Leaven
Leaven (or yeast) is old (sour) dough that was used to help new dough to rise.
Leaven During the Festivals
During Passover
At the Festival of Unleavened Bread, leaven was a symbol for a new beginning. At Passover, the unleavened bread was a symbol for the great haste with which the Israelites left Egypt.
Leaven as a Metaphor
Leaven was also used symbolically in the New Testament. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5:6-8
“It is not right for you to be proud! You know the saying, ‘A little bit of yeast makes the whole batch of dough rise.’ You must remove the old yeast of sin so that you will be entirely pure. Then you will be like a new batch of dough without any yeast, as indeed I know you actually are. For our Passover Festival is ready, now that Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us celebrate our Passover, then, not with bread having the old yeast of sin and wickedness, but with the bread that has no yeast, the bread of purity and truth.”
Paul means that our small actions (yeast) can have big consequences.
And Jesus compares the Kingdom of heaven with “a woman who takes some yeast and mixes it with forty litres of flour until the whole batch of dough rises” (Matthew 13:33
Related Bible passages
Matthew 13.33 Luke 13.20 - Luke 13.21 1 Corinthians 5.6 - 1 Corinthians 5.8 Mark 8.15 Mark 14.1 Mark 14.12Read more?
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