20 And again he said, Where unto shall I liken the kingdom of God? 21 It is like unto leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened.
A true follower of Christ will worship in public on the Sabbath Day, for this was the custom of our Lord. On one of these days he found occasion to reveal his sympathy and power by releasing a poor woman who for eighteen years had been bound by “a spirit of infirmity,” just as on such occasions his word to-day brings deliverance to souls bound by the power of sin.
It was his sympathy which prompted this act and further led him to relieve the consciences of his hearers from the burden of traditions placed upon them by false interpretations of the Law. When the ruler of the synagogue criticized Jesus, by addressing those whom the woman represented, on the ground that such healing broke the law of Sabbath rest, his hypocrisy and that of his sympathizers was unmasked by the reply that where self-interest prompted, they interpreted the Law so liberally as to allow them on the Sabbath to loose their cattle which had been bound but a few hours, while they refused to allow Jesus to relieve a daughter of Abraham whom Satan had bound for years. They were pretending to be zealous for the Law while denying its essential principle of love. Their real breach of the Law was shown both by their lack of sympathy for the woman and their hatred of Christ. Their interpretation of the Law was shown to be absurd, for it prevented an act of mercy which, on the Sabbath, was not only allowable but necessary. Jesus never intimated that he would abolish the Sabbath; he only designed to restore to it the true spirit of worship and love and liberty and joy.
In view of this gracious work of power the multitude rejoiced; and Jesus spoke the parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven, the former to indicate that his power yet was to extend over all the earth and the latter that it was to transform all human life. Some readers interpret the former parable as indicating the unsubstantial forms that Christianity at times assumes, and the latter the false doctrine which at times permeates the Church. Whichever interpretation one accepts, it is hardly wise to base upon it any theories as to the order of events related to the coming and Kingdom of Christ. All will agree that small beginnings and invisible forces are not to be despised or distrusted by the followers of the Christ who some day will deliver the whole suffering creation “from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God.”
B. The Second Stages. Chs. 13:22 to 17:10
1. The Narrow Door. Ch. 13:22-30
22 And he went on his way through cities and villages, teaching, and journeying on unto Jerusalem. 23 And one said unto him, Lord, are they few that are saved? And he said unto them, 24 Strive to enter in by the narrow door: for many, I say unto you, shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, open to us; and he shall answer and say to you, I know you not whence ye are; 26 then shall ye begin to say, We did eat and drink in thy presence, and thou didst teach in our streets; 27 and he shall say, I tell you, I know not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. 28 There shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and yourselves cast forth without. 29 And they shall come from the east and west, and from the north and south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. 30 And behold, there are last who shall be first, and there are first who shall be last.
This is the first in a new series of incidents on the last journeys of Jesus toward Jerusalem. He realized the seriousness of the situation. He knew that he was offering his salvation to the people for the last time, and therefore he was making an effort to reach every possible city and village with his message.