“The kingdom of Heaven is like unto leaven which a woman took and hid in 3 measures of meal till the whole was leavened.”
(Matthew 13:33 – King James Version).
I was studying this parable of Jesus one night and discovered that the New International Version (NIV) doesn’t say, “3 Measures of Meal” but rather, says, “Sixty Pounds of flour.” This is one reason why I don’t always like newer translations. You see, I saw something in that scripture as I read it for the hundredth time that I never noticed before… it was the number “3” in the King James Version. I suppose I thought the number 3 was just an informational fact found in the parable in all my past readings of the verse. But that night it hit me. The “3” is important! Why, look at the verse number that it’s found in, for Heaven’s Sakes! Matthew 13:33…there are 3 “threes” found just in the verse numbering. Then you find the number 3 within the verse itself. The number 3 means something in this verse, and the New International Version translators missed it, and removed this number that has meaning so they could better describe the full amount of flour in modern terms (60 pounds of flour).
So, why should the NIV not have substituted “3 measures of meal” with “60 pounds of flour”? Because the 3 represents a human being’s triune nature… Spirit, Soul and Body. The kingdom of Heaven, as this parable shows, is hidden within the triune nature of man. It is unseen (hidden) inside the spirit of a man and slowly works its way into the soul and the body until the human is completely and entirely affected by the work of God’s Kingdom in every area of his life. Yes, it is unseen and hidden for a while, but as the spirit within a man takes hold of God’s Kingdom the “yeast” rises and permeates within, and eventually a man’s life is infiltrated by the Kingdom power that brings change in every area of life.
Friend, you are not “60 pounds of flour.” You are “3 measures of meal.”You are Spirit, Soul and Body! May the kingdom of Heaven work in you today… changing you from the inside out!
