Explanation needed, Matthew 13:31-35

[anneramones]

Can someone please explain me the parables of the mustard seed and the yeast?

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’
He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened. All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only in parables,to fulfill what had been said through the prophet:
“I will open my mouth in parables,
I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world.”

Does the man who plants the mustard seed symbolise God? And who is the woman in the second parable?
Also: Jesus spoke to people in parables so that everyone interested could understand but … sometimes parables aren’t so easy to understand. For example I’m having troubles with these two. What about the people who heard them form Jesus and didn’t catch the meaning? It looks like it doesn’t make sense to speak to people in parables since not always people comprehend them

 

[Vico]

The mustard is the least and the leaven is the greatest. The Kingdom of Heaven is both like a mustard seed and like leaven. The Gospel will be spread abroad and the world converted.

Saint John Chrysostom, Homily 46 says:
https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/200146.htm

2. Another parable put He forth unto them, saying, The Kingdom of Heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed.

That is, since He had said, that of the crop three parts are lost, and but one saved, and in the very part again which is saved so great damage ensues; lest they should say, And who, and how many will be the faithful? this fear again He removes, by the parable of the mustard seed leading them on to belief, and signifying that in any case the gospel shall be spread abroad.

Therefore He brought forward the similitude of this herb, which has a very strong resemblance to the subject in hand; Which indeed is the least, He says, of all seeds, but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

Thus He meant to set forth the most decisive sign of its greatness. Even so then shall it be with respect to the gospel too, says He. Yea, for His disciples were weakest of all, and least of all; but nevertheless, because of the great power that was in them, It has been unfolded in every part of the world.

After this He adds the leaven to this similitude, saying,

The Kingdom of Heaven is like leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, until the whole was leavened.

For as this converts the large quantity of meal into its own quality, even so shall you convert the whole world.

 

[bob4]

A New Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture notes:
“There is (Dodd p. 190) perhaps also an allegorical reference to Ezek 17:22-23, where a tree in which all kinds of birds come and dwell is a figure of the Kingdom of the last times. In this allegorical sense the birds symbolize the people of all nations. (In Ezek they dwell in its shadow; but the tree is a cedar, and this would be less apt of a mustard plant). A tree sheltering birds is used of a kingdom and its subjects also in Ezek 31:6; Dn 4:11.” Section 724k

 

[John_Martin]

Can someone please explain me the parables of the mustard seed and the yeast?

This is how a person becomes Catholic.
Jesus only speaks in parables to those who are not part of the Kingdom established by God from Heaven when he sent Jesus in person as its King; this Kingdom, this People, has a special reason in the world compared to those people who are citizens of the world. We are the salt and light, not them, so we need to understand.

And in becoming a Catholic, a person is told in person by the apostolic teaching, via bishops, priests, other Catholics, told in person what the parables mean. A person who is not of the Faith will not understand the teaching, neither in the Bible, nor in person, because they are not believing the person sent to them apostolically.

No one in the crowds caught the meaning, they were not intended to understand, but only the disciples were intended to understand, only the Catholics, those in the Church founded on the Rock, on the Peter.
Parables are not used so anyone “interested could understand”. The parables were used so an interested person would have to find Jesus somewhere, as in his Apostles, and ask for an “in person” explanation. It is for believing via a Person and In Person, rather than for believing because I work hard at figuring out the bible words. Faith is about trusting the person telling you what God is saying rather than faith in some specific “correct understanding.” The understanding is correct because the Person telling me is sent from Jesus to tell me Jesus’ meaning; the understanding can never be trusted from my own reasoning about all the possible interpretations.

@Vico and @bob4 are both Catholic, and by their Baptisms and Confirmations, have both vowed to teach you what they have received from Jesus, since you too are Catholic, @anneramones, and you are thus one who Jesus intends to speak too plainly and explain, rather than only giving you a parable.

Yes, the planter of the Kingdom established by Heaven is God, planting his “tree” seed in the world, to which you were joined in your baptism now after it has been growing a long time. You are now part of the large tree or bush that can be used by non-Catholics to find a place of refuge in the world.
And the woman is also God, putting leaven (yeast) in the flour. The yeast rises, within the flour, making it a desirable batch of bread; you / we Catholics are in the world to make it a desirable thing; we are not the flour, but we are in with the flour. We have died with Christ, buried with him by baptism into death, so we are something different in the world than the people who have not died with Christ. We are like the 10 people God was looking for in Sodom and Gomorrah, but could not find; we are here as salt for the earth, where the salt of 10 people could not be found at Sodom and Gomorrah, even though Abraham asked God to be that merciful.

 

[Lunam_Meam]

Regarding Matt. 13:31-32, love is the seed of the plant that sprouts in you and grows up as far as Heaven, and in its shade all the other virtues sprout. Jesus compared it to the tiny mustard seed. How small it is! It is one of the smallest seeds that man sows, but look how big and leafy it becomes when it has grown up, and how much fruit it bears. Not one hundred percent, but one hundred to one. The smallest, but the most diligent in working. How much profit it gives you.

Love is the same. If you enclose in your hearts a tiny seed of love for your Most Holy God and for your neighbor, and if you accomplish your deeds guided by love, you will not fail in any of the precepts of the Decalogue. You will not lie to God by means of a false religion of practices, but not of the spirit. You will not lie to your neighbor, behaving as ungrateful children, as adulterers, as too exacting husbands and wives, as thieves in business, as liars in life, as violent avengers towards your enemies. Look how many birds have taken shelter in this warm hour of the day, among the branches of the trees in the garden. Before long, that mustard plant, which now is still very small, will be a real perch for birds. All the birds will come to the safe shade of those thick and comfortable trees, and their little ones will learn to fly safely among those branches which are like steps and a net, which they can climb without falling. Such is love, the foundation of the Kingdom of God.

Love and you will be loved. Love and you will bear with one another. Love and you will not be cruel in wanting more than what is lawful from those who are under you. Love and sincerity to obtain the peace and glory of Heaven. Otherwise, every action of yours accomplished lying to love and to truth will turn into straw for your beds in Hell. Always bear in mind the great precept of love and be faithful to God the Truth, to the truth in every word, deed, and sentiment, because the truth is the daughter of God. Let the work of bringing yourselves to perfection be continuous, as the seed continuously grows until it is perfect. A silent, humble, patient work. You may rest assured that God sees your struggles and He will grant you a greater reward for overcoming your selfishness, for holding back a rude word, for satisfying a necessity without being ordered to do so, than if, fighting in a battle, you killed the enemy. The Kingdom of Heaven, which you will possess if you live as just people, is built with the little things of every day. With goodness, moderation, patience, with being satisfied with what one has, bearing with one another, and with love, love, love. Be good. Live in peace, one with the other. Do not grumble. Do not judge. God will then be with you.

(1 of 2)

 

[White_Tree]

Jesus spoke to people in parables so that everyone interested could understand

Jesus actually spoke in parables for exactly the opposite reason:

And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. – Matthew 13:10-17

(Continued two posts below)

 

[jack63]

FYI…Psalms 78:2-3

I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known that our ancestors have told us.

Cool…huh!?

On the most practical level I always thought Jesus wanted to make sure his words were written and stay written throughout the generations. That’s not going to happen if people actually understand what he is saying. He is asking for too much of a change in society.

 

[White_Tree]

As for the parables themselves, both are about transformation.

A seed contains unmanifested archetypes (which today we would describe as DNA) that need to germinate in order to take form. In this process of germination and growth, the seed is destroyed, but the potential of the seed is realized, in the form of the tree.

This is the same message given in the Book of John and the First Letter to the Corinthians:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. – John 12:24

Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. – 1 Cor 15:36-38

But the seed is not changed into the tree for its own enjoyment. If God effects this transformation in us, it is to make us of greater service to others, as the end of the parable states:

And becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. – Matthew 13:32

The parable of the leaven is likewise about transformation. Leaven, such as yeast, instigates a process of fermentation in the meal. The yeast consumes elements of the meal (e.g. glucose), and converts it into other elements (such as ethanol and carbon dioxide) that causes the bread to rise.

This process fundamentally alters the composition of the meal. Its previous elements are destroyed and converted into something new (just as the seed is destroyed to create the tree).

The three measures of meal represent the three centers of the human being: mind, heart, and sex. In our current state, we are afflicted by evil thoughts (mind), evil emotions (heart), and evil impulses (sex). The leaven transforms those centers, destroying their existing form, and giving rise to a new form in the service of God. As Paul writes,

It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. – 1 Cor 15:43-44

However, those centers can also be transformed negatively, fortifying desire and sin, and precipitating us into the abyss. Thus Jesus said,

Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees…

Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. – Matthew 16:6,12

As it is explained in that passage, the leaven is the doctrine. The doctrine of Christ, properly applied, can transform us into the children of God (cf. John 1:12). But the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees can transform us into the children of the devil (cf. 1 John 3:7-10).

And as @John_Martin has pointed out, the planter and the woman can both be understood in this context to be God.

There are other levels of meaning to these parables, but that should be enough to get you started.

 

[Justin_Mary]

Can someone please explain me the parables of the mustard seed and the yeast?

One thing about parables, superficially they mean one thing. After deep study they can mean something else, while maintaining it’s original superficial meaning.

So the question is, what does it mean to you? You’ve obviously spent a deal of time meditating on this. Without trying to be “perfectly” correct from all “angles,” in your own words, what do you think Jesus is saying to you?

 

[Lunam_Meam]

Also: Jesus spoke to people in parables so that everyone interested could understand but … sometimes parables aren’t so easy to understand. For example I’m having troubles with these two. What about the people who heard them form Jesus and didn’t catch the meaning? It looks like it doesn’t make sense to speak to people in parables since not always people comprehend them.

Parables serve very well to make people understand the comparison, but they have a higher meaning than the comparison: Jesus spoke in parables to people who were not to understand more than He explained. The apostles were granted much more, because as His apostles, they must be acquainted with the mystery; and they were therefore given to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven. That is why He said to them: “Ask me if you do not understand the spirit of the parable.” They gave everything and everything was given to them, so that they, in their turn, would give everything. They gave everything to God: love, time, interests, freedom, lives. And, God gave them everything to reward them, and to enable them to give everything in the name of God to those who came after them. Thus, to him who has given will be given abundantly, but he who gave only partly, or did not give at all, will be deprived also of what he has.

Jesus spoke in parables, so that, while seeing they may only see what is illuminated by their will to adhere to God, and while listening, always through the same will of adherence, they may hear and understand. Many hear His word, few adhere to God. Their spirits lack good will. Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them: “You will hear with your ears and will not understand, you will look with your eyes and not see”. Because this people is hardhearted; their ears are hard and their eyes are closed, so that they may not see and hear, that they may not understand with their hearts and convert, that He may cure them. But, the apostles, for example, were blessed because their eyes saw and their ears heard, and because of their good will! Many prophets and just people were anxious to see what they saw and did not see it, and hear what they heard and they did not hear it. They pined away with the desire to understand the mystery of the words, but as soon as the light of the prophecy went out, the words remained like burnt out coals, also for the holy man who has received them.

Only God reveals Himself. When His light fades out, as soon as the purpose of illuminating the mystery comes to its end, the inability to understand envelops the regal truth of the word received, like the bandages of a mummy.

(2 of 2)

 

[Techno2000]

Can someone please explain me the parables of the mustard seed and the yeast?

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’
He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened. All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only in parables,to fulfill what had been said through the prophet:
“I will open my mouth in parables,
I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world.”

Does the man who plants the mustard seed symbolise God? And who is the woman in the second parable?
Also: Jesus spoke to people in parables so that everyone interested could understand but … sometimes parables aren’t so easy to understand. For example I’m having troubles with these two. What about the people who heard them form Jesus and didn’t catch the meaning? It looks like it doesn’t make sense to speak to people in parables since not always people comprehend them

It kind of means like a match touching gasoline. Some people, when they hear about God everything meshes together, and then they just explode in faith and become Saints.

 

[hope]

it is interesting all the different explanations. I always thought that the parables were speaking of the Church and how it would grow. From a tiny beginning, mustard seed, to the expansion that exist today. Yeast causes flour to expand like the Church.

 

[Justin_Mary]

it is interesting all the different explanations

Parables are like onions.

 

[Seen]

? It looks like it doesn’t make sense to speak to people in parables since not always people comprehend them

Mark 8:18-20

New International Version

18 Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?

And don’t you remember?

19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

“Twelve,”they replied.

20 “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

They answered, “Seven.”

How about this ? Can you understand it?

 

[jack63]

It is worth reading the full reference of this in Isaiah 6:10-13. I think this and the fact Jesus refers to this is actually one of the most radical things in the Bible. For those who wonder if Christianity is just a band-aid, a crutch, or an opiate they should read what Jesus is referring to in Isaiah. He’d rather have complete societal collapse (i.e. a stump of society) than have misunderstood half-baked version of Christianity. His parables were designed to make sure they’re not understood and can’t be misused until you are ready to understand them.

10 Make the mind of this people dull, and stop their ears, and shut their eyes, so that they may not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and comprehend with their minds, and turn and be healed.’ 11 Then I said, ‘How long, O Lord?’ And he said: ‘Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is utterly desolate; 12 until the Lord sends everyone far away, and vast is the emptiness in the midst of the land. 13 Even if a tenth part remains in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak whose stump remains standing when it is felled. The holy seed is its stump.