The woman and the yeast, the Kingdom of God is…
Luke 13: verse 20 - 21
Again he asked, "What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.“ Yeast is also referred to as Leaven
Leaven was a little bit of dough kept over from the last baking and had fermented in the keeping
Leaven is regularly used in Jewish teachings as a sign of influence, usually bad due to its fermented nature
This is how Jesus would have seen Mary make the bread for the household, mix a little in and the whole character of the dough changed, then you needed to work that little in until it worked through out the batch.
Jesus is saying this is how my kingdom will come
Consider the meaning here:
The kingdom starts from a small beginning, the leaven is small but it changes the whole, the death of one man in the overall sea of humanity is small, but it changes everything.
The kingdom works unseen, you cannot see the leaven working, you cant see the kingdom working as it works in human hearts, faith is spread as people speak of Jesus and tell of his love, his way of truth and life, his salvation and promise and as they live like he did.
The Kingdom works from the inside, to make the bread the dough needed kneading and then baking. It is the Holy Spirit who sows the “leaven” or faith in Jesus Christ into the flour of our hearts our souls.
The power of the Kingdom comes from the outside the Holy Spirit then kneads us (some like me need a good pounding) to increase faith, to use his gifts for Gods glory and to touch others around us bringing the kingdom into there lives.
Do you see the key message here, the dough had no power to change itself, no matter how much the dough tries it cannot become bread on its own, an outside power brings the seed, the spark that then brings the faith, that then brings the conversion, that then brings the repentance and the purification which results in salvation. Jesus is the seed, the Holy sprit is the one who plants it and kneads the dough to increase that gift of faith, using other ingredients like Grace and mercy to make us the bread of life as Jesus is.
Narrow Way points:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer says it like this; "The path of discipleship is narrow, and it is fatally easy to miss one’s way and stray from the path, even after years of discipleship. And it is hard to find. On either side of the narrow path, deep chasms yawn. To be called to a life of extraordinary quality, to live up to it, and yet to be unconscious of it is indeed a narrow way. To confess and testify to the truth as it is in Jesus, and at the same time to love the enemies of that truth, his enemies and ours, and to love them with the infinite love of Jesus Christ, is indeed a narrow way.
To believe the promise of Jesus that his followers shall possess the earth, and at the same time to face our enemies unarmed and defenceless, preferring to incur injustice rather than to do wrong ourselves, is indeed a narrow way. To see the weakness and wrong in others, and at the same time refrain from judging them; to deliver the gospel message without casting pearls before swine, is indeed a narrow way. BUT if we behold Jesus Christ going on before step by step, we shall not go astray. BUT if we worry about the dangers that beset us, if we gaze at the road instead of him who goes before, we are already straying from the path. For he is himself the way, the narrow way and the straight gate. He, and he alone, is our journey’s end. When we know that we are able to proceed along the narrow way through the straight gate of the cross, and on to eternal life, and the very narrowness of the road will increase our certainty. The way which the Son of God trod on earth, and the way which we too must tread as citizens of two worlds on the razor edge between this world and the kingdom of heaven, could hardly be a broad way." (...in ’Cost of Discipleship’). The entrance is narrow, we can’t take our baggage with us, our old ways, un-forgiveness, hate, bitterness, slander, lust, drunkenness the ways of sin and death need to be taken from us by the inward outward working of the Holy spirit. Remember its not by our strength its not by our power or how great we think we are, this is an act of mercy and grace by the Lord God almighty, we give thanks and praise for that.
The Narrow Way, strive to make it through
Luke 13: 22 - 30
Someone asked him, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?" He said to them, "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to
The assumption being tested here was that the kingdom of God was an exclusive just for the chosen Jewish people. Jesus turned that idea on its head and is saying the kingdom is open to all who follow me, BUT (there is always a but) you have to make every effort to make it through the narrow way. Effort is the root of the word strife or agony, it in not easy to make it through is the message here. I would link this phrase “Narrow Way” with “Be Holy as I am Holy”. When we give our lives to Jesus we die to our old self and we rise again clothed in Jesus, we go through the death and the resurrection as part of our conversion process. We come out of that process and when God looks at us he sees Jesus so we can approach and we are part of his family, God is then our Father and we are then his sons and daughters. BUT, the strife, struggle and agony then comes as we work this Christ likeness through our dough, we need kneading and pounding to convert all of the old ways to the way of Jesus, does not sound to attractive does it, not top of the evangelistic list. BUT, this is our preparation for eternity, this short term pain results in a massive long term (like forever and ever) gain, God allows this to happen as he knows what we have the potential to be, he knows who we have the potential to be, he knows who we have the potential to impact to change to influence like yeast in the dough through the inward outward workings of the Holy sprit in us. SO, the start of the narrow way the way of Holiness is our conversion but the process ends in heaven and most likely continues there for eternity, we don’t summit the mountain in our lifetime it should be said of each of us “when last seen we were still going strong for the top” and “They died climbing”. For me the scariest verse in the Bible is: Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ’Sir, open the door for us.‘ To die and be told by Jesus I don’t know you that is a reality to awful to contemplate, I know it will not happen to me, but the thought of it happening to ones I love to people I know is terrible and drives my passion to reach them with the good news, this the news of the Kingdom while they live and breath there is hope there is a chance. Then consider those asking Jesus the question, the seemed to think that just because they were Jews then it would be given to them automatically, how many in this country think that just because they are “Good” and they live in a “Christian” country that they have no need to take it further, they need this truth, we need to tell them, before they to are turned away, we have to be prepared as individuals and as church’s to be the yeast to be mixed into the flour to reach out and touch and change, to do that we need to be alive, if you like fermented by Christ as the Leaven dough was and be mixed into our communities and domains.
Many will try to enter the house, Jesus says, but will not be able to. That is, I think, they will not be able to enter the wide door, for no human being is worthy to enter God’s Kingdom as of right. The fact that God came out of the house into the streets of the town, and ate and drank with us, doesn’t mean that we can enter through that wide door. No, God came and told us that the narrow door is open to all who are willing to enter through it. For us, the way in is through humility and service, and what we can expect to find inside the Kingdom is hard work. But here is also a Master who cares for His servants, so we will eat and drink once our work is done. And people from the East and West, the North and South, will come together at this table together in the assurance that their work has pleased their Master.
28-30: "There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last."
I think we will be surprised by those we meet in heaven
People we think should be there, will not. People we think should not be there, will. The Pharisees and others we being told by Jesus, just because you think your good enough and you have kept the laws and believe you are the most righteous does not mean you will get into the kingdom. Also he was telling them of us the gentile believers those that will come to the faith because of his sacrifice, Jesus could see the way, because he is the way, Jesus knew who would walk it. Jesus was prepared to pay the ultimate cost to win us the lost, to pay for our entrance though we do not deserve it. Those whose faith produces great works that advance the kingdom, those will get good seats at the feast and a VIP pass to get in first. That’s not fair the cry goes up, well it is you now and its not our rules its Gods, its like the parable of the vineyard owner who pays the same for a days work or an hours, its his vineyard and he’s the one who decides.
There is no other way.
Holiness
Mapped out for us in the ten commandments.Commandments that none can keep 100% in thought and deed. That’s why we need grace, that’s why Jesus came, without his blood his forgiveness of our sins then we can never find the way. Its about putting Jesus first in our lives, on the throne of our lives:
Its about pressing forward in Christ
Its about letting our old selves go
Its about being prepared for eternity
This pounding of the dough, the kingdom of God being brought forth in each of us who believe Jesus is Lord, each of us by Jesus’s grace have the stuff of holiness in our hearts, treasure in cracked pots of clay
So we keep ourselves pure because Jesus lives in us, we keep the temple clean and confess our brokenness
That’s Holiness.
So back to the yeast!
We started considering the Kingdom of God as yeast worked into the dough – The Leaven and flour and kneading. After our journey along the narrow way lets consider the learning’s:
Jesus is the yeast of the kingdom, it was his sacrifice on the cross that won the victory, he knew the cost and was prepare to pay it to walk his narrow way.
The Holy Spirit gifts us faith in Jesus if we turn and confess Jesus is Lord, that’s the yeast that starts the process, we are then expected to produce works by that faith which means reaching out to the flour (those yet to be saved) and being like Jesus to them, loving them and helping them.
The narrow way is a servants way, we don’t get a royal entrance to the mansion of heaven we go through the servants entrance as our Lord did.
The narrow way is just that narrow, we can’t take baggage with us and get through, baggage like un-forgiveness, hate, bitterness, lust and sin all these fleshy things need to be lost during the kneading process and replaced with the fruits of the Holy spirit.
That’s why the more we are kneaded the greater our faith becomes and the higher we can drag ourselves up the mountain of Holiness.
Don’t worry keep focussed on Jesus he is the way. The truth and the life he can show us how to enjoy a blessed and abundant life while walking the narrow way.
Remember we need to be willing to follow, trust in God and his purpose for us, let Jesus lead and you will not stumble, Lord I pray that tohse who hear or read these words will follow you narrow way and turn to you Lord Jesus asking you into their hearts and letting the Holy Spirit bring forth the fruits of his life in us and those around us would be drawen to that new fragrance, if you like that smell of fresh bread from heaven!
