The Parable of the Leaven, also called the parable of the yeast, is one of the shortest parables of Jesus. It appears in Matthew and Luke , as well as in the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas (logion 96). In the canonical gospels it immediately follows the Parable of the Mustard Seed, which shares this parable's theme of the Kingdom of Heaven growing from small beginnings. In the Gospel of Thomas it starts a series of three, preceding the Parable of the empty jar and the Parable of the Strong Man. Narrative The parable describes what happens when a woman adds leaven (old, fermented dough, usually containing lactobacillus and yeast) to a large quantity of flour (about gallons or 38 litres). The living organisms in the leaven grow overnight, so that by morning the entire quantity of dough has been raised. In the Gospel of Luke, the parable is as follows: Interpretation Ben Witherington suggests that this parable is part of a pair, and shares its meaning with the preceding parable, that of the mustard seed, namely the powerful growth of the Kingdom of God from small beginnings. The final outcome is inevitable once the natural process of growth has begun. Adolf Jülicher identifies three parts to a parable or similitude (extended simile or metaphor): a picture part (Bildhälfte), a reality part (Sachhälfte), and a tertium comparationis. The picture part is a woman making bread with leaven, the reality part is the kingdom of God, and the point of comparison is the powerful growth of the kingdom from small beginnings. Although leaven symbolises evil influences elsewhere in the New Testament (see ), it is not generally interpreted that way in this parable. However, a few commentators do see the leaven as reflecting future corrupting influences in the Church. As with the Parable of the Lost Coin, this parable is part of a pair, in which the first parable describes Jesus' work in terms of agricultural activities of men compared to the second parable with a focus on women's domestic activities. Joel B. Green writes that Jesus "asks people - male or female, privileged or peasant, it does not matter - to enter the domain of a first-century woman and household cook in order to gain perspective on the domain of God." The large quantity of flour may hint at a planned festive occasion, since the bread produced could feed a hundred