Just a quick explanation for today. Most of our reading for today is challenging, but easy to understand. I had a bit of trouble though in understanding the parable of the yeast, so I looked into it a bit more.
This parable is very similar in meaning to the first parable about the mustard seed, telling us about the qualities of the kingdom of heaven. The mustard seed is small, but grows into a great tree. The yeast, however, is slightly different but related.
The woman takes a small bit of yeast and puts it into 3 measures ("seah") of flour. This would be about 50 pounds of flour. Despite this being a very LARGE amount of flour, the yeast still works its way through the entire batch.
So what does this have to do with the kingdom of heaven?
"What starts out as an insignificant movement will cover the whole earth in the end. Jesus tells these parables to call for trust. He is building the kingdom, and people should trust God that it will come, even though the movement starts out looking so insignificant. God’s plan is advancing; his kingdom will come. Nothing will stop its coming in fullness." [1]