13:18 Thus Jesus 1 asked, 2 “What is the kingdom of God 3 like? 4 To 5 what should I compare it?
13:20 Again 6 he said, “To what should I compare the kingdom of God? 7 13:21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with 8 three measures 9 of flour until all the dough had risen.” 10
1 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Grk “said,” but what follows is a question.
3 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.
4 sn What is the kingdom of God like? Unlike Mark 4 or Matt 13, where the kingdom parables tend to be all in one location in the narrative, Luke scatters his examples throughout the Gospel.
5 tn Grk “And to.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
6 tn Grk “And again.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
7 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.
8 tn Grk “hid in.”
9 sn This measure was a saton, the Greek name for the Hebrew term “seah.” Three of these was a very large quantity of flour, since a saton is a little over 16 lbs (7 kg) of dry measure (or 13.13 liters). So this was over 47 lbs (21 kg) of flour total, enough to feed over a hundred people.
10 tn Grk “it was all leavened.”
sn The parable of the yeast and the dough teaches that the kingdom of God will start small but eventually grow to permeate everything. Jesus’ point was not to be deceived by its seemingly small start, the same point made in the parable of the mustard seed, which preceded this one.