Feast of Unleavened Bread
Exodus 12:14-20
This feast started the day after the Passover, lasted for seven days, and all leavened bread was prohibited from being eaten and even was to be purged out of their houses during this time. Leaven bread was caused by the gases being released from the yeast in bread dough and is the beginning stages of decay. In the Bible this was used to symbolize the corrupting influence of sin and therefore was prohibited in this feast.
The teaching of this feast was to impress upon the worshipper the sinless character of the Messiah (Jesus), in his life (Isaiah 53:4, 6, 10), in his burial. (Matt 27:57-64) and in his resurrection (Psalm 16:10). He was pure, sinless (without leaven), he died not for his transgression (he was innocent) but for ours (we are guilty). Christ is the fulfillment of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
The application for us today was made by Paul. In I Cor 5:7-8 “cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened”. Those who have accepted Christ as their Passover Lamb, by receiving Him as their Savior, are admonished to a life of purity and separation from the leaven of sin. I Cor 5:6 “do you not know a little leaven, leavens the whole”, the two do not go together.
Rom 6:1-18, teaches that we are no longer under the power of sin, it has been broken, the believer is no longer a helpless slave to sin but rather chooses to sin when drawn away by our own lust (James 1:14-15).
The tragedy of today is that many believers don’t realize this truth, but are duped into thinking and acting as if sin is still the evil taskmaster we cannot defeat.
In God’s sight we are now unleavened and called to lives of holiness. Rom 6:19, “so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification”. In summary, “put this into practice”.