Matthew 13:33 WEB He spoke another parable to them. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, until it was all leavened.”

As of my writing this it is currently the Feast of Unleavened Bread. During the first day of UB, we are to get all the leaven (yeast) out of our houses. We are to not eat leavened bread the whole week, but unleavened bread. In the NT, there are several instances where leaven is used as a metaphor for something to be avoided. This is where many take it to mean sin.

However, much like I am pointing out in the comic, would Yeshua equate the Kingdom of Heaven to sin? I would think not. However, if we look at the instances where leaven is used, we can come to a different conclusion:

Matthew 13:33 - as pointed out above, can't mean sin
Luke 12:1 (which gives more detail than the Matt. & Mark accounts) - the leaven of the Pharisees is hypocrisy.
Galatians 5 - Paul is talking about following the traditions of the Pharisees over following Christ, then states a little leaven leavens the whole lump.

Pulling these passages together and looking at their context, leaven is doctrine, not sin.

The doctrine of Heaven is one that is supposed to go out and get everywhere until the whole world is leavened.
We are supposed to beware the doctrine of the Pharisees as they teach but do not do (Matthew 23:1-3).
The doctrine of the Pharisees is hindering the people that follow it and does not give freedom.

There are two groupings of Feast Days with Shavuot (Pentacost) in between. The first grouping which includes Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits, focus on removing the leaven, in the view I am pointing out: doctrine. Removing the teachings that we have gotten from other places. Testing everything against what the Word says and standing by it alone. Resetting what we believe with what the Bible says.

The other group is Day of Shouting, Day of Atonement and Feast of Tabernacles. These focus on removing sin. Deep examinations of yourself to get out what you may have let slip in.

I see these two groupings as self reflection in two different ways. Both are focuses that need to happen. I see a lot of people that focus on the latter, but not a lot focusing on the former. They take on teachings/doctrine from all over and hold onto them as their own. I am not knocking listening to teachers. We all have something we can teach and we all have something we can learn, but we do need to take time to evaluate what we are buying into.

https://thestraightandnarrow.cfw.me/comics/777

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