Yeast: An Example of Sin in the Bible

Amy K

Over the last five or so years, the popularity of learning to make bread has exploded, more specifically, making sourdough bread. While it is a fruitful endeavor that I threw myself headlong into, even purchasing a mill to grind my own grain, it gives you a huge appreciation for the time and effort that those before the conveniences of grocery stores have gone through to make a simple loaf of bread. The amount of time just feeding and ensuring your sourdough starter is healthy and thriving takes mental effort that most don't want to dedicate to bread. It is still a wonderful skill that shows your family that you love them, produces a gut-friendly slice of bread, and I have found that it brings me to a place of peace and calm while making it. Totally worth the effort. 

But what is now a hobby to us, during biblical times was an activity of survival. It was so important, in fact, that it is talked about in scripture. One of the smallest, yet most important, aspects of making a fluffy, pillowy loaf of bread has been referenced in the Bible 40 times: Yeast. 

Yeast in Scripture 

Yeast is referenced in the Old Testament to the New Testament. In the Old Testament, it is spoken of in the guidelines of what is to be excluded from offerings brought before the Lord. Leviticus 2:11 says: “Every grain offering you bring to the Lord must be made without yeast, for you are not to burn any yeast or honey in a food offering presented to the Lord.” Similarly, Exodus 13:7 states: “Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory.” 

When we move into the New Testament, the Gospels directly warn against leaven or yeast. Matthew 16:6, Luke 12:1, and Mark 8:15 all repeat, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” In 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 Paul says, "Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed." 

Understanding Leaven 

So why so much condemnation of something so small that makes our bread so delicious? Let’s first look at how yeast or leaven works to have a greater understanding. 

The process of those small grains of yeast creating that lovely bread that we use for our grilled cheese or PB&J sandwiches is so interesting. Yeast is actually a single-celled fungus that feeds on organic matter. The first step is for the yeast to release enzymes to break down the complex starches into glucose. Yeast actually works to decay the organic matter, a process sometimes called "Clean Decay." In that process of chemically digesting the grain, a gas is created, more specifically, “decay gas.” Those gases are trapped in the dough and inflate the dough—the process we call “proofing.” 

The Symbolism of Sin 

We are going to stop right before we put the bread into the oven. Like so many things we see in scripture, when we go deeper, we find that God is a God of wonderful truths, and the symbolism of yeast becomes more evident as we understand the science behind the yeast itself. 

● Corrupting Influence: In 1 Corinthians 5:6, “…a little leaven leavens the whole lump,” shows us that a small amount of yeast affects the entire dough. Small amounts of sin in our lives affect our entire body. Small sins not dealt with are a corrupting influence in our lives. They can cause us to compromise truth, create a hardening of our hearts, corrupt our influence in our community, and most importantly, put distance between us and our Creator. 1 Corinthians 5 continues: “Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump.” When we become a new creation, or a “new lump,” the old leaven (old habits of sin) can hinder our walk with Christ. 

● Pride: Yeast also puffs up—a direct representation of pride. Jesus warns, “beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” The Pharisees were full of themselves, of self-righteousness. They lacked any humility in Christ. Our bread, we find, is puffed up with not just air (nothing of substance) but decaying gases. The sin of pride will only lead to death and destruction, while looking shiny on the outside. 

Purification and Hope 

As the loaf is about to go into the oven, we find that baking the bread actually performs a sterilization process and stops the decay. Heat kills the yeast and freezes the dough in place. Fire is symbolic of purification in scripture. We face trials throughout our lives, and it purifies us and allows us to see Christ more clearly each time. 

I couldn’t help but immediately think of the three young men in Babylon. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego all faced a human-sized oven. But they did not walk into that oven alone. Daniel 3:25 says, “He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” Just like those young men, we have that same promise, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). 

We all deal with sin in our lives. But we have great hope. The example of yeast does not stop there. While it implores us to root it out so that it will not affect our testimony, the Bible uses yeast again to show us the conquering power of the gospel. Matthew 13:33 says, “He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.” The Gospel grows, from 12 disciples to nations. It should infect our lives to be an influence for the Kingdom to transform lives and communities around us. 

John 16:33: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” So the next time that you look at your sandwich, I hope that you are reminded to root out even the smallest of sin in your life, but more importantly, I hope you are reminded that Christ has come and overcome the world, and that the truth of the Gospel spreads and transforms lives in a mighty way!