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February 2, 2026

The Inescapable Smell of Chlorine: What a Pool Route Taught Me About the Kingdom

by Jason Neill

Scripture reading: Matthew 13:33; Luke 13:20-21

“He told them another parable. ‘The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened’” (Matthew 13:33, ESV).

 

To put myself through seminary, I worked a few different jobs. I was a janitor for the school, working Monday through Friday from 8 PM to midnight. It was my responsibility to vacuum both floors of one of the academic buildings. I wore a giant vacuum pack on my back, which made the work easier than using a traditional upright; honestly, I felt like a Ghostbuster with that backpack. As I worked, I’d peer into the classrooms, catching glimpses of the professors but mostly seeing the students listening and taking notes. Once the vacuuming was done, my next task was to walk over to the library to clean the bathrooms, and yes, that meant scrubbing toilets, cleaning sinks, and mopping.

Another job I had during those seminary days was cleaning pools. In Texas, most residents keep their pools running year-round, even through the winter. The routine was steady: drive to a home, some of which easily cost over a million dollars, and unload the equipment from my trunk. I’d clean the pool, go through my checklist to ensure I hadn't missed a step, load the car back up, and drive to the next house. Rinse and repeat.

One of the essential supplies I carried in my car was granular chlorine. If a customer was running low, I’d drop off a gallon from my trunk and bill them. The physical equipment, the poles, hoses, and buckets, didn’t bother me, but the chlorine did. Every time I stepped into my car, it smelled like a pool. Even when my friends piled in to go somewhere around Dallas, they’d immediately comment, “Dude, your car smells like a pool.” The scent permeated everything; there was just no escaping it.

This week, we’re reading a parable of Jesus that addresses a different type of permeable substance. Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a woman making bread who mixes in leaven. If you’ve ever baked bread, you know that once the leaven permeates the dough, it can’t be separated. Although it is small in substance, it influences the entire batch. This raises the question: what did Jesus mean by using this simile? What exactly does the leaven stand for?

There are at least two different views on this parable. Let’s look at each one briefly, then I’ll offer my interpretation.

The first view sees leaven as the presence of evil. Some Bible commentators think that anytime leaven is mentioned in the Bible, it always refers to something evil. You may want to check out these verses to see how they arrive at that conclusion: Exodus 12:15; Leviticus 2:11; Matthew 16:6, 11-12; Mark 8:15; Luke 12:1; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8; Galatians 5:9; 1 Timothy 4:1; Jude 12.

The interpretation considering this view says Jesus is discussing the evil influence that will permeate Christianity; namely, there will be those who try to blend in with believers but teach false doctrine. That is certainly possible. There were false teachers in the first century who infiltrated the church and sought to teach error (see Galatians, 2 Peter, & Jude). That still happens today.

The second view sees leaven, not in a negative light, but in a positive one. The leaven doesn’t represent evil, but it represents either the Holy Spirit or the gospel’s influence. It’s quiet, almost unnoticeable, but the influence is far and wide.

So, which one is correct? How do we determine the meaning? I think the answer lies in context (the verses before and the verses afterwards). The kingdom that was offered (see Matthew 3:2; 4:17) to that first century audience was rejected by the religious leaders (see Matthew 12). If accepted, the kingdom would have been visible and inescapable. Matthew 13 is a turning point because Jesus begins to teach in parables sharing what the new form of the kingdom will look like. Consequently, this new form would be gentle, calm, and pervasive like the leaven.

Now, does the leaven represent the Holy Spirit or the gospel? To be fair, I think either one is possible. The Holy Spirit doesn’t draw attention to himself but makes much of Christ. We can easily see him working through the Apostles in the book of Acts. The gospel, on the other hand, is another possible interpretation (my view). It’s such a simple message, easily underestimated like a pinch of leaven, yet powerful in its effect. Regardless of the interpretation you adopt, God will cause his spiritual kingdom to grow powerfully. Our job isn’t to manufacture that growth; we could never do that. Instead, we are charged with sharing a clear gospel message.

What is that message? It’s the reality that we must come to God as sinners who fall short of His perfect standard, recognizing that Jesus died in our place as our substitute, rose from the dead, and that by trusting in Jesus alone for the free gift of eternal life, we are made spiritually alive, declared righteous in God’s sight, and rescued from the domain of darkness, transferred forever into the kingdom of His beloved Son (see Colossians 1:13). When we recognize the power of this gospel, how it permeates and transforms a life from the inside out, we realize it is too potent to keep to ourselves. Just as leaven inevitably changes the dough, the gospel is meant to spread. Our mission is to share this clear, life-changing message with others, trusting that God will use our witness to grow His Kingdom in ways we could never imagine.