“A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.”
Summary: Let’s do a quick review of where we have been and then look at where God is leading us.
Let’s begin with where we left off last time:
1. It only takes a little yeast to make a lot of bread dough rise properly. 2. It takes work to mix the yeast with the flour. Lots of work! 3. Once mixed, you can’t take the yeast out again. It becomes a part of the dough. 4. When the yeast is mixed in with the flour it becomes invisible. 5. The yeast is critical to making the bread rise and taste like bread.
Jesus is drawing a parallel between the “kingdom of heaven” and yeast. A parable is used to illustrate a truth, usually something from the invisible realm like a spiritual principle.
He is giving us a hint to understanding what the kingdom of heaven is. Let’s work backward through this parable and see what we can discover.
Let’s begin with a review of the context for this topic:
First, Jesus is God (John 10:30).
He is also a king (John 19:19, Rev 17: 14).
It seems clear that Jesus is the king of the “kingdom of heaven.” (2 Peter 1: 10-11)
Second, he is talking to people he wants to be part of his kingdom. He wants you and me to be part of his kingdom, too (John 1:7).
Thirdly, as we explored in “Matthew 6:10 – Kingdom Envy” and “2 Kings 9:32 – Confronted by Choice,” kingdoms are less about real estate and more about people choosing to be ruled by a king.
So here is the situation:
The King of kings comes to earth as a man. Not as a human king, but as a humble carpenter from a backwater town in the hill country of Galilee. When he is about thirty years old, he starts walking around doing miraculous things and talking about the kingdom of heaven. People are curious! What is this “kingdom of heaven” this guy, Jesus, is talking about?
From God’s perspective, Jesus sees a world where people think mostly about themselves. A few people manage to care about other people in their lives and a very few sincerely care about what God wants. But most people think about themselves first.
Jesus sees these people as flat bread. Bread without yeast. This is the same kind of bread that the Israelites ate when they came out of Egypt (Exodus 12:39) and that God told them to eat for the Passover (Exodus 12:15). When the people came out of Egypt they were not a kingdom yet, they were simply flour without yeast.
Then God added yeast.
In Moses’ time, the yeast was the Law. Jesus sums up the Law as loving God above all else and loving your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22: 37-40). In Jesus’ day he knows that he is going to die on the cross (John 3:14) and he will be sending his Holy Spirit to be with his people (John 15:26).
God wants his people to act like his people. He wants them to be leavened bread that is full of his invisible Spirit (Ezekiel 11:19) and obey God’s law of love willingly. After all God has done for us; accepting his love, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, his Holy Spirit, and his invitation to be part of his kingdom seems like the “yeast” we can do.
Application: Acknowledge Jesus as King.
Food for Thought: What is the difference between a Christian who has yeast, and one who doesn’t have any?
I have to admit, I found this question a bit hard to answer. I have known people who, if asked, claim Christ as their Savior, but the way they live you wouldn’t know it. I don’t mean they are out there robbing banks, just that they lack peace. As I write that I realize that there was a time I lived that way too. I would have to say now the “yeast” in my life has shifted the weight of things; the importance of things. I think a Christian with “yeast” views life more from an eternal perspective.
Chris,
Thanks! I find it gratifying that the question was a challenge! 🙂
As to your answer, I can relate. There have been many years in my life when the yeast seemed to be missing or was there but hadn’t started working yet.
Thankfully, God is faithful!
Thank you for your devotion brother. I have to admit it is a twist I have to consciously maneuver. So often yeast is connected to sin due to 1 Corinthians 5: 6 – 8. Paul used yeast to describe how one sin leads to another.
However, as you point out – in Jesus’ parable He uses yeast to describe how the Kingdom of God grows and that it transforms everything it touches. So in that sense, a Christian who has yeast is one who is being transformed through the power of the Holy Spirit. They should be growing in Christ like maturity and exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit.
Thanks Rich!
It is interesting how Jesus uses the yeast to cut both ways. I’ve been thinking about doing a post on that topic. We’ll see where the Spirit leads! 🙂
12-2-2022, What is the difference between a Christian who has yeast, and one who doesn’t have any?
A Christian is one who is born-again, which means one who has put their trust in Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit has come into their heart. He makes us a new creation with eternal life. This eternal life begins the moment the Holy Spirit enters and gives us our new heart which loves God and desires to please Him above ourselves. Once we turn this handle, we will be entering the room of eternal life, and will finally be home as He frees us from our past bondage of sin, and gives us the power to overcome our all future temptations.
Our bodies will one day cease to function, which means our spirits will no longer serve any purpose on this earth and we will leave these bodies and continue our eternal life with our Lord.
John 6:50, John 8:51, 11:26,
The Christian who has the Holy Spirit (yeast), has flavor, an aroma pleasing to God and life with full access to God, not of their own power, but by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The one who does not have the Holy Spirit is dead. Kind of like the ten virgins with their lamps. 5 had oil and were allowed in for the wedding, 5 had no oil and were not allowed in.
1 John 4:13, Galatians 3:5, Matthew 25:1, 10b-13
Well said, Ron.
I like the reference to 2 Corinthians 2:16, “To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life.” The aroma of fresh bread is wonderful! Nice comparison.