Of Purity and Leaven
Most are aware of the Puritans. We know them as an historic bunch of nit-pickers who simply could not get out of their own road to enjoy themselves. We have even developed the label – Puritanical – to describe anyone who is a religiously strict kill-joy or, in Australian parlance, a wowser! If you believe this summary, I am afraid you have been duped. The Puritans were religiously strict, but they also knew how to enjoy life. They drank fermented beverages. Given the size of some of their families, they were no strangers to “horizontal relaxation” or ‘the midnight cuddle’. The purpose and goal of their lives was summed up in their name – they desired covenantal purity in the eyes of God. Their lives were to be offered as fragrant sacrifices to God and, as such, had to be pure in order to be accepted. It is sad that Christians today do not see the need for purity in their lives, especially when their lives should be conceived of as an offering to God.
The Bible is very clear on the need for purity. Matthew 5:8, James 1:27, 1 Peter 2:2, and 1 John 3:1-3, to name but a few texts, all have something particular to say about the Christian’s need for purity. The opposite of the pure life is the leavened life. Let us then look at the Biblical principle of ‘the leaven’.
First, we must avoid the mistake of limiting the Bible’s teaching on leaven to a mere maxim, such as, ‘a little can affect a lot’. Whilst this concept is present, it by no means does justice to the teaching of Scripture. Second, we must see that any elaboration of this principle in Scripture is always negative. Third, the Scripture’s teaching is always aimed at the child of God. Fourth, the application of this teaching means one thing: the Christian is to be pure.
The search for wisdom must begin with God. What does God think of leaven? He despises it! This may need some modification, but it will do for now. Consider the institution of the Passover. At this juncture, Yahweh gives basic, yet explicit, instruction in regard to leaven. None is permitted (Exodus 12:15-19)! The Israelites are to do without leaven for seven days. It is to be absolutely excluded. Understand that this is no trifle. It is not simply the case that God prefers His bread flat. The concept of leaven is intricately tied to the concept of salvation. Note well the penalty for anyone found with leaven. They are to be “cut off from the congregation of Israel”. To be “cut off” means nothing less than to be severed from the covenant people and therefore from salvation itself. The seriousness of the ‘leaven principle’ is underscored when the Israelites are instructed to never burn leavened bread (Leviticus 2:11). The grain offering is most holy and it is to be food for the priest and to be consumed in a holy place (Leviticus 6:17). It must be offered unleavened. Consequently, leaven must never ascend to the nostrils of God as a “soothing aroma”.
Why is this? It seems that we could learn a lesson from the Hebrew word for leaven. The term primarily means ‘to be / make sour’. It shares the same consonantal root as the term for vinegar. Understood in this way, we must see that the addition of leaven is a contamination which sours the bread and lessens its quality. Let us underscore the severity with which God views this contamination by stating quite clearly, again, that no leaven was ever to appear on Yahweh’s altar. The Israelite could only offer leavened bread as a “first fruit” and a “wave offering” (Leviticus 23:17).
This negative concept of leaven is carried through into the New Testament. At every point where the principle of leaven is elaborated upon, it carries with it a negative connotation, either explicitly or implied. In Matthew 16:6-12, Jesus warns His disciples to be alert for the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees, which is described as leaven. In Luke 12:1, Jesus describes the Pharisaic leaven as hypocrisy. Mark 8:15 is interesting. There, Jesus warns of the leaven both of the Pharisees and Herod. It is almost as though the Holy Spirit gives warning against imbibing corrupt ideas from authorities, ecclesiastic or secular. Turning from the Gospels to the Apostle Paul, we see that the same negative overtones are affirmed. In 1 Corinthians 5:6 and Galatians 5:9, Paul uses the phrase, “a little leaven leavens the whole lump.” This would show that the phrase was an idiom; however, this does not detract from its importance. In these passages, Paul equates leaven with arrogance, the corrupted old self, depravity, wickedness, and the necessity of circumcision. One reference, however, stands out above the rest.
In 1 Corinthians 5:7-8, Paul gives instruction to clean out the old leaven. In other words, it is time to wash the bowl and start again from scratch. It is time to remove all the old impurities. As Paul metaphorically throws the new lump of dough into the bowl, he calls a halt to proceedings. ‘No leaven required, thank you!’ We are unleavened bread. We are the redeemed of the covenant. We are the offering laid upon the altar of God, ascending as a pleasing aroma (1 Peter 2:4-5). We are holy. Not only do we not need leaven, to add leaven would be almost blasphemous. It would mean that we are not fit for the altar of God and as a pleasing aroma. It means that we would be “cut off” from the congregation of Israel for being in possession of leaven. Do we make too much of this. No. Paul himself makes direct reference in this verse to Jesus as “our Passover”. The Passover meal was accompanied by the unleavened bread. Jesus our Passover has been sacrificed. The unleavened bread must accompany the Lamb. We are to be unleavened loaves of “sincerity and truth.” Salvation and worship are inextricably linked in Scripture. The saved must worship and their worship must be acceptable, that is, offered in purity according to God’s standard; just as our Passover Lamb was pure and unblemished. The Apostle John tells us that the Father seeks worshippers who will worship in “spirit and truth” – worship after the essence of God (Spirit) and the nature of God (Truth).
The importance of the Christian being essentially pure is underscored when we develop this principle further by introducing Jesus’ words from Mathew 13:33. There, Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of Heaven ‘is like a woman who places leaven into a quantity of flour and then waits until all is leavened.’ Do we have a contradiction here? Not at all! Strictly speaking, Jesus’ words should not be considered as part of the ‘principle of leaven’ because there is no elaboration. In other words, there is no, “beware of …”, in which the detrimental nature of the leaven is explained or implied (Something most definitely present in the other references). In this section of Scripture, Jesus gives different parables in order to describe the Kingdom of God. In Matthew 13:33 (and the parallel in Luke13:21) Jesus uses the concept of the leaven to illustrate how the Kingdom of God must of necessity impact upon all with which it comes in contact. Note that the Kingdom is not leaven, it is like leaven. It cannot help but modify or impact upon all that it touches for that is its very transformational and redemptive nature. The Kingdom is positive in its impact precisely because it is pure and a purifier. The Kingdom purifies the corrupt. The Kingdom sheds light in the midst of darkness. The Kingdom gives life to the dead. As stated, the Kingdom is pure and transformational. Therefore, nothing needs to be added to the Kingdom. It is God’s perfective work, reclaiming all that is His through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, culminating in Yahweh’s perfect worship. The Kingdom can be compared to the action of the leaven, but it is by no means leaven!
The comparison of Jesus’ words in Matthew 13:33 with those which speak of the ‘principle of the leaven’, cannot but make us realise why leaven is forbidden to the Christian and why the Christian is essentially pure. The people of God, regenerate through the washing of Jesus’ blood, are pure Kingdom participants, whose lives, in totality, must culminate in the pure worship of God. As such, the Christian needs no leaven. The introduction of any leaven is forbidden because it corrupts the purity that is acceptable to God. Hence, the Christian is consistently warned to be on guard and to watch out for any leaven; that which is a corruption, perversion, or travesty of God. We must see that the leaven that the Christian is warned about is any ideology, philosophy, theory, or concept that is in opposition to the purity of God and His Christ. In short, the Christian is warned regarding the ideas of the “world” and the complete and utter unworthiness of their presence in the Christian as a new creature in Christ, a living sacrifice, and a fragrant aroma (2 Corinthians 2:14-17; Philippians 4:18). The Christian, as a Kingdom of God participant, is to be a vivacious force for life and purity, bringing the redemptive purposes of God to the fore in themselves and in every encounter with the world.
God is Pure. The Kingdom is Pure. The Kingdom participant must likewise be Pure. ‘No leaven, please, we’re Christ’s!’ (2 Corinthians 11:1-3.)
