Matthew 13:33

| Matt 13 |

33 He told them another parable. b “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in c three measures of flour, till it was d all leavened.”

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Matt. 13:1–53 Mysteries of the Messianic Kingdom Revealed in Parables. This is the third of Jesus' five major discourses (see Introduction: Key Themes; Literary Features), called the Parabolic Discourse because of its collection of parables.

Matt. 13:24–35 Further Parables Told to the Crowds. Jesus presents the parables of the wheat and the weeds (vv. 24–30), the mustard seed (vv. 31–32), and the leaven (v. 33).

Matt. 13:33 Jesus uses the metaphor of leaven, which usually has a negative connotation in Scripture (cf. 16:6; 1 Cor. 5:6–7), to symbolize the positive, hidden permeation of the kingdom of heaven in this world. The kingdom is indeed active though not fully visible to the world, because it begins with an inner transformation of the heart. Three measures was probably about 50 pounds (39 liters) and would have produced enough bread to feed a hundred people.