Submitted by Pastor Brad Dush, Fairfax Methodist Church

Another parable that Jesus told, found in Matthew 13:33 and Luke 13:20-21, is the story of the Leaven. If you have not read it recently, I encourage you to pause and read the passage before continuing. (FYI: In the ancient world, leaven, or yeast, was worked into a large amount of dough, where a small portion would quietly spread until it affected the entire batch.)

Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all the dough had risen” (Matthew 13:33 NET). At first glance, the image seems simple, even ordinary. A woman baking bread. Dough rising. Nothing dramatic.

Nothing immediate. Yet within that ordinary process, something powerful is taking place. The key to the parable is not the size of the leaven, but its influence. A very small amount of yeast is enough to transform an entire batch of dough. Once it is worked in, it cannot be separated out again. It begins to spread quietly, steadily, and completely, until every part of the dough is changed. (FYI: Three measures of flour would have been a large amount, enough to feed many people. Jesus is emphasizing the contrast between the small beginning and the expansive result.)

This would have been a surprising image for Jesus’ listeners. In many parts of Scripture, leaven is used as a symbol of sin or corruption, something to be removed. But here, Jesus uses it in a positive way. The Kingdom of God is not only something that comes from above; it is something that works from within. The Kingdom does not always arrive with visible force or immediate recognition. Often, it begins quietly. A word spoken. A life changed. A heart softened. A simple act of obedience. Like leaven in the dough, the work of God begins in small and hidden ways, but it does not stay small. It spreads. It moves through a life, then through a family, then through a community. What begins unseen becomes unmistakable. What begins within begins to shape everything around it.

When we hear this parable today, it reminds us that God is at work even when we cannot immediately see it. The transformation of a life, or a Church, or even a community, often begins beneath the surface. It may feel slow. It may feel hidden. But the Kingdom is active, and it is powerful. This parable also invites us to consider our place in that work. When Christ takes hold of our lives, He does not remain on the surface. He works His way into every part of who we are. Our thoughts, our words, our actions, our relationships, all of it begins to change. The question is not whether the leaven works. The question is whether we allow it to. The Kingdom of God is not only something we look for one day. It is already at work, quietly transforming everything it touches.