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. Mt13:33 KJV
Leaven- represents sin
Eat unleavened bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders. Ex 13:7
For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And anyone, whether foreigner or native-born, who eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel. Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread. Ex 12:19,20 NIV
15 “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.” Mk 8:15 NIV
7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? 8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9 “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” Gal 5:7-9
6 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.1 Co 5:6,7,8 NIV
Jesus- represents leaven in this parable which is sin.
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Co 5:21 NIV
Woman- represents unfaithful Israel.
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Many passages portray “woman” in negative light, so symbolically a woman hiding leaven in the dough is not a good thing.
And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 1 Ti 2:14
7 Saul then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her.”“There is one in Endor,” they said. 1 Sa 28:7
Why did Saul specify a woman and not a man medium? Ancient cultures believed women to be more skilled in communication with the spiritual realm than men. (God forbad this Lev 19:31).
while I was still searching but not finding—I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright woman among them all. Ecc 7:28 The term “woman” can symbolically be used to mean unrightous.
The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. Rev 17:4 Here the woman opposes God’s righteousness.
Her filthiness clung to her skirts (Jerusalem); she did not consider her future. Her fall was astounding; there was none to comfort her. “Look, Lord, on my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed.” Lam 1:9 Jerusalem portrayed as an unfaithful woman.
Writhe in agony, Daughter Zion (Jerusalem), like a woman in labor, for now you must leave the city to camp in the open field. You will go to Babylon; there you will be rescued. There the Lord will redeem you out of the hand of your enemies. Mic 4:10 Israel punished for her unfaithfulness to God.
When the LORD first began speaking to Israel through Hosea, he said to him, “Go and marry a prostitute, so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This will illustrate how Israel has acted like a prostitute by turning against the LORD and worshiping other gods.” Hos 1:2 NLT Israel punished for her unfaithfulness.
How long will you wander, unfaithful Daughter Israel? The Lord will create a new thing on earth—the womanwill return to the man.”Jer 31:22 God’s goal is reconciliation which this parable explains how God will do it.
6 During the reign of King Josiah, the Lord said to me, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there. Jer 3:6
But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you, Israel, have been unfaithful to me,” declares the Lord. Jer 3:20 The woman in the parable represents unfaithful Israel who is controlled by Satan. Jn 8:44
13 Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people… 21 But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”Lk 23:13,21
Hid: Israel killed Jesus and He was buried.
1470 egkrýptō (from 1722 /en, “in” and 2928 /krýptō, “hide, bury”) – properly, to bury (hide) within,
that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. 1 Co 15:3,4
Three
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.” Gen 18:6 Bible translations like the NIV that change the original three Gen 18:6 to 60 pounds in Mt 13:33 make it impossible for the reader to discover the real meaning of the passage. Three represents resurrection.
Jesus was buried for three days but like leaven rose from the dead.
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Mt 12:40
Meal (flour/wheat) represents those who would believe in Jesus. The whole (dough) is all of mankind.
29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Mt 13:29
The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, Mt 13:38
Celebrate the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering at the turn of the year. Ex 34:22
At the Festival of Weeks (Pentecost) harvest two loaves of leavened bread were waved by the priest.
17 From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits to the Lord. Lev 23:17
The inclusion of yeast in this offering is unique to this particular festival and is different from most other offerings in the Old Testament, which typically used unleavened bread to symbolize purity. In the case of the Feast of Weeks, the use of leavened bread symbolized the idea of growth and expansion (in reference to the future harvested crops), as yeast causes bread to rise and expand. It is a reminder of the bountiful harvest and the blessings of God.
So, the two loaves with yeast waved by the priest during the Feast of Weeks had a specific symbolic significance related to the harvest and the message of the festival (spiritual truth of Pentecost was the expansion of the Church through the Word—bread, and two loaves which included both Jews and Gentiles), and it was not used as part of atonement or purification rituals like other offerings in the Old Testament.
Whole was leavened. All of mankind are sinners. But Jesus provided salvation which is received through the Gospel.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Ro 3:23… 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ro 6:23
MEANING: Jesus became sin for our reconciliation. His own people rejected and crucified Him. He was in the grave for three days then rose like leaven to offer eternal life to all who believe and trust in Him.