Daily Devotional For Sunday, November 16, 2025
Good morning Southside! We are making our way through the Gospel of Matthew and today, we come to the Matthew 13:33-35:
“He spoke another parable to them, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.’ (34) All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable. (35) This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: ‘I will open My mouth in parables;I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world” (NASB).
Pastor and author John MacArthur explains why the woman mentioned above does what she does:
“As always, Jesus constructed the parable out of the common experiences of His hearers. In every household the woman responsible for baking would save a piece of leavened dough from a risen batch just before it was baked. When the next batch of dough was mixed, she took the saved piece from the previous batch and hid it in the new, in order that its leaven, or yeast, could ferment the new batch of dough and make it rise. Three pecks of meal was about the equivalent of a modern bushel. But such a large batch of dough was not uncommon in most households of the day, because bread was the major item of food. That was about the same amount of bread that Abraham asked Sarah to bake for the Lord and the two angelic visitors (Gen. 18:6) and that Gideon prepared before the angel of the Lord at Ophrah (Judges 6:19) – (Source: John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Bible Commentary, “Matthew,” p. 372).
Jesus used a very common household item to teach spiritual truth – yeast. Sometimes in the Bible, yeast is seen as evil in that it resembles pride (See Matt. 16:6, Matt. 16:11 and 1 Cor. 5:6-8). People can easily get “puffed up” with too much of themselves, or having an exaggerated view of themselves. Like the previous parable of the mustard seed, this one stresses how something with a small beginning can have great growth.
Though yeast is small, it has the ability to permeate the entire loaf of bread. Like the kingdom of God, it had a small beginning but it would grow and grow to have a huge impact on our world. What seemed small, (Jesus and His little troop of disciples), would start a small revival and revolution that would permeate the entire world. Many people are impressed with size: massive houses, huge vehicles, tall skyscrapers and even mega-churches. But in the scope of things, these are not the norm. I like what New Testament scholar Bruce B. Barton writes on this:
“Huge choirs led by trained conductors are thrilling, but little backwoods quartets are the norm. Stereo sound systems make worship acoustically exhilarating, but simple human voices are the norm. It’s fine for the church to be small, struggling, and simple—it’s normal. Don’t be fooled into thinking that wealth, prestige, and a huge donor base are typical of God’s church. The movement Jesus started (and His followers today continue) more often has a humble look to it—not very impressive at all, by modern standards. But the church endures while other movements disappear, and it grows while others crest and fall” (Source: Bruce B. Barton, The Life Application Bible Commentary, “Matthew,” p. 271).
In verse 35 it seems that Jesus is quoting Psalm 78:2. Psalm 78 reviews Israel’s history from the time of slavery in Egypt to David’s reign. This was a favorite Psalm of the Jews. It was read and told over and over to generation after generation. The things “hidden” refer to God’s mighty acts in the attempt to redeem His people in spite of their continued sin, unfaithfulness and rebellion. In quoting Psalm 78:2, Matthew was showing that what the psalmist did in his day, Jesus was doing in His day.
Notice Jesus never taught people without using parables or modern day illustrations from His time. It is easier to teach and receive truth when illustrated. In Matthew 13 alone, Jesus used 4 parables – 4 illustrations – to show how His ministry and the kingdom of God would begin but also where it would end up from its small beginnings. The kingdom of God, though it initially appeared small in size, was far greater and bigger than its appearance. Though leaven often metaphorically appears as evil, Jesus uses it here for something positive. The right influence can be positive. Bread with leaven is better than bread without leaven. Pastor and author John MacArthur writes this:
“To symbolize the break with their former life in Egypt, God commanded His people to eat only unleavened bread during the Feast of the Unleavened Bread, which began on Passover evening. They were not even allowed to have leaven of any sort in the house during the seven days of the feast (Ex. 12:15-19). But the bread they ate the rest of the year was leavened and perfectly acceptable to the Lord. To the average person of Jesus’ day, Jew or Gentile, there is no evidence that leaven carried any connotation of evil or corruption” (Source: John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Bible Commentary, “Matthew,” p. 372).
Even when leaven is used to portray evil, this is done to show that not only is hypocrisy and pride evil, but more importantly to show how influential both can be. Yeast or leaven causes the dough to rise because it permeates all of the dough. Jesus’ point is that the leaven must be hidden in the dough to have impact. So, Jesus is not telling us to hide, but to permeate this world in such a way that His kingdom rises and spreads.
In the same way, hypocrisy and pride can permeate groups of people such as clicks, or cults or classrooms. This is very common in schools, where one group thinks they are better due to their economic privilege or what is their neighborhood or who their parents are. This can even expand to what school you attend: “I attend my local high school” where another says, “I attend a private high school.” This can be even applied to churches. Someone may pride themselves in that they go to some megachurch to put down someone who is at an average size church. This is the point of 1 Cor. 5:6.
Assignment: Reflect on the areas in your life where there is “spiritual leaven.” If you are not sure, ask someone who knows you well to be brutally honest with you. Ask yourself, where are you personally helping the Kingdom of God grow and expand beyond simple church attendance and tithing?
Scripture To Meditate On: Galatians 5:9, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, help me to grow in You and in helping Your kingdom to grow. Please convict me where pride and hypocrisy have permeated my heart and life. Help me see my spiritual blind spots for You. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside!--Pastor Kelly