and the teaching they heard. And the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled over them, which says: "With your ears you will hear, and you will not understand,2 and with your eyes you will see, and you will not see: for the heart of these people is hardened, and with their ears they can hardly hear, and their eyes are closed, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn back, that I may heal them" (Matt. 13:13). 14—15; Ip. 6, 9-10). The depravity of most of these people is so great that they deliberately turn a deaf ear to the word of truth and close their eyes to great signs, as if fearing that otherwise they will probably turn to God and be saved by Him. But Christ does not push them away from Himself; no, He teaches them His teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven, but only in an allegorical form, allowing them to think out the meaning hidden in the parables if they wish. Whoever has a sincere desire to understand the meaning of the parable and the teaching of Christ, this understanding will be given to him, and will be multiplied in it; and whoever does not have such a desire will remain deaf to the teaching of Christ, even if it were not set forth in parable form; even that knowledge of God which all people have, no matter at what stage of religious development they may stand, will not benefit him; for him it will fall away of itself as useless to him, as if it were that which he has will be taken away (Matt. 13:12).

To the Apostles, who left all earthly things for Christ and followed Him, and thereby revealed faith in Him and a sincere desire to follow His teaching, — through this it became possible for them to perceive what others, without faith and desire, hearing do not hear, and seeing do not see and do not understand; it is given to them to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven.3

The words, "He who has will be given and will abound, but he who does not have will be taken away from him even that which he has"

But if these same people begin to read the word of God without preconceived thoughts and read it with faith and a sincere desire to understand it, then they will undoubtedly understand it; understanding will be given to them; and the more they are imbued with the greatness of this word, the more this understanding will increase in them, the brighter and clearer will be the divine truth for them; then will their eyes also be blessed, which when they see, they see, and their ears, which when they hear, they hear (Matt. 13:16).

Many Old Testament prophets desired to see (Matt. 13:17) what they prophesied; many righteous people wanted to see the fulfillment of their expectations of the coming of the Messiah and to hear Him; but they did not see Him or hear Him. Blessed are your eyes that see, and your ears that they hear (Matt. 13:16).

Unfortunately, at that time even Jesus' closest disciples, His Apostles, were not yet fully aware of what they had seen and heard. According to the Evangelist Mark, they apparently found it difficult to understand the meaning of the parable of the sower, since Christ asked them: Do you not understand this parable? How then can you understand all the parables? (Mark 4:13).

This is what this parable means (the explanation of the parable of the sower is given above, on p. 394).

Having finished the sermon with parables and dismissed the people, Jesus entered the house (Matt. 13:36) and there, left alone with the Apostles, explained to them, at their own request, the meaning of the parable of the tares (the explanation is given above, on p. 398). The apostles asked to explain to them only two parables; consequently, the others were understood by them without explanation. It was said above that the teaching of parables was intended exclusively for the people. Meanwhile, left alone with His disciples, He continues to speak in parables – why? Is it not in order to test their receptivity to the word of God, their thoughtfulness and understanding? "Behold," says He, "ye have not understood the parables of the sower and the tares; how then can you understand all the parables?" (Mark 4:13). And then, apparently to test whether they understand the thoughts hidden in the parables at all, He tells them new parables.

The Parable of the Man Who Threw Seed into the Ground