Lukas 13:21

13:21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with ¹  three measures ²  of flour until all the dough had risen.” ³ 

Lukas 21:25

The Arrival of the Son of Man

21:25 “And there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, ⁴  and on the earth nations will be in distress, ⁵  anxious ⁶  over the roaring of the sea and the surging waves.

Lukas 1:51

1:51 He has demonstrated power ⁷  with his arm; he has scattered those whose pride wells up from the sheer arrogance ⁸  of their hearts.

Lukas 21:26

21:26 People will be fainting from fear ⁹  and from the expectation of what is coming on the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ¹⁰ 

[13:21]  ¹ tn Grk “hid in.”

[13:21]  ² 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.

[13:21]  ³ tn Grk “it was all leavened.”

[13:21]  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.

[21:25]  ⁴ sn Signs in the sun and moon and stars are cosmic signs that turn our attention to the end and the Son of Man’s return for the righteous. OT imagery is present: See Isa 13:9-10; 24:18-20; 34:4; Ezek 32:7-8; Joel 2:1, 30-31; 3:15.

[21:25]  ⁵ tn Grk “distress of nations.”

[21:25]  ⁶ tn Or “in consternation” (L&N 32.9).

[1:51]  ⁷ tn Or “shown strength,” “performed powerful deeds.” The verbs here switch to aorist tense through 1:55. This is how God will act in general for his people as they look to his ultimate deliverance.

[1:51]  ⁸ tn Grk “in the imaginations of their hearts.” The psalm rebukes the arrogance of the proud, who think that power is their sovereign right. Here διανοίᾳ (dianoia) can be understood as a dative of sphere or reference/respect.

[21:26]  ⁹ tn According to L&N 23.184 this could be mainly a psychological experience rather than actual loss of consciousness. It could also refer to complete discouragement because of fear, leading people to give up hope (L&N 25.293).

[21:26]  ¹⁰ sn An allusion to Isa 34:4. The heavens were seen as the abode of heavenly forces, so their shaking indicates distress in the spiritual realm. Although some take the powers as a reference to bodies in the heavens (like stars and planets, “the heavenly bodies,” NIV) this is not as likely.