An Inside Job

[Jesus] asked, “What else is the Kingdom of God like? It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”

Luke 13:20-21

The power of the Kingdom is so potent that a little goes a long way. Jesus told this parable of the yeast as part of a series of parables describing how the growth process works in the Kingdom. He is talking about the Kingdom of God that has come in the hearts and lives of his followers. If you are a follower of Jesus, then you are in the Kingdom, and the Kingdom is in you.

As usual, Jesus took a spiritual principle and placed it in a familiar setting: a woman making bread. In this parable, Jesus referred to a very large amount of flour. The Greek word refers to enough flour for about twenty loaves of bread—an extravagant amount. Even though the amount of flour is so great, a little bit of yeast leavened all the dough.

Yeast mixed into dough is not discernible to the eye. It becomes part of it. Once the yeast starts to work, it can’t be separated from the dough; they become one, and once the leavening process has begun, it is irreversible.

Yeast works slowly and progressively. Working from the inside, it changes the texture, look, and taste of the dough. The flour and other ingredients do not expand and rise apart from the yeast. When it has finished its work, the dough has been transformed. In the Kingdom, God places no value on instant gratification. The process is as important as the finished product. Even when you can’t see the progress, you can trust that it is occurring.

Lord, teach me patience as I look for evidence of your Kingdom’s power in the situations of my life. Train me to live by what I know rather than by what I see. Let your Kingdom work in my life.

He is intangible and invisible. But His work is more powerful than the most ferocious wind. The Spirit brings order out of chaos and beauty out of ugliness. He can transform a sin-blistered man into a paragon of virtue. The Spirit changes people. The Author of life is also the Transformer of life.

R. C. Sproul(1939–), American theologian, author, and pastor