Mt 13:31-35
A mustard seed and yeast: At the time of Jesus the proper metaphor for the kingdom was greatness—not smallness. For Jesus to say that the kingdom is like a mustard seed contradicts the established comparisons of the time. Anyone who heard such a figure of speech would be confused and upset.
A mustard seed and yeast: At the time of Jesus the proper metaphor for the kingdom was greatness—not smallness. For Jesus to say that the kingdom is like a mustard seed contradicts the established comparisons of the time. Anyone who heard such a figure of speech would be confused and upset.
In time the original intent of the parable was altered by the writers of the Gospels. Matthew’s version reflects Mark’s alteration of the parable. The smallness of the mustard seed comes to represent the small beginnings of the kingdom (which exists in the Church, for Matthew the community), but which results in greatness.
To say that the kingdom of heaven is like yeast (more accurately translated as “leaven”) is to compare the good kingdom to something which corrupts. In the ancient world, leaven was considered to be corrupting. When Passover was celebrated, no leaven could be found in Jewish homes. What was holy was untouched by leaven.
The corrupting agent, the leaven, is mixed (more accurately translated as “is hidden”) in three measures of wheat flour (or dough). Three measures is not only about a bushel of flour, but an Old Testament sign of theophany, an unexpected appearance of God.
When the reader puts all this information together into one bowl of understanding, the thrust of the parable suddenly becomes apparent. The kingdom of heaven (the presence of God) is hidden in the world which it will change gradually, corrupting and destroying the old and making the whole world new.