Matthew 13:33 - What is the parable saying?

[PastorSBC1303]

Thanks for the warning but I had thought to explain the whole 11 parables until I looked at what her question was about. I believe the interpretation stands and will gladly post it if you don't have a short attention span (as many here do :laugh

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."

Tater ---- It's a PARABLE for heaven's sake! What? You're gonna interpret it literally?

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.

 

[tinytim]

It oughtn't be ---- else how can we say that any symbol represents anything??

Many hold to this, Tim. But consider HankD's post again. Find us where scripture uses "leaven" in your way and we can talk about real instances rather than theory.

It would be wrong if it was describing heaven. It is not wrong if it is describing the kingdom here below. Be honest, Tim. There is sin down here.

Make a survey of the other KoH parables in Matthew. You'll see.

skypair

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!

 

[Jerome]

Mt 13:33 is the 6th parable in a sequence that describe the "kingdom of heaven" which is this earth from creation to Christ's return. Mt 13:33 regards the tribulation when the "woman" (AC false religion, the harlot of Rev 17 and Rev 2:22, etal.) mixes in her false doctrine (3 measures account for false religion, false polity, false economy) into the "meal" (barley and flour mixed represent Gentiles and Jews) and it pollutes the whole world! It is really interesting to see the development of these parables but I sense that is not the issue, right?

If you have any other questions, please ask.

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

 

[npetreley]

If you have any other questions, please ask.

skypair

Who is going to win the world series this year?

 

[annsni]

In a quick word-study of "leaven", I did find some verses where God called for LEAVENed bread to be used as an offering.

Lev. 7:13 - Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings.

Lev. 23:17 - Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals; they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.

Amos 4:5 - And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.

So obviously, not all leaven is sinful - or representative of sin.

 

[npetreley]

In a quick word-study of "leaven", I did find some verses where God called for LEAVENed bread to be used as an offering.

Lev. 7:13 - Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings.

Lev. 23:17 - Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals; they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.

Amos 4:5 - And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.

So obviously, not all leaven is sinful - or representative of sin.

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.

 

[Hope of Glory]

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.

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.

 

[HankD]

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

 

[npetreley]

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.

 

[tinytim]

In a quick word-study of "leaven", I did find some verses where God called for LEAVENed bread to be used as an offering.

Lev. 7:13 - Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings.

Lev. 23:17 - Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals; they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.

Amos 4:5 - And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.

So obviously, not all leaven is sinful - or representative of sin.

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?

 

[npetreley]

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.

 

[annsni]

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?

Tim- When I posted the verses, I was running out and made the mistake of not reading the context of the verses - so I agree with you on the Amos verses.

I honestly don't see the leaven in this parable as being bad - I think that needs a lot of reading into it to get that and I just don't see it as being a right interpretation and the fact that all of the commentaries that I read also don't see that makes me think I'm on the right track.

Eh - just gives me one more reason to dislike the Pearls and counsel against the book.

 

[npetreley]

I honestly don't see the leaven in this parable as being bad

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!"

 

[annsni]

Well, I guess that's why context is so important. In the parables there, there are the wheat and tares - the tares will burn up at the end - thus showing what is true or not. Then there is the mustard seed - something small that grows into the biggest. Then the very next parable is leaven growing from something small and growing through the whole dough - causing the dough to grow. In that context, I don't see how you can come up with something evil.

 

[Jerome]

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

Isn't it obvious...the birds.

 

[J. Jump]

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

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.

 

[npetreley]

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.

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

 

[HankD]

Isn't it obvious...the birds.

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

 

[annsni]

Actually, there is a misunderstanding. This is not talking of the herb mustard but of the mustard tree that can grow to 10 feet. The Greek word is sinapi meaning "mustard, the name of a plant which in oriental countries grows from a very small seed and attains to the height of a tree, 10 feet (3 m) and more; hence a very small quantity of a thing is likened to a mustard seed, and also a thing which grows to a remarkable size"

 

[npetreley]

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.