33 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. (Matt
13:33) – see also Mark 4:30-32 and Luke 13:18-19.
The
Collect
St.
Barnabas the Apostle
|
O
|
LORD God Almighty, who didst endue
thy holy Apostle Barnabas with singular gifts of the Holy Ghost; Leave us not,
we beseech thee, destitute of thy manifold gifts, nor yet of grace to use them
alway to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
It
might better fit our theological bag of preferences to believe that this
parable of the leaven relates to an ever growing church that increases in
purity as well in influence as time advances toward the last curtain. I
certainly can understand and appreciate those who hold that hopeful view
through an earnest study of Holy Scripture; but I, for one, must maintain a
dissenting view, which is also based on Holy Scripture, that holds that the use
of leaven here means a wicked influence in the Kingdom of Heaven that, like the
mustard tree, grows in an unnatural way that leads to a mixed and disparate
product or result. Naturally, those who strive to always emphasize the positive
will not desire to accentuate the negative in any part of God's Word where a
positive argument can be made. However, we may do ourselves harm if we do not
acknowledge that without a negative pole, there could be no flow of
electricity, and God's Word and Commandments consist in as many negatives as
positives. There will always be good in the Kingdom of Heaven, but we must
admit of evil influences throughout time and history that have also held sway
to some extent – today, more than ever!
The
governments of men have insisted that we view the Government of God as a
corporation with financial interests, a public image to be promoted, and growth
as essential to the return of a profit. How far this is from the truth need not
be addressed to men and women with even the slightest understanding of the Word
and Person of Christ! We need no advertisement programs to promote our product.
Christ never begged anyone to follow Him.
The old
and classical doctors of theology often viewed the world around them in ways
that would seem naïve today, but they viewed a world that had prospered
spiritually from the fruits of the recent Reformation. The Gospel message was
going forth into all corners of the world with amazing effect and glory to God.
The New World was opened to evangelization as well as all parts of Africa and
Asia. So it seemed to such Godly men as commented on Scripture at the time that
the Kingdom of God was growing phenomenally large, and with great earnestness
and purity. It was a correct presumption for the time. These great and Godly
scholars seldom, if ever, mentioned the major sins that plague modern society
such as homosexuality and abortion for they were rare and seldom mentioned in
polite company. These sins were simply too unusual and extraordinary to believe
that they could assume any acceptance or legitimacy among a world civilized by
the efficacious effects of the Gospel. But times have certainly changed since
great and dedicated men expounded the truth of the Gospel at risk of peril to
their lives and reputations. Do we doubt the veracity of the warning of
Daniel the prophet of that "abomination" that makes desolate standing
in the Holy Place? (Daniel 11:31, 12:11, Matt 24:18, & Mark 13:14) When we
read the words of Daniel 11:37 in view of this prophecy, we may conclude with
some reasonableness that this abomination now stands in pulpits today. I do not
see an absence of good in both the parable of the mustard seed and the leaven
of bread, but I also do not see an absence of the kind of evil that is clearly
present in the church today. One would of necessity be `blind as a badger' not
to see that the church has grown, in general, into a beast when it was intended
as a lamb. Perhaps Augustine sums it up charitably and best: "Those who
are tares today, may be wheat tomorrow." Let us pray that this be so.
33Another
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. Why
do we use unleavened bread in the Service of Holy Communion? As Christ has used
symbolism to reveal many truths of the Gospel ("whited sepulchers,"
"the stone the builders rejected," "the Lamb of God,"
"the Bright and Morning Star," "the leaven of the Pharisees,"
and "vessels of honor and dishonor," to mention just a few) it is
important that we also remain, liturgically and in faith, mindful of the
symbols used by God to open our minds to delicate truths. No observant
professor of Christ would ever claim the church to be perfect as it is
constituted on earth. It is no more perfect than those who cling to Christ in
faith and who are recipients of that grace that covers all sin. One symbol used
by God to represent sin is leaven. While it is true that there are exceptions
to this principle, leaven is used repeatedly in the New Testament to represent
sin. The Passover Bread (pre-figuring the Body of Christ) was to be of
unleavened bread. In fact, all leaven was to be gleaned from the house and
disposed of prior to the event. The symbol must logically be represented in the
thing or Person it symbolizes. Your glorying is not good. Know ye
not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore
the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even
Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the
feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness;
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1
Cor 5:6-8) If sincerity and truth is symbolized in `unleavened bread' should
the Bread of the Communion not also be unleavened to represent that perfect
Passover of Christ?
In
every case in which a woman, or women, is referred to prophetically, the
meaning is almost always of a religious power. Examples: Isaiah 4:1; Revelation
12 (true Israel, or Church); Revelation 17 (the false church); and Revelation
21:2 (Bride of Christ). The woman in this case, to me, represents religion in
general and how men often mold their religious models to reflect their own
views and interest (sometimes to the exclusion of those stated principles of
God's Word). The woman (religious world) is simply performing a duty for which
she is accustomed and means no ill will. But she mixes leaven with the flour
which cases it to rise bigger than its natural size and fills with air pockets.
The appearance is appealing and larger than the essence would suggest. Aren't
many of our churches today very large but of little substance? Aren't they
filled with much hot air and little faith or dedication to the strong
principles of Scripture? Haven't we made the bread according to our own liking
and not that commanded by God?
The
leaven of false doctrine has been mixed already in the wheat flour of the
church. New Bible versions make changes in actual meaning of words that
transform the doctrines of the Bible into something they are not intended to
be. I have given enough examples previously that surely no one doubts this
statement. If we consider only one such change in Scripture, we can see how the
change can pervade all other related doctrines of salvation and grace: Compare
this rendering of the KJV (or any other Received Text Bible) with that which
follows in the NIV: 14 Blessed are they that do his commandments,
that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the
gates into the city. Rev 22:14 (KJV) Now look at the NIV
rendering: "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may
have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. (Rev
22:14 (NIV) Do you believe that we save ourselves by our own washing?
Or are we saved UNTO good works of obedience? This leaven grows in the
church until one day, it achieves general credibility and deceives multitudes.
Please
observe how Christ makes reference to leaven:
5 And
when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take
bread. 6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven
of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. 7 And they reasoned among
themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. 8 Which when
Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among
yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? (Matt
16:5-8) 11 How is it that ye do not
understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware
of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? 12 Then understood they how that he bade
them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees
and of the Sadducees. (Matt 16:11-12)
"Beware
ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." (Luke
12:1)
Please bear
in mind that the whole Kingdom is wholly righteous. But, thanks be to God,
there is more wheat in a loaf of bread than leaven, yet the leaven mixes in and
causes growth that is not natural to the wheat. The wheat and leaven are not
sinful or righteous in themselves for they are merely symbols of a higher
truth, but the nature of our symbols should always reflect the nature of that
which they represent particularly in the teachings of Christ. A great rule of
thumb would be found in Acts 5:29 - We ought to obey God rather than men.
(Acts 5:29 ) and, of course, the very center verse of Scripture: It
is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. (Psalms
118:8) Since man (clergy, layperson, or lost) cannot trust his own heart,
it is unreasonable to suggest that no others can trust that heart either?
