Mustard Seed & Leaven
18Then said he, "Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it? 19It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it." 20And again he said, "Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? 21It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." (Luke 13:18-21)
In doing much study concerning the parable of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven in Luke 13 (can be also found in Matthew 13 - different time period), I have come to the conclusion that the commentators are split 50/50 over the meaning of the parables. Some commentators argue that the parables are to be seen in a positive light, i.e., the parables illustrate the growth of the Kingdom of God. Other commentators, however, argue that the symbols given in the parables (birds, leaven) are to be seen in a negative light and illustrate the permeation of apostate churches, evil, etc. in the Kingdom of God. One commentator varied from both of these ideas and stated that the birds represented the Gentiles who would be brought in to the Kingdom of God, but as one of our deacons stated, "Aren't they grafted in?" For as long as I can remember, I have heard preachers (and now commentators) debate over the meaning of this passage. I do not have a 100% perspective on what it means though I tend to side with the "negative" viewpoint. If any of you scholars, or Bible-studiers, have an answer to this, let me know!
18Then said he, "Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it? 19It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it." 20And again he said, "Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? 21It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." (Luke 13:18-21)
In doing much study concerning the parable of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven in Luke 13 (can be also found in Matthew 13 - different time period), I have come to the conclusion that the commentators are split 50/50 over the meaning of the parables. Some commentators argue that the parables are to be seen in a positive light, i.e., the parables illustrate the growth of the Kingdom of God. Other commentators, however, argue that the symbols given in the parables (birds, leaven) are to be seen in a negative light and illustrate the permeation of apostate churches, evil, etc. in the Kingdom of God. One commentator varied from both of these ideas and stated that the birds represented the Gentiles who would be brought in to the Kingdom of God, but as one of our deacons stated, "Aren't they grafted in?" For as long as I can remember, I have heard preachers (and now commentators) debate over the meaning of this passage. I do not have a 100% perspective on what it means though I tend to side with the "negative" viewpoint. If any of you scholars, or Bible-studiers, have an answer to this, let me know!
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Well, I'm finally getting around to this. We are studying the kingdom parables of Matthew 13, and, Lord willing, will get to the parables of Mustard Seed and Leaven this Sunday.
In the past I have taken the "negative" view -- seeing leaven as representative of evil, and birds as evil agents. I have come to look at it more from a "positive" view now -- that the parables are simple lessons about the growth of the kingdom.
I think a lot of our views in this area is colored by the Scofield Reference Bible. For that reason I will reference his notes as an example of the negative argument. IMO, Scofield has led us astray from beginning to end -- from the gap theory to the pre-trib rapture.
Further, Mark 4:13 has often been interpreted to mean we must interpret the figures consistently through all the parables. If so, it seems we quickly run into a problem. For example, in keeping consistency with the interpretation of the parable of the sower, the birds in the parable of the Mustard Seed must mean Satan and His demons. Yet Jesus interprets both the Sower & Soils parable and the Wheat & Tares parable. Jesus does not explain the seed the same way in the two parables: Matt. 13:38 ...the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one... Luke 8:11 - ...The seed is the word of God. The "seed" is not "consistent" or the same thing in each of them. Then why would it be necessary for the birds to mean the same thing in all the parables?
Concerning the parable of the leaven, it seems to me much of the strength of the Scofieldian view is the claim that "leaven" in the Bible is always used with a negative connotation. This may be generally true, but I do not think it is always so. For example, in Leviticus 23:17 we find leaven included in the wave loaves offering: "Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD." There may be other such instances.
According to Scofield "the parable...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..." He also says that "A woman, in the bad ethical sense, always symbolizes something out of place, religiously" But if the leaven isn't always evil or negative, then might we also be coming with a wrong presupposition to think the woman here must be taken "in the bad ethical sense"? Finally, IMO, Scofield creates a straw man and tears it down when he writes, "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." If these two parables disprove the whole world converted, don't they also disprove the world "leavened" negatively? The whole world is never leavened in an absolute sense, either positively or negatively.
To me these are simple stories about the growth of the kingdom. In the first, the Mustard Seed is of growth from an insignificant, almost unnoticeable, beginning to such size or greatness that the once smallest seed now is big enough for birds to lodge in it. In Nebuchadnezzar's dream it has a similar effect (Dan. 4:12, 21). Fowls dwelling in the branches emphasize its size/greatness.
In the second, the Leaven is a story of growth that goes on steadily, often unnoticed, until it finally can't be ignored. To me these are the simplest ways of looking of these two parables. That is not to say there are no problems with this interpretation.
I also have had a problem of in the past of wondering about these as "the kingdom is a mustard seed" or "the kingdom is leaven". But I think the intent is more like "the kingdom is like the story I'm about tell (and its point), not some particular element in the story."
I can’t help being long-winded, I suppose; I had to break it in two to get it to post. But maybe you’ll find something here that will be worth thinking about.
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