Matthew 13:33 - What is the parable saying?

Feel free to post whatever you like. However, an allegorical approach to parables is very dangerous and leads to people finding all kinds of things in parables that are not even close to what Jesus was saying.

I believe it is quite arrogant to come to a text and say "I have an interpretation that no one else has ever heard, but don't you worry its right."

Um, just a thought, but I am guessing she knows it is a parable. :thumbs:

It is always best to start with literal. As has been stated already, noramally parables have one overarching idea that Jesus is teaching. To jump into allegorizing everyting in parables opens up a pandora's box of trouble and eventually heresy.

 

Ok,
a Parable is a teaching using the literal to describe the spiritual...not the other way around.
Leaven is yeast... it expands... When you put leaven(yeast) in bread you expand it.
Your definition of the KoH is apparently different than mine.
Only the saved are part of the kingdom. That is the way you get in.
This may be the underlying problem.
It takes at the very least 2 things to have a kingdom.... a king, and his subjects...
Christ is our King.
The saved are his subjects.
There is no sin within the righteous... not because of what we do or don't do, but because of Christ's sinlessness that was imputed to us. When God looks at us, he sees only Christ's righteousness.


Christ is comparing His spiritual kingdom to something that expands...
(Notice the parable right before this one... something small... a mustard seed expands into something big... a tree.)
Look at history... it has expanded. It is expanding...
It will encompass the whole globe by the time Christ rules from His earthly throne in the end. And it all started with a small handful....

Just like a little bit of yeast will raise that precious bread we all love!
BTW, now I am craving some homemade rolls...
better go call my mom!

 

What does AC mean?
Is it three measures of false doctrine or three measures of Gentiles and Jews?
Where is barley in the verse?

 

Who is going to win the world series this year?

 

I don't get the symbolism of all the offerings, so I can't comment on Lev. But the Amos quote is in kind of a negative context, don't you think? I'm not saying you're wrong, just wondering if there's more to this than meets the eye.

 

Don't forget that some of the saved will also be kings, some over 10 cities, some over 5, some over 0. For him to be king of kings and Lord of lords, there have to be kings and lords, and contrary to what some teach, we're not all gonna rule and reign in the coming Kingdom.

 

Check the Matthew 13 parables again brethren.

The general gist is the influences which will have an effect upon the "kingdom of heaven".

Two of the parables are completely explained (the 4 soils and the "wheat and the tares") by Jesus as having satan (The evil one) as the cause and evil infiltrator of the kingdom of heaven on earth.

This Chapter closes with Jesus sending angels to "take care of business" and purge these influences and their effects upon the kingdom heaven just before His return.

IMO, This gives us cause at least to consider the "leaven" of verse 33 to be a symbol of some sort of evil influence secretly introduced into the Church(es).

HankD

 

I agree. The surrounding parables and explanations seem to support that possibility, IMO.

 

Annsi, obviously I agree with your interpretation of the parable, but I think in Amos, God was being sarcastic toward Israel... sorta like,

"Why don't you just offer up something with sin in it, that is what your actions are saying anyway"

For others, where is the evil element in the parable of the mustard seed, right before this one?

 

Yeah, I noticed that. But there are other parables that show the evil element. It's hard to say with any certainty what some of these mean. They make sense to me on a gut level, but if you try to get specific with them you run into a lot of trouble. For example, think of the one about the field and the one about the pearl. They make sense on a gut level, but if you get too specific, they imply you can buy your way into the kingdom of heaven.

 

I'm not going to say you're wrong, because I really don't know. But I look at all the false teaching in the church, watch people lapping it up, and I can't help but think the leaven represents evil.

Flip on the TV and turn to any of the religous channels and you might change your mind, too. "Vow to send me $1,000 and you'll be blessed with prosperity!"

 

Isn't it obvious...the birds.

 

The mustard seed was supposed to grow up into the mustard herb/plant which is what it is supposed to be, but instead it grew into something that it wasn't supposed to and that is a tree. And as Jermone has pointed out it allowed the birds to settle in.

The whole point is that the teaching on the kingdom of the heavens (that's what is actually being talked about if the verses in Matthew and John 3 according to one of the earliest transcripts - it's not kingdom of heaven, but the kingdom of the heavens) will be distorted as time goes by and that is certainly the case today.

 

Thanks for clearing that up! I looked it up and, sure enough, mustard seeds grow into relatively small plants (herbs), not trees. I didn't know that until now and always assumed it grew into a tree, as the parable said.

Here are some images:

http://images.google.com/images?q=mustard+plant

 

Yes, anyone who has fruit trees, like the famous cherries of Washington State knows how birds can devastate a tree of its fruit in a few days.

Again consider all of professing Christendom (including Catholic, Orthodox and mainstream Protestantism) and its millions of members and what it has grown up into.

Then consider the error, deadness and unbelief of much/most of professing Christendom and their priests and teachers (the “birds”) of a gospel of works.

HankD

 

http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Bras_nig.html

Etymology

The German Senf is a loan from Latin sinapi, as well as the Old English senep (preparation of mustard paste was introduced to central and Northern Europe by the Romans). The Latin term is probably from Greek (sinapi [σίναπι], also napy [νᾶπυ]), but its ultimate origin is not known; probably, it is Egypt. Some relatives in other European tongues include Italian senape, Swedish senap and Yiddish zeneft [זענעפֿט].

Sinapi is also the word used in the New Testament for “mustard”; it appears in the famous Parable of the Mustard Seed found in all synoptic gospels. Yet, Matthew and Luke compare mustard with a bird-housing tree (dendron [δένδρον]) which is hardly tenable, as mustard is an annual herb whose tender branches cannot support birds. Mark gets the facts better when he calles the mustard plant “the largest of all garden plants” (lachanon [λάχανον]) and places the birds in the shadow of the branches on the ground below the plant. See also pomegranate about plants in the Bible.