The Meaning of Matthew 13:33 Explained

Matthew 13:33

KJV: Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

YLT: Another simile spake he to them: 'The reign of the heavens is like to leaven, which a woman having taken, hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.'

Darby: He spoke another parable to them: The kingdom of the heavens is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal until it had been all leavened.

ASV: Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Another  parable  spake he  unto them;  The kingdom  of heaven  is  like  unto leaven,  which  a woman  took,  and hid  in  three  measures  of meal,  till  the whole  was  leavened. 

What does Matthew 13:33 Mean?

Study Notes

Another parable
That interpretation of the parable of the Leaven ( Matthew 13:33 ) which makes (with variation as to details) the leaven to be the Gospel, introduced into the world ("three measures of meal") by the church, and working subtly until the world is converted ("till the whole was leavened") is open to fatal objection:
(1) it does violence to the unvarying symbolical meaning of leaven, and especially to the meaning fixed by our Lord Himself. Matthew 16:6-12 ; Mark 8:15 See "Leaven," Genesis 19:3 .
(2) The implication of a converted world in this age ("till the whole was leavened"), is explicitly contradicted by our Lord's interpretation of the parables of the Wheat and Tares, and of the Net. Our Lord presents a picture of a partly converted kingdom in an unconverted world; of good fish and bad in the very kingdom-net itself.
(3) The method of the extension of the kingdom is given in the first parable. It is by sowing seed, not by mingling leaven. The symbols have, in Scripture, a meaning fixed by inspired usage. Leaven is the principle of corruption working subtly; is invariably used in a bad sense , and is defined by our Lord as evil doctrine. Matthew 16:11 ; Matthew 16:12 ; Mark 8:15 . Meal, on the contrary, was used in one of the sweet- savour offerings Leviticus 2:1-3 . and was food for the priests Leviticus 6:15-17 . A woman, in the bad ethical sense, always symbolizes something out of place, religiously, See Scofield " Zechariah 5:6 ". In Thyatira it was a woman teaching (cf).; Revelation 2:20 ; Revelation 17:1-6 . Interpreting the parable by these familiar symbols, it constitutes a warning that the true doctrine, given for nourishment of the children of the kingdom; Matthew 4:4 ; 1 Timothy 4:6 ; 1 Peter 2:2 would be mingled with corrupt and corrupting false doctrine, and that officially, by the apostate church itself; 1 Timothy 4:1-3 ; 2 Peter 2:1-32 ; 2 Timothy 2:18 ; 2 Timothy 4:3 ; 2 Timothy 4:4 ; 2 Peter 2:1-3 .
4 Leaven
Summary:
(1) Leaven, as a symbolic or typical substance, is always mentioned in the O.T. in an evil sense Genesis 19:3 , .
(2) The use of the word in the N.T. explains its symbolic meaning. It is "malice and wickedness," as contrasted with "sincerity and truth" 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 , it is evil doctrine Matthew 16:12 in its three-fold form of Pharisasism, Sadduceeism, Herodianism; Matthew 16:6 ; Mark 8:15 . The leaven of the Pharisees was externalism in religion. Matthew 23:14 ; Matthew 23:16 ; Matthew 23:23-28 of the Sadducees, scepticism as to the supernatural and as to the Scriptures Matthew 22:23 ; Matthew 22:29 of the Herodians, worldliness--a Herod party amongst the Jews; Matthew 22:16-21 ; Mark 3:6 .
(3) The use of the word in Matthew 13:33 is congruous with its universal meaning.
That interpretation of the parable of the Leaven ( Matthew 13:33 ) which makes (with variation as to details) the leaven to be the Gospel, introduced into the world ("three measures of meal") by the church, and working subtly until the world is converted ("till the whole was leavened") is open to fatal objection:
(1) it does violence to the unvarying symbolical meaning of leaven, and especially to the meaning fixed by our Lord Himself. Matthew 16:6-12 ; Mark 8:15 See "Leaven," Genesis 19:3 . (See Scofield " Matthew 13:33 ") .
(2) The implication of a converted world in this age ("till the whole was leavened"), is explicitly contradicted by our Lord's interpretation of the parables of the Wheat and Tares, and of the Net. Our Lord presents a picture of a partly converted kingdom in an unconverted world; of good fish and bad in the very kingdom-net itself.
(3) The method of the extension of the kingdom is given in the first parable. It is by sowing seed, not by mingling leaven. The symbols have, in Scripture, a meaning fixed by inspired usage. Leaven is the principle of corruption working subtly; is invariably used in a bad sense (see "Leaven," (See Scofield " Genesis 19:3 ") , and is defined by our Lord as evil doctrine. Matthew 16:11 ; Matthew 16:12 ; Mark 8:15 . Meal, on the contrary, was used in one of the sweet- savour offerings Leviticus 2:1-3 . and was food for the priests Leviticus 6:15-17 . A woman, in the bad ethical sense, always symbolizes something out of place, religiously, See Scofield " Zechariah 5:6 ". In Thyatira it was a woman teaching (cf).; Revelation 2:20 ; Revelation 17:1-6 . Interpreting the parable by these familiar symbols, it constitutes a warning that the true doctrine, given for nourishment of the children of the kingdom; Matthew 4:4 ; 1 Timothy 4:6 ; 1 Peter 2:2 would be mingled with corrupt and corrupting false doctrine, and that officially, by the apostate church itself; 1 Timothy 4:1-3 ; 2 Timothy 2:17 ; 2 Timothy 2:18 ; 2 Timothy 4:3 ; 2 Timothy 4:4 ; 1711622461_51 .
4 Leaven
Summary:
(1) Leaven, as a symbolic or typical substance, is always mentioned in the O.T. in an evil sense Genesis 19:3 , (See Scofield " Genesis 19:3 ") .
(2) The use of the word in the N.T. explains its symbolic meaning. It is "malice and wickedness," as contrasted with "sincerity and truth" 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 , it is evil doctrine Matthew 16:12 in its three-fold form of Pharisasism, Sadduceeism, Herodianism; Matthew 16:6 ; Mark 8:15 . The leaven of the Pharisees was externalism in religion. Matthew 23:14 ; Matthew 23:16 ; Matthew 23:23-28 of the Sadducees, scepticism as to the supernatural and as to the Scriptures Matthew 22:23 ; Matthew 22:29 of the Herodians, worldliness--a Herod party amongst the Jews; Matthew 22:16-21 ; Mark 3:6 .
(3) The use of the word in Matthew 13:33 is congruous with its universal meaning.

Verse Meaning

This parable stresses the extensive ultimate condition and consequences of the kingdom that would be out of all proportion to its insignificant beginnings.
"Whereas the parable of the mustard seed answers the question of whether the phase of the kingdom planted by Jesus would survive, the parable of the leavening process answers how." [1]
Some interpreters have understood yeast as a metaphorical reference to evil. [2] However not all uses of yeast in the Old Testament carry this symbolic meaning (e.g, Leviticus 7:13; Leviticus 23:15-18). [3]
This parable stresses the hidden internal change taking place in the kingdom between its inception in Jesus" ministry and its final form when the kingdom will cover the earth in the Millennium (cf. Matthew 5:13).
"The kingdom of heaven may be initially insignificant, but it is pervasive." [4]
". . . the Kingdom of God, when received within, would seem like leaven hid, but would gradually pervade, assimilate, and transform the whole of our common life." [5]
"The manifestation of the presence of the kingdom in some form in the Church age is clearly taught in the parables of the mustard seed and the leaven ..." [6]
This fact led J. Dwight Pentecost to call the inter-advent age the mystery form of the kingdom. [7]
The fact that a woman put the leaven in the meal is probably an insignificant detail of the parable as is the amount of flour. Three satas of flour (about three-fifths of a bushel) is the amount of flour that a housewife baked into bread for an average family. [8]
"Practical applications of this parable to present readers can include the following. First, believers should depend on what God is doing through His Spirit in the present age. Second, Christians should be suspicious of any Prayer of Manasseh -made, externally influenced institutional structures that say they are the manifestation of God"s kingdom. Third, believers must be cautious about setting dates and presuming the arrival of the kingdom since the parable gives no hint as to when the permeation ends. Fourth, Jesus" followers can be confident that regardless of any current perspectives, the kingdom of God has a glorious future." [9]

Context Summary

Matthew 13:24-33 - Other Parables Of The Kingdom
The tare was a species of rye grass, which in its earlier stages, closely resembled wheat. In this world, and in the Church, professors are closely mingled with possessors. But there come great times of revealing, in the trials and difficulties of life, and in fact Satan and his angels never sleep. Let us beware of them, but be not afraid: Christ is stronger.
The mustard seed and the leaven represent the extensive and intensive, the outward and inward, the objective and subjective, aspects of Christianity. Sometimes when the Church is reaching its branches to the farthest, its heart is being corrupted by the slow spread of evil. See 1 Corinthians 5:7-8. See what stress our Lord lays on unnoticed beginnings! What seed is smaller than the mustard! Yet it may be the gateway through which Nature may pour her inner energies, forcing the rootlet down and the green shoot up. And it requires but a very small amount of leaven to permeate a large quantity of meal. Bigness is not greatness. Watch the first speck of sin; cherish each grain of holy impulse. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 13

1  The parable of the sower and the seed;
18  the explanation of it
24  The parable of the weeds;
31  of the mustard seed;
33  of the leaven;
36  explanation of the parable of the weeds
44  The parable of the hidden treasure;
45  of the pearl;
47  of the drag net cast into the sea
53  Jesus is a prophet without honor in his own country

Greek Commentary for Matthew 13:33

Is like unto leaven [ομοια εστιν ζυμηι]
In its pervasive power. Curiously enough some people deny that Jesus here likens the expanding power of the Kingdom of heaven to leaven, because, they say, leaven is the symbol of corruption. But the language of Jesus is not to be explained away by such exegetical jugglery. The devil is called like a lion by Peter (1 Peter 5:8) and Jesus in Revelation is called the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5). The leaven permeates all the “wheaten meal” (αλευρου — aleurou) till the whole is leavened. There is nothing in the “three measures,” merely a common amount to bake. Dr. T.R. Glover in his Jesus of History suggests that Jesus used to notice his mother using that amount of wheat flour in baking bread. To find the Trinity here is, of course, quite beside the mark. The word for leaven, ζυμη — zumē is from ζεω — zeō to boil, to seethe, and so pervasive fermentation. [source]
Leaven [ζύμῃ]
Wyc., sour dough, as German SauerteigFrom ζέω , to boil or seethe, as in fermentation. The English leaven is from the Latin levare, to raise, and appears in the French levain. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 13:33

Mark 8:15 Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and the leaven of Herod [ορατε βλεπετε απο της ζυμης των Παρισαιων και της ζυμης ηρωιδου]
Present imperatives. Note υμη — apo and the ablative case. ζυμοω — Zumē is from διεστελλετο — zumoō and occurs already in Matthew 13:33 in a good sense. For the bad sense See note on 1 Corinthians 5:6. He repeatedly charged Jesus definitely warns the disciples against “the leaven of Herod” (bad politics) and the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees (bad theology and also bad politics). [source]
Luke 6:20 Kingdom of God [ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ]
Matthew has kingdom of heaven, or of the heavens ( τῶν οὐρανῶν )a phrase used by him only, and most frequently employed by Christ himself to describe the kingdom; though Matthew also uses, less frequently, kingdom of God. The two are substantially equivalent terms, though the pre-eminent title was kingdom of God, since it was expected to be fully realized in the Messianic era, when God should take upon himself the kingdom by a visible representative. Compare Isaiah 40:9, “Behold your God. ” The phrase kingdom of Heaven was common in the Rabbinical writings, and had a double signification: the historical kingdom and the spiritual and moral kingdom. They very often understood by it divine worship; adoration of God; the sum of religious duties; but also the Messianic kingdom. The kingdom of God is, essentially, the absolute dominion of God in the universe, both in a physical and a spiritual sense. It is “an organic commonwealth which has the principle of its existence in the will of God” (Tholuck). It was foreshadowed in the Jewish theocracy. The idea of the kingdom advanced toward clearer definition from Jacob's prophecy of the Prince out of Judah (Genesis 49:10), through David's prophecy of the everlasting kingdom and the king of righteousness and peace (Daniel 7:14-27; Daniel 4:25; Daniel 2:44). In this sense it was apprehended by John the Baptist. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
The ideal kingdom is to be realized in the absolute rule of the eternal Son, Jesus Christ, by whom all things are made and consist (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16-20), whose life of perfect obedience to God and whose sacrificial offering of love upon the cross reveal to men their true relation to God, and whose spirit works to bring them into this relation. The ultimate idea of the kingdom is that of “a redeemed humanity, with its divinely revealed destiny manifesting itself in a religious communion, or the Church; asocial communion, or the state; and an aesthetic communion, expressing itself in forms of knowledge and art.”-DIVIDER-
This kingdom is both present (Matthew 11:12; Matthew 12:28; Matthew 16:19; Luke 11:20; Luke 16:16; Luke 17:21; see, also, the parables of the Sower, the Tares, the Leaven, and the Drag-net; and compare the expression “theirs, or yours, is the kingdom,” Matthew 5:3; Luke 6:20) and future (Daniel 7:27; Matthew 13:43; Matthew 19:28; Matthew 25:34; Matthew 26:29; Mark 9:47; 2 Peter 1:11; 1 Corinthians 6:9; Revelation 20:1-15 sq.). As a present kingdom it is incomplete and in process of development. It is expanding in society like the grain of mustard seed (Matthew 13:31, Matthew 13:32); working toward the pervasion of society like the leaven in the lump (Matthew 13:33). God is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, and the Gospel of Christ is the great instrument in that process (2 Corinthians 5:19, 2 Corinthians 5:20). The kingdom develops from within outward under the power of its essential divine energy and law of growth, which insures its progress and final triumph against all obstacles. Similarly, its work in reconciling and subjecting the world to God begins at the fountain-head of man's life, by implanting in his heart its own divine potency, and thus giving a divine impulse and direction to the whole man, rather than by moulding him from without by a moral code. The law is written in his heart. In like manner the State and the Church are shaped, not by external pressure, like the Roman empire and the Roxnish hierarchy, but by the evolution of holy character in men. The kingdom of God in its present development is not identical with the Church. It is a larger movement which includes the Church. The Church is identified with the kingdom to the degree in which it is under the power of the spirit of Christ. “As the Old Testament kingdom of God was perfected and completed when it ceased to be external, and became internal by being enthroned in the heart, so, on the other hand, the perfection of the New Testament kingdom will consist in its complete incarnation and externalization; that is, when it shall attain an outward manifestation, adequately expressing, exactly corresponding to its internal principle” (Tholuck). The consummation is described in Revelation 21,22. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
[source]

Luke 13:21 Leaven []
See on Matthew 13:33. [source]
Luke 12:1 Leaven []
See on Matthew 13:33. [source]
Luke 12:1 The leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy [της ζυμης ητις εστιν υποχρισις των Παρισαιων]
In Mark 8:15 Jesus had coupled the lesson of the Pharisees with that of Herod, in Matthew 16:6 with that of the Sadducees also. He had long ago called the Pharisees hypocrites (Matthew 6:2, Matthew 6:5, Matthew 6:16). The occasion was ripe here for this crisp saying. In Matthew 13:33 leaven does not have an evil sense as here. See note on Matthew 23:13 for hypocrites. Hypocrisy was the leading Pharisaic vice (Bruce) and was a mark of sanctity to hide an evil heart. [source]
Luke 13:20 Whereunto shall I liken? [Τινι ομοιωσω]
This question alone in Luke here as in Luke 13:8. But the parable is precisely like that in Matthew 13:33, which see note for details. [source]
Luke 12:1 Many thousands [μυριαδων]
Genitive absolute with επισυναχτεισων — episunachtheisōn (first aorist passive participle feminine plural because of μυριαδων — muriadōn), a double compound late verb, επισυναγω — episunagō to gather together unto. The word “myriads” is probably hyperbolical as in Acts 21:20, but in the sense of ten thousand, as in Acts 19:19, it means a very large crowd apparently drawn together by the violent attacks of the rabbis against Jesus.Insomuch that they trode one upon another (ωστε καταπατειν αλληλους — hōste katapatein allēlous). The imagination must complete the picture of this jam.Unto his disciples first of all This long discourse in Luke 12 is really a series of separate talks to various groups in the vast crowds around Jesus. This particular talk goes through Luke 12:12.Beware of (προσεχετε εαυτοις απο — prosechete heautois apo). Put your mind (νουν — noun understood) for yourselves (dative) and avoid (απο — apo with the ablative).The leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy In Mark 8:15 Jesus had coupled the lesson of the Pharisees with that of Herod, in Matthew 16:6 with that of the Sadducees also. He had long ago called the Pharisees hypocrites (Matthew 6:2, Matthew 6:5, Matthew 6:16). The occasion was ripe here for this crisp saying. In Matthew 13:33 leaven does not have an evil sense as here. See note on Matthew 23:13 for hypocrites. Hypocrisy was the leading Pharisaic vice (Bruce) and was a mark of sanctity to hide an evil heart. [source]
Luke 12:1 Unto his disciples first of all [προς τους ματητας αυτου πρωτον]
This long discourse in Luke 12 is really a series of separate talks to various groups in the vast crowds around Jesus. This particular talk goes through Luke 12:12.Beware of (προσεχετε εαυτοις απο — prosechete heautois apo). Put your mind (νουν — noun understood) for yourselves (dative) and avoid (απο — apo with the ablative).The leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy In Mark 8:15 Jesus had coupled the lesson of the Pharisees with that of Herod, in Matthew 16:6 with that of the Sadducees also. He had long ago called the Pharisees hypocrites (Matthew 6:2, Matthew 6:5, Matthew 6:16). The occasion was ripe here for this crisp saying. In Matthew 13:33 leaven does not have an evil sense as here. See note on Matthew 23:13 for hypocrites. Hypocrisy was the leading Pharisaic vice (Bruce) and was a mark of sanctity to hide an evil heart. [source]
Acts 18:25 Fervent [ζέων]
Fervent, which is formed from the participle of the Latin ferveo, to boil or ferment, is an exact translation of this word, which means to seethe or bubble, and is therefore used figuratively of mental states and emotions. See on leaven, Matthew 13:33. [source]
Galatians 5:9 A little leaven [μικρὰ ζύμη]
A proverbial warning, which appears also 1 Corinthians 5:6. It refers, not to the doctrine of the false teachers, but to the false teachers themselves. Comp. Mark 8:15. With the single exception of the parable, Matthew 13:33, leaven, in Scripture, is always a symbol of evil. Comp. Exodus 12:15, Exodus 12:19; Exodus 13:3, Exodus 13:7; Exodus 23:18; Leviticus 2:11; Deuteronomy 16:3. This, however, is no warrant for the nonsense which has been deduced from it, as that Jesus' parable of the leaven contains a prophecy of the corruption of Christianity. Because leaven in Scripture is habitually the type of corruption, we are “none the less free to use it in a good sense as Christ did. One figure need not always stand for one and the same thing. The devil is 'a roaring lion,' but Christ is also 'the lion of the tribe of Judah'” (Trench). It is an apt figure of secret, pervading energy, whether bad or good. A new interest is given to the figure by Pasteur's discovery that fermentation is a necessary consequence of the activity and growth of living organisms. A very few of these Judaising intruders are sufficient to corrupt the whole church. [source]
Galatians 5:9  []
This proverb Paul has in 1 Corinthians 5:6 . It is merely the pervasive power of leaven that is involved in the proverb as in Matthew 13:33 , not the use of leaven as a symbol of evil. [source]

What do the individual words in Matthew 13:33 mean?

Another parable spoke He to them Like is the kingdom of the heavens to leaven which having taken a woman hid in of flour measures three until of it was leavened all
Ἄλλην παραβολὴν ἐλάλησεν αὐτοῖς Ὁμοία ἐστὶν βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ζύμῃ ἣν λαβοῦσα γυνὴ ἐνέκρυψεν εἰς ἀλεύρου σάτα τρία ἕως οὗ ἐζυμώθη ὅλον

Ἄλλην  Another 
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: ἄλλος  
Sense: another, other.
παραβολὴν  parable 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: παραβολή  
Sense: a placing of one thing by the side of another, juxtaposition, as of ships in battle.
ἐλάλησεν  spoke  He 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἀπολαλέω 
Sense: to utter a voice or emit a sound.
αὐτοῖς  to  them 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
Ὁμοία  Like 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: ὅμοιος  
Sense: like, similar, resembling.
βασιλεία  kingdom 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: βασιλεία  
Sense: royal power, kingship, dominion, rule.
τῶν  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
οὐρανῶν  heavens 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: οὐρανός  
Sense: the vaulted expanse of the sky with all things visible in it.
ζύμῃ  to  leaven 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: ζύμη  
Sense: leaven.
λαβοῦσα  having  taken 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: λαμβάνω  
Sense: to take.
γυνὴ  a  woman 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: γυνή  
Sense: a woman of any age, whether a virgin, or married, or a widow.
ἐνέκρυψεν  hid 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἐγκρύπτω  
Sense: to conceal in something.
ἀλεύρου  of  flour 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Neuter Singular
Root: ἄλευρον  
Sense: wheat flour, meal.
σάτα  measures 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root: σάτον  
Sense: a kind of dry measure, 3 gallons (4 litres).
τρία  three 
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root: τρεῖς 
Sense: three.
ἕως  until 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἕως  
Sense: till, until.
οὗ  of  it 
Parse: Personal / Relative Pronoun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: ὅς 
Sense: who, which, what, that.
ἐζυμώθη  was  leavened 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ζυμόω  
Sense: to leaven.