The Parable of the Leaven (Microphone)

And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.”

- Luke 13:20-21

Many of us (especially those who have grown up in the church) have heard the parable of the leaven before, either from the gospel of Luke like the verses above, or its other location in the gospel of Matthew. Some of us may even have read it in the non-canonical gospel of Thomas as well. The parable of the leaven is a very short parable consisting of a couple sentences, and is often paired with the parable of the mustard seed. At first look, the parable seems simple, and lends itself to a simple interpretation of the growth of the kingdom of God. However, like all of the parables Jesus taught with, there is much more depth to this parable, especially when we consider the historical and literary context.

Before diving into the context, I believe it is important to remind ourselves of some of the traditional interpretations of this parable. The most common interpretation I hear in my own context is the simple growth of the kingdom of God. This generally is phrased as “powerful growth comes from small beginnings” or something along those lines. This powerful growth is often applied in several ways, including an evangelistic approach of one person being able to spread the word of God to many others, or a personal approach of God working in us in small ways leading to the growth of the kingdom of God in us. 

In line with these common interpretations, many pastors and theologians have taken a more allegorical approach to interpretation, focusing on what each of the elements in the parable represents. One of the church fathers, Augustine, attributed love to the leaven, and believed the woman represented wisdom. He also connected the three measures to the three qualities of the heart, soul, and mind. Jerome likewise connected the three measures of flour to heart, soul, and mind but viewed the leaven as the scriptures, which unite those three aspects into one. Chrysostom took the more evangelical approach by calling Christians the leaven, and the flour is the whole world. These are all interesting interpretations which can be helpful in many ways, but if we simply stick to those interpretations and ignore the context of the telling of the parable, we miss out on much of the questions and theological reflection Jesus is encouraging with this parable. 

For this parable, I believe it is important to look at two main aspects in light of the cultural context of the time and place when Jesus was telling this parable. The first of these is found by looking at the ancient greek directly. The Greek term enkrypto is often translated as “mixed” when a more accurate translation would be “hid”. While this is the only spot in the New Testament this verb is found, the cognate verb of krypto is common, and refers to things hidden which are meant to be found. This implies that the leaven which the woman is hiding in the flour is hidden to be brought forth through transformation. This prompts us to ask some important questions like “why must the leaven be hidden in the first place?” or “must the leaven be hidden in order to result in transformation?”

The second aspect we often miss is the sheer quantity of the flour which is being used. Three measures of flour doesn’t refer to three cups, or even three pounds—it refers to somewhere in the ballpark of 40 to 60 pounds of flour. This is an immense amount of flour, an amount which would be impossible for any one person to mix and knead on their own. Additionally, the three measures cited in this parable may have prompted the Jewish people listening to recall the story in Genesis 18, where Abraham meets three men (often thought of as either the Trinity or God with two angels) and tells Sarah to make bread for them using “three measures of choice flour”. This may have prompted listeners to reflect on the outrageous hospitality of Abraham and Sarah, connecting that to the kingdom of God. It also may have prompted listeners to connect the kingdom of God with a celebration due to the large amount of bread which would result from this endeavor. 

In the modern retelling of this parable in the video above, the words whispered imply something hidden and secretive, while at the same time they are something to be revealed (spoken into a microphone). The whole city represents the grand scale of the amount of bread from the parable. Through this, I am hoping we can remember these things—things seemingly strange in relation to the narrative of the parable—and reflect on how God may speak to us anew through this parable. Is God speaking to you about revealing the kingdom of God to those around you? Is God speaking to you about the importance of sacrificial generosity? Is God simply showing you how the kingdom of God is present where people gather and eat together? Is God saying something completely different to you through this parable? Let us all listen to and reflect on the many different things God is speaking to us through these two short sentences.