Why Matthew 13:33?

Asking questions is the beginning of understanding.

I am uncertain if anyone is curious or not why we at Blu Brier Patisserie chose Matthew 13:33 as the representative Bible verse for our business, but I felt that it was important to share. Not only because this is an avenue through which our faith can be shared, but we can talk a little bit about bread.

Determine the destination and make your own path to get there.

Industry Standard Bible Verse

Before we get into Matthew 13:33, I feel that it is important to mention the industry standard Bible verse used among Christian microbakeries as I have seen it John 6:35.

“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst’” (NASB).

The bread and the water referred to in this passage is not that which is intended for human consumption, but Christ himself [1]. The hunger and the thirst that Jesus declared would be satisfied is not that of bodily satiety, because the people were still hungry even after eating the bread that He had miraculously created not long before (John 6:1-13), but instead refers to the hunger of the soul [2], which can only be satiated through their understanding of and belief in Him (John 6:40).

Why is this relevant?

The appearance is different.

What we create at Blu Brier Patisserie is optimal bread. We create a bread that is made with the best flour, the purest water, the most natural salt, and the top of any other type of ingredient that we can find after scrutinizing it with our human understanding of “the healthiest” ingredients.

However, our bread, particularly in today’s society, is unnecessary.  There are multiple thousands of bakers across this country alone that make sourdough bread. Even you, the one who is reading this right now, may have made your own sourdough loaf a time or two or for that matter you may be looking for the courage or knowledge to start. I say go for it! We acknowledge and accept that we as a sourdough provider are replaceable. You may like our loaves the best among sourdough bakers in this area, but we may at some point, for one reason or another, no longer be available and you would move on to another that you would come to like with the same fervor. Or you may not like our bread at all, it is not dark enough, does not have enough of a sour flavor, does not use the wheat grains you want to see, has gluten, is too expensive, and so many other possible reasons that caused you to purchase your bread from some else.  

However, this is not what is seen in the John 6:35 passage. The Bread (Jesus Christ) mentioned in is passage is an essential bread [2]. Every person on the face of this planet past, present, and future have a need for Him.

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

John 14:6

As Peter notes regarding Jesus,

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

Acts 4:12

With this said, we did not feel comfortable utilizing this verse as a representation of our bread company as it felt as if it inadvertently misrepresents the salvific work that was being displayed in this passage.*

Why is Matthew 13:33 different?

The weight is not the same.

Why then did we at Blu Brier Patisserie choose Matthew 13:33? Well, let’s begin by looking at the passage.

“He spoke another parable to them, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.’”

Matthew 13:33

We did not Choose Matthew 13:33 because…

First, we will address the obvious. Yes, Blu Brier Patisserie, is woman owned and operated business, but that was not a factor when deciding to utilize this passage.

We Chose Matthew 13:33 Because…

1) We at Blu Brier Patisserie chose to utilize this passage in that this is the only passage in the Scripture in which yeast is spoken of with a positive connotation. Throughout the Bible yeast is referenced in relationship to sin (Leviticus 2:11, 6:17; Matthew 16:5-12; Mark 8:15; Luke 12:1; 1 Corinthians 5:7-8; Galatians 5:7-9). In stark contrast, however, this passage references yeast in relationship to it being like the kingdom of heaven.

2) We at Blu Brier Patisserie chose this passage because it shows that through very little effort of our own leaven (sourdough starter/the Gospel) will permeate an inordinate amount of flour (the world).

Natural Leaven

As this relates to the natural leaven (our sourdough starter a.k.a Bubbles) that we utilize to create our bread at Blu Brier Patisserie shows exactly what is demonstrated in this passage. We do a little and she does a lot.

There was a moment (which I don’t have pictures of ૮꒰╥ᆺ╥꒱ა) prior to the start of Blu Brier Patisserie in which I was trying to prove this point to one of my aunts. I took the equivalent of 1 gram of Bubbles, covered her with 120 grams of flour, enough water to reach our desired consistency (Yes, we do not go by weight with our sourdough starter, but by appearance), and mixed. While she had forgotten about it, I sat in my head for the rest of the day, into the night, and into the morning thinking,

“What if I’m wrong and such a small amount of sourdough cannot permeate that much flour? What if I am proven to be ridiculous? I am the “sourdough authority” in this situation what if…”

Then I was reminded in a quiet moment of my own silent turmoil,

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:6-7

So, I took a deep breath and looked at the place where I had set this little experiment. Low and behold it had all of the earmarks of being fully leavened. It had bubbles, the smell was slightly sour, and it had risen considerably. All that fret was for nothing, because the promise made in Matthew 13:33 that it would rise, that it would become completely leavened, held true.

The Kingdom of Heaven

As believers in Christ our participation is required (Matthew 25:14-30), but the majority of the work is done by the Holy Spirit rather than the believer.

“What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one: but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.”

1 Corinthians 3:5-9

We work in obedience to God’s commission (Matthew 28:16-20), but He alone deserves the credit for the outcome. 

Thank you for going on this Biblical examination with me.

Conclusion

Therefore, the reason why we chose Matthew 13:33 as the prominent verse to represent our business is because with neither our bread nor the kingdom of heaven do we deserve the credit. The one that deserves the credit is the silent mover that allows the growth to take place. In the case of our bread Bubbles works strongly to rise each and every loaf we make. In the case of the kingdom of heaven, it is the Father who draws, the Son who saves, but it is the Holy Spirit that works on the heart of the individual to lead them to repentance (John 6:37, 16:5-15).

I hope that this has allowed you to have a little more insight into Blu Brier Patisserie**, natural yeast (sourdough starter), and most importantly the Bible.

Until we meet again,

Rachel @blubrierpatisserie

References

[1] Walvoord, J. F. & Zuck, R. B. (Ed.). (1983). The Bible knowledge commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas seminary faculty. SP Publications, Inc. p. 296.

[2] MacArthur, John. (2006). The MacArthur New Testament commentary: John 1-11. Moody Publishers. p. 245.

[3] Walvoord, J. F. & Zuck, R. B. (Ed.). (1983). The Bible knowledge commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas seminary faculty. SP Publications, Inc. p. 511.

* Blu Brier Patisserie in no way condemns any Christian sourdough microbakery for utilizing John 14:6 as the main Biblical representation of their business. We feel that in the context that this passage leads people to Christ in a direct fashion there is no problem with utilizing it. However, the statements provided herein are personal convictions based on our understanding and beliefs regarding how the Gospel is presented in relationship to our product.

** We at Blu Brier Patisserie believe:

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit

and born of the virgin Mary.

He suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried;

he descended to hell.

The third day he rose again from the dead.

He ascended to heaven

and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.

From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the true Christian church of all times and all places,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting.

Amen.