Have you ever actually watched a loaf of bread rise?  After you mix the leaven in warm water, it looks rather cloudy and unappealing.  Adding it to a bowl of sifted flour only seems to make matters worse.  The result is a gooey, stretchy mess.  But the yeast bonds to the gluten of the wheat while it is being kneaded, and after the malleable ball of dough has been left sitting for one to three hours, it's almost doubled in size!  I am sure there's a wonderful scientific explanation for this, but I don't know it!  What fascinates me, is how quickly the bread rises, and how much the yeast causes the dough to expand.  You can find an abundance of time-lapse videos on Youtube which speed up the process and so you can see bread rise in seconds- check one out some time!

            In Matthew 13, after Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a mustard seed, He uses another unlikely example to picture God's kingdom- a lump of yeast!  It is a picture from everyday life, but this time, it has a twist.  Scripture almost always uses yeast as a negative image to illustrate sin, particularly pride (Mt. 16:6, 11; Mk. 8:15; Lk. 12:1; 1 Cor. 5:6-8; Gal. 5:9).  But in this case, Jesus uses yeast to symbolize the way the Gospel would expand and affect an unsuspecting world.  This time yeast is seen as a positive influence.

            So, what does the yeast in Jesus' parable do?  When it is placed in the dough, it changes the dough (Mt. 13:33; Lk. 13:21).  Like the yeast which is placed into a ball of dough, the Gospel has been placed into the world.  It has been deliberately placed there by God.  The Gospel, or Kingdom, works like yeast in two ways:  1) it changes individuals until their whole being has been transformed.  2) It changes society as a whole.  When it affects individuals, they in turn affect the culture in which they live.  What is interesting to note here is that a minute amount of yeast is placed in a rather large amount of dough.  A “sata” equaled about 48 pounds of flour- that’s almost 50 bags of the 1 lb. bags you buy at the supermarket.  One little lump makes a BIG difference!

            Yeast changes and transforms bread.  Bread made from water and wheat alone, is hard, dry, and not too nourishing; but yeast, mixed into the dough, changes and transforms it.  Yeast does at least four things:  1) it makes bread soft and no longer hard.  The Gospel does the same.  It penetrates hearts and softens the hardness of life.  As a result, we become softened toward God too.  We become a more caring and giving person.  Softness is one of the trademarks of a transformed person.  2) Yeast makes bread porous. moist, and no longer dry.  The Gospel does the same.  It penetrates the dryness of a person's heart and life.  The Gospel moistens our hearts so that we can grow into a moist or fruitful person.  3)  Yeast makes bread satisfying.  The Gospel changes a life with no purpose or meaning and gives a person purpose, joy and hope.  4)  Yeast makes bread nourishing.  The Gospel not only gives purpose, but it inspires, commissions, and cultivates.  A person transformed by the Gospel is able to bring truth to the world.  The Gospel is able to explain the reasons for the emptiness and loneliness of the human heart and to replace them with love and fellowship.

            It should be noted that yeast works quietly and silently.  You don't hear it fizzing or crackling like Rice Krispies.  But you know it's working because you can see the difference in the dough.  This says something about the way we should be living as transformed people in this world.  As part of the "yeast of the Kingdom" we are to be making an impact in the world that we live in.  Yeast changes the whole lump.  It permeates every pore of the dough's being.  And so, we should also be doing the same thing as Kingdom people.  As "yeast" in this world, we should be impacting every pore of society.  As a disciple of the King of Kings, how will you be an effective lump of yeast this week?  How will you expand the kingdom?  Jesus is challenging you to make a difference.

Ann LeFevre, M. Div.
https://www.annhlefevre.com/, https://www.linked.com/in/annhlefevre/, https://www.facebook.com/ann.h.lefevre/                                                                         

            I called him “Gampy”, but my cousins called him “Meepy”.  He was an avid golfer, smoked a pipe, played Dixie banjo, ran a fuel oil business and loved his family.  He was also a wonderful story-teller.  He died when I was young so I do not remember the stories he told me, but I do remember walking with him while he smoked his pipe and shared them with me.  It’s a vague memory, but a treasured one.  When Jeff and I became grandparents, Jeff decided to be “Gampy the 2nd” since by that time Gampy’s banjo had been passed on to us.  And Gampy #2 has carried on the tradition of telling stories to his grandchildren, something they consistently look forward to and insist on happening whenever we visit.  These verbal adventures usually last several days with “chapters” that culminate with a climax and “the end” when the story is done.  It is a family legacy I absolutely love!

            Jesus was a consummate story-teller, but unlike the stories of Gampy and Jeff, Jesus’ stories were illustrations of important lessons He was passing on to His disciples.  Mt. 13:3 notes that Jesus “spoke in parables” when He was teaching.  A parable is a saying, proverb, story, simile, or metaphor intended to communicate truth by comparison.  Parables can be found in the OT (see Hos. 12:10), but most people are more familiar with the parables that Jesus told to describe God's kingdom.  Matthew 13 is a treasure-trove of some of Jesus’ well-known parables.  Each parable explains certain aspects of the Kingdom of God- how it grows, what it looks like, the way the Lord nurtures and protects the harvest, and its value.  While Matthew’s version of the Parable of the Mustard Seed takes place by the Sea of Galilee (Mt. 13:31-32), a parallel passage in Luke (Lk. 13:10, 18-19) takes place in a synagogue. The fact that the setting is different in each account demonstrates that this lesson was important enough for Jesus to teach it on several occasions.  In each scenario we can imagine one question being asked of the Storyteller.  “What is the Kingdom of God like?”

            Jesus answers this question with an unusual illustration.  The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed.  A mustard seed?  That tiny little thing?  The foot note in the NIV Archaeological Study Bible reads:  The mustard seed is not the smallest seed known today, but it was the smallest used by farmers and gardeners in the Holy Land at that time.  Under favorable conditions the mature plant could reach about ten feet in height.  Using the mustard seed as a metaphor for the kingdom no doubt shocked Jesus’ audience, who expected God’s kingdom to be great and expansive right from the start.  When you read this parable then, take note of the characteristics of the "mustard seed" of the kingdom.  For example, it is planted by God and although it begins as something quite small, it grows to be great.

            There are several facts that show just how small the beginning of the kingdom was.  1) It began with a single person, the Lord Jesus Christ.  2) Jesus had no advertising campaign, media connections, or marketing strategies.  Yet people somehow heard about Him and followed Him wherever He went to hear His message.  3) Jesus entrusted His mission to 12 men who deserted Him in His hour of need.  But when they finally understood all that He had taught them, they preached the Gospel wherever they went and people embraced it.  Somehow, in spite its most unlikely leaders, the family of faith grew.  4) After its humble beginnings, the church managed to survive in spite of in-fighting, misappropriation of resources, persecution, and the unexpected influx of Gentile believers.  And that's only the book of Acts!

            But the story doesn't stop there (thank goodness!).  The kingdom continued to grow until it included you and me.  Because it was planted by God, it has survived and thrived in spite of all obstacles.  So, let this parable encourage you this week to do as the disciples did.  Share the Gospel with someone and expand the kingdom!!

Ann H. LeFevre, M. Div.
https://www.annhlefevre.com/, https://www.linked.com/in/annhlefevre/, https://www.facebook.com/ann.h.lefevre/

            Josef ben Eliezer, Elias ben Nahum and Gaddai the Nazarite stood together in the synagogue, looking about with an air of superiority over the small congregation.  The three Pharisees were proud of their heritage and even prouder of their piety, especially concerning the Sabbath.  Today’s Sabbath was marred by the recent activities of a fairly new rabbi, one Yeshua of Nazareth (of all places!) who’d relocated to Capernaum and was now getting the attention of the people with His teachings which they’d heard were contrary to the traditions set forth by their very forefathers!  In fact, this Yeshua had confronted several of their colleagues over plucking some barley and eating it on a recent Sabbath.  Gaddai said Yeshua had shut down complaints about His disciples by citing some of King David’s activities and the duties of the priests.  How could you argue with the Scriptures such as those?  However, the legalistic trio had come up with a better plan- catch this Sabbath-breaker by “putting Him to work”- the perfect Scriptural trap!  They shuffled poor Demas to the front of the synagogue, his shriveled hand exposed for the rabbi to see.  Ready for attack, they posed the slyly composed question, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”, convinced Yeshua would be forced to answer, “No,” since this man was obviously not in a life-threatening situation.  Pharisees and congregants alike were not prepared for what happened next, but none of them ever saw the need of a man or the need of a pit-bound sheep the same way from that day forward (Mt. 12:9-14).

            It is hard for us to understand just how important the oral law was to the Pharisees but understanding how entwined it was with their history helps.  Their particular sect began at the time of Ezra and is attributed to those who not only copied the Law but attempted to keep the proper understanding of it in place as well.  They did so in the same way a history teacher attempts to pass on information to his students so that they not only know what happened on July 4, 1776, for example, but they understand what significance it has today and how to uphold it.  The teacher may say, “If you truly want your government to remain one that is “for the people”, you have to know what the different candidates stand for and vote for the one who you think best upholds the Constitution.”  However, over time, the Pharisees mistakenly came to believe that their interpretation of the Torah was the ONLY interpretation of the Torah, and they developed their own list of definitions and practice so that the masses would know the proper way to live for and worship Yahweh.  The historian Josephus noted, “The Pharisees have imposed upon the people many laws taken from the tradition of the fathers, which are not written in the Law of Moses.” 

          And it was on that point that they came in conflict with Jesus and the Sabbath.  In Matthew 12:1-14, the Pharisees confront Jesus on two issues concerning the Sabbath.  The first was in regard to Jesus’ disciples and some grain they picked and ate while passing through a field.  The Pharisees had determined that plucking grain, rolling it through the fingers to release the kernel and eating it was a form of reaping which was considered work, although Dt. 23:25 only mentions not taking a sickle to your neighbor’s grain with no mention of the day.  Jesus responds to His accusers with 2 examples of Scripture where the Law is “broken” but Scripture is silent on judging those who broke it- David who ate consecrated bread (1 Sam. 21:1-6) and the priests conducting sacrifices in the Temple (Ex. 25:30; Lev. 24:5-9).  “If the Lord is silent on these issues, then why are you judging my disciples?” Jesus asks.  He finishes His response by identifying Himself as the Lord of the Sabbath and as such His interpretation of what one can or cannot do on the Sabbath is superior to theirs. 
 
         The second attempt to discredit Jesus involves healing on the Sabbath.  This time Jesus does not quote Scripture but argues from the very oral tradition His accusers say He is breaking.  In a beautifully Pharisaic tradition Jesus points out that if their oral tradition allowed a person to help a sheep who’d fallen into a pit out of that pit on the Sabbath, how much more merciful is it to help a man on the Sabbath.  Matthew has deftly joined the two confrontations together with the precept presented in v. 7 which is actually is a quote of Hos. 6:6.  Mercy is the underlying girder that builds the house of faith.  It should be the determining factor not only of what we do on the Sabbath but every day of the week.

          How often do we judge others in a Pharisaic way?  In one way or another we all have a tendency to tilt toward legalism- or at least our own form of it.  That does not mean we should condone or allow blatant sin if the Bible clearly states that what another is doing is wrong.  But criticism, self-righteousness, or ostracizing someone until they “get their act together” is not in line with Jesus’ teaching and it’s best we remember the old adage, “There but for the grace of God, go I” before we set out to set them straight (Gal. 6:1-2).

Ann H. LeFevre, M. Div.
https://www.annhlefevre.com/, https://www.linked.com/in/annhlefevre/, https://www.facebook.com/ann.h.lefevre/

            The early days of television were filled with gameshows, a genre that has now endured several decades of popularity and continues to amuse and entertain viewers to this day.  One of the most popular game shows, What’s My Line? involved a panel who would attempt to figure out what occupation a contestant held by asking questions.  After a contestant “signed in”, their occupation was revealed to the studio audience, but not the panelists.  Questioning would ensue, but only “yes” or “no” answers were allowed.  As long as a panelist received the answer “yes” they could continue to question the contestant.  But if the answer was “no”, a cash tally was kept in favor of the contestant and questioning would move on to the next panelist.  If the panel was unable to properly guess the contestant’s line of work, the answer was revealed to the delight of the audience.  The first contestant was a hat check girl at the famous Stork Club, and the most amusing “job” was a man who made bread-boxes. 

            In Matthew 11 an interesting question is posed of Jesus concerning His “job”.  It surprises us because the source is none other than John the Baptist, the man who once proclaimed Jesus was the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world (Jn. 1:29).  Life has changed dramatically for the prophet thanks to Herod Antipas.  Herod Antipas was one of 7 sons born to Herod the Great.  Governing the areas of Galilee and Perea, Herod came under the scrutiny of John due to his illegal marriage with his sister-in-law, Herodias.  But as John Barclay noted, “It’s never safe to rebuke an eastern despot.”  Herod Antipas had a fortress in Perea that served well as a place for those who opposed him.  And while he may have been fine with letting John languish there until he died, his wife Herodias was not.  She coerced her daughter Salome to perform a seductive birthday dance which caused Herod Antipas to make a foolish offer to grant any request Salome made.  Herodias manipulates the request to involve the execution of John and the prophet comes to a horrible end (Mt. 14:1-12).

            For a prophet who was used to living in the wide-open spaces of the Judean wilderness In Perea, chained to a wall within an imposing fortress must have been traumatic.  Prisoners were not cared for as they are in modern prison systems.  Food, clothing and basic needs were all provided by family or friends.  It appears that some of John’s disciples are caring for him and in Mt. 11 we find that John has sent some of them to Jesus to ask a question.  “Are You the Coming One (a Messianic title), or should we expect someone else?”  Months in prison, reflection on the message of coming judgment John proclaimed during his ministry by the Jordan River and its apparent unfulfillment, as well as no hope for release have played on John’s mind.  Was he wrong about Jesus after all?  Inquiring minds needed to know.

            Surprisingly Jesus does not answer John with a direct “yes” or “no” reply.  Matthew notes in his wording that Jesus carefully discerns the thought and circumstances behind the question and replies (apokrinomai) with a combination of quotes from the prophet Isaiah.  Jesus does not confirm His messiahship by an authoritative confirmation but instead checks off a list of activities the Messiah would do:  He will make the blind see (Is. 29:18; 35:5), make the lame walk (Is. 35:6; 61:1), cleanse lepers (Is. 61:1), make the deaf hear (Is. 29:18; 35:5), raise the dead (implied in Is. 11:1-2), and bring Good News to the poor (Is. 61:1-2).  Jesus has been doing all of these throughout the Galilean region and His response to John is a gentle reminder that the Messiah’s first advent has a different nature than His second.   This news is what John’s disciples should bring back to him.  Jesus finishes His response by encouraging John to “not take offense”, or in some version, “stumble” because Jesus’ ministry does not match up with John’s expectations.

            How often do we get a notion of Who Jesus should be or what He should be doing in our lives and expect Him to be exactly like that?  He should bring someone into our lives so that we are not alone.  He should provide us with the perfect job so that we will never lack security.  He should fix a mess we’ve made, heal an infirmity, or restore something we feel is broken.  We become disappointed, discouraged and even angry when He doesn’t do what we expect Him to.  Are we any different from John the Baptist?  We are not.  But like John, Jesus always gives us the ability to correct our thinking.  Through His Word we can see how He came to us (Jn. 1:14) and what He accomplished through His sacrificial death (Jn. 3:16-17).  Jesus gently challenged John to review his thinking and expectations.  When we have an incorrect view of Jesus, He asks us to redirect our thinking as well (Jn. 12:27. 32; 1 Tim. 1:15).  What are you expecting  from Jesus?  Is it correct?

Ann H. LeFevre, M. Div.
https://www.annhlefevre.com/, https://www.linked.com/in/annhlefevre/, https://www.facebook.com/ann.h.lefevre/