Another parable spoke he unto them;
The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
All Commentaries on Matthew 13:33 Go To Matthew 13
John Chrysostom
AD 407
For as leaven converts the large quantity of meal into its own quality, even so shall you convert the whole world. Note the wisdom by which Christ introduces natural things. He implies that as the leaven works, so does the flour. Do not say to me, “What shall we be able to do, twelve men, throwing ourselves upon so vast a multitude?” Rather, the most conspicuous thing about the apostles is that they were not put to flight when they mixed with the multitude. The leaven then leavens the lump when it comes close to the meal, and not simply close but so as to be actually mixed with it. He said it was not simply put in the flour but hid in it. So you also, when you come close to your enemies and are made one with them, then shall you get the better of them. The leaven, though it is buried, is not destroyed. Little by little it transmutes the whole lump into its own condition. This happens with the gospel. Do not fear, then, that there will be many dangerous circumstances. For even then you will shine forth and be victorious. By “three measures” here he meant many, for he is prone to taking this number for a multitude. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily
