The function of yeast

Throughout the Word, yeast is mostly symbolic of corruption, evil and sin, however, Jesus portrays yeast in a different light in an effort to get His audience to understand what the Kingdom of God is like. Jesus asked them,

“How can I picture God’s kingdom for you? What kind of story can I use?” – Luke 13:18 (MSG)

First, Jesus uses the tiny mustard seed as an example but then, perhaps to drive home His point, Jesus goes on to give another example. He says,

“What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.” – Luke 13:20-21 (MSG)

Let’s take a little bite of this parable, like a morsel of bread to chew on.

Luke was very careful in recording Jesus’ words. He was careful in letting us know that Jesus included specific elements in His parable – yeast, a woman preparing dough, and the exact measurement of flour.

The Greek word for yeast in the verse above is “zume” which is sourdough starter and not the packets of cultured yeast we buy in the supermarket.

Creating sourdough starter is a process that Jesus’ first century audience would have understood.

Even today, anyone who has ever made starter should know that all that’s required is flour, water, yeast and time for it to ferment. To initiate the fermentation process, the mixture, in a covered bowl, is put in a warm, dark, breezeless place, such as an oven.

The yeast, a living fungus that feeds on sugar and starch, is the active agent in breadmaking; the dough will never rise without the yeast.

In this translation, Jesus describes a woman mixing sourdough starter into flour to make dough, but the Greek term here translated “mixed” is “en krypto”, which comes from the root verb “to hide” or “to conceal”. So, the woman in the parable, hiding or concealing something rather than merely mixing places a whole different spin on how this parable is viewed, especially as Luke 8:17 (NIV) records Jesus saying,

For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.

Whatever this woman is hiding, will be revealed, for what is hidden will come to light and although her apparent secrecy may be seen as a “bad” thing, in reference to the Kingdom of God, it is bound to lead to something wonderful.

Sixty pounds of flour is a lot of flour. This woman must have had a bakery because five pounds of flour yields many loaves of bread and she used twelve times that amount.

That amount of dough would be far too much for this one woman to knead and its yield way more than she, alone, could ever consume, so this is definitely not a lesson in domesticity.

This conjures up an image of abundance, doesn’t it? But there is something else, it’s a picture of a small beginning yielding a tremendous result. Jesus tells us what the Kingdom of God is like, using the story of a woman who is about to make more bread than a single person could ever eat.

Is Jesus saying therefore that the Kingdom of God is not only more than enough for everyone to partake of but like the function of yeast, it remains hidden while it works its way through our lives? And even though its not outwardly visible as it quietly spreads, it gives rise to and yields changes in us that are much greater and more palatable than we ever could imagine?

Beloved, the Kingdom of God is present now and available to all, “whosoever will” (ref. Revelation 22:17). Shall you not eat? After all, Jesus Himself proclaimed, “I am the Bread of Life. No one coming to me will ever be hungry again.” (John 6:35 TLB).

Amen †

Shelley Johnson “The function of yeast” © 2026 August 17, 2026