May 16 The Kingdom Rises

Luke 13:20-21 Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? 21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
 
THIS kingdom description may have been especially difficult, even confusing for the Jews. For centuries, they had been taught that the Lord had commanded the Passover to begin with the sweeping of all yeast (leaven) from the home. This was to symbolize sin’s removal and hearts prepared for celebrating the Lord’s deliverance from Egypt’s evil. A flat bread made without yeast is the bread of the Passover. In the Old Covenant then, bread without yeast represented remembering God’s grace to deliver the Jews from sin. Additionally, the daily manna God delivered to them for 40 years was a flat bread without yeast. No yeast was a remembrance of God’s grace. Why then would Jesus compare the Kingdom of God to yeast?
    Jesus, remember, had come to fulfill the law and to establish a new covenant – a new testament – of God’s grace to deliver his people from sin’s evil. God’s plan for your salvation was moving forward. With unleavened bread in his hands, he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19) As yeast courses through the dough, Jesus’ blood will spiritually to raise up souls to Heaven. As yeast once begun, God’s New Testament of grace and the forgiveness of sins is unstoppable.
    Now consider this. How do we benefit from a yeast’s rising actions? The bread becomes greater. So it must be with the Kingdom of God. Daily we must eat of Jesus, the Bread of Life, as we partake of God’s Holy Bible. Pray for the Holy Spirit to stir in you a hungry soul to receive his truth and to live into his New Promise.
    Regularly, you must consume the Lord’s Supper to remember God’s covenant to deliver your soul from sin’s deadly prison. Be hungry to receive and consume what God has prepared for you.
 
Prayer: You are my life-giving strength, Jesus. I remember your body is broken for me. I pray my life is given to you. Amen.