Leaven is used frequently throughout the Bible as a symbol. Understanding what leaven represents can give us deeper insight into key biblical themes and passages.
At its most basic level, leaven (or yeast) is an agent that causes bread dough to rise. When yeast is mixed into dough and allowed to sit, it ferments and spreads throughout the dough, creating pockets of gas that make the dough expand in size. This is what allows bread to become light and fluffy.
Biblically, leaven is used symbolically in both positive and negative ways. Here are some of the key things leaven can represent:
Sin/evil
One of the most common symbolic uses of leaven in the Bible is to represent sin, evil, and corruption. This symbolism stems from the fact that only a little bit of leaven is needed to make a whole batch of dough rise. In the same way, sin and evil can start small but then spread and permeate everything if left unchecked.
We see this in passages like:
Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened…For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Corinthians 5:6-8)
Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (Matthew 16:6)
In both cases, leaven is used to symbolize teachings, behaviors, or mindsets that are corrupt and can infect others.
False doctrine
Closely related to the idea of evil and sin, leaven is sometimes used specifically to represent false doctrine and wrong teachings that can lead people astray. We see this clearly in Jesus’ warning to “beware of the leaven of the Pharisees” (Matthew 16:6). The Pharisees’ strict legalism and emphasis on human tradition over God’s truth was spiritually dangerous leaven that could spread.
The Apostle Paul similarly warns against false teaching when he tells the Galatians:
A little leaven leavens the whole lump. (Galatians 5:9)
He was concerned that the Galatians were starting to embrace legalistic ideas about salvation and sanctification rather than trusting fully in Christ.
The kingdom of God
While leaven most often has a negative connotation, Jesus uses it positively in a parable to represent the growth and influence of God’s kingdom:
He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” (Matthew 13:33)
Here, the leaven symbolizes the message of the gospel and the power of God’s kingdom, which may start small but will inevitably spread to permeate more and more of the world.
Humility and sacrifice
The absence of leaven can also carry symbolic meaning. God commanded his people to eat unleavened bread during the Passover feast to remind them of the haste with which they left Egypt (Exodus 12:39). Leavened bread requires waiting for dough to rise. Unleavened bread did not give them this luxury and reminded them of God’s deliverance.
In the New Testament, Christ is portrayed as our Passover lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7). Partaking of him as the bread of life means partaking of his character of humility and sacrifice. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5:8, we are to celebrate Christ not with the “old leaven” of sin and malice but with “unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”
Pride and hypocrisy
While unleavened bread has positive meaning, leavened bread can also represent negative traits. Jesus warns his disciples to “beware of the leaven of the Pharisees” (Luke 12:1). In context, he seems to be referring to the Pharisees’ pride and hypocrisy.
Whereas unleavened bread represented urgency and humility, leavened bread could symbolize pride. The Pharisees took pride in their spiritual disciplines and status. But Jesus warned that this “puffed up” attitude was not true righteousness.
Old versus new
Drawing on the Passover symbolism, leaven sometimes represents the Old Covenant, the law, and human effort while unleavened bread points to the New Covenant and salvation through Christ. For example:
Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. (1 Corinthians 5:7)
For believers, the “old leaven” of the law is done away with through identification with Christ, the true Passover lamb. We embrace the “new lump” of life under grace.
Leaven in prophetic visions
The prophetic books contain a few notable references to leaven that are symbolic. In Amos, for example God shows Amos a vision of a plumb line, symbolizing God’s righteous judgment:
Then the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass by them” (Amos 7:8)
Amos then intercedes for the people and has two more visions. In the last vision he sees a basket of summer fruit representing Israel’s spiritual ripeness for judgment. Then God says:
“The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass by them. The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day,” declares the Lord God. “So many dead bodies!” “They are thrown everywhere!” “Silence!” Hear this, you who trample on the needy and bring the poor of the land to an end, saying, “When will the new moon be over, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale, that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great and deal deceitfully with false balances, that we may buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals and sell the chaff of the wheat?” The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: “Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.” (Amos 8:2-7)
Here, the sales and buying activity occurring on holy days, along with dishonest trade practices, illustrate deep spiritual coldness. God promises he will “never again pass by” and not punish their sins.
In another example, when Ezekiel is miraculously transported to Jerusalem in a vision, God shows him “every form of creeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the idols” in the temple (Ezekiel 8:10).
God then tells Ezekiel:
“Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of pictures? For they say, ‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.’” (Ezekiel 8:12)
God goes on to show Ezekiel even more abominable idolatry and detestable worship practices happening in secret. As a result, He declares judgment on the people.
Though not directly called leaven, these visions illustrate the same idea of sin, corruption, and false religion spreading like leaven – first in secret but then overtly. This will ultimately lead to God’s judgment if not cleansed and repented of.
OT ceremonial regulations
In addition to symbolic usage, leaven and unleavened bread factored into Old Testament religious ceremonies and rituals:
- As mentioned, God commanded His people to eat unleavened bread during the Passover feast each year to commemorate their deliverance from Egypt (Exodus 12:15-20).
- No leaven was to be used on the altar or offered to God as a sacrifice (Exodus 34:25).
- The grain offering for firstfruits was to be unleavened (Leviticus 2:11).
- During the Feast of Unleavened Bread, leaven was prohibited for seven days and there were offerings made to the Lord each day (Leviticus 23:6-8).
Though not symbolic in these instances, the OT regulations about leavened and unleavened bread underscored key truths God wanted His people to remember and pointed forward to spiritual realities that were fully revealed in Christ.
Leaven in the New Testament
Shifting to the New Testament, Jesus and the apostles pick up on the established symbolic meaning of leaven and unleavened bread and apply it in new covenant settings:
- As mentioned, Jesus uses leaven positively to represent the growth of God’s kingdom but also negatively when warning against the “leaven of the Pharisees.”
- Paul instructs the Corinthians to “cleanse out the old leaven” symbolic of sin and celebrate Christ with sincerity and truth (1 Corinthians 5:6-8).
- He warns the Galatians about the dangerous influence of legalistic “leaven” threatening to pollute the gospel of grace (Galatians 5:9).
The Jewish Christians receiving these letters would have clearly understood leaven as a metaphor based on their biblical familiarity. By building on OT symbolism but focusing on spiritual truth found in Christ, the New Testament authors provide a richer understanding of leaven.
Summary
Throughout Scripture, leaven functions as an important symbol highlighting key biblical themes:
- The contagious and pervasive nature of sin
- The danger of false teaching and ungodly influence
- The message of Christ spreading kingdom righteousness
- A reminder of God’s past deliverance
- The difference between godly sincerity and prideful hypocrisy
- The distinction between law and grace
Understanding leaven in its biblical context provides greater insight into the stories and teachings of both Old and New Testaments. As with many symbols in Scripture, appreciating what leaven represents helps illuminate God’s truth and plan of redemption revealed through His Word.