TODAY IS DAY TWO of the FEAST of Unleavened Bread!
Why Should Christians Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread?
God instituted the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread, which immediately follows the Passover (Leviticus 23:6-8). Historically it commemorated the ancient Israelites fleeing from slavery in Egypt in such haste that they didn’t have time to leaven their bread or let it rise (Exodus 12:33-34).
God commanded the Israelites to keep this festival by removing leaven (such as yeast) out of their homes for seven days and to avoid eating any leavened foods during this time. The first and last days of this weeklong festival are set apart as holy convocations—annual Sabbaths—days devoted to rest and meeting together to be taught and to worship God.
Jesus identified leaven as a symbol of sin (Matthew 16:6-12; Mark 8:15; Luke 12:1). Members of the Church started by Christ continued to celebrate this festival by putting leaven out of their homes for the week as a symbol of the sinless lives and attitudes God desires of His people. Paul, the apostle to the gentiles, even commanded the Church members in Corinth, “Let us keepthe feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:8).
After accepting Christ’s sacrifice for our sins, we must follow His example in living a life of righteousness, striving to keep sin out of our life.
It was during the Feast of Unleavened Bread that Jesus was raised from the dead—a vital factor for us to be delivered out of sin and on the path to God’s Kingdom. Christians who celebrate this festival see that its meaning leads directly to the meaning of the third festival of God, the Feast of Pentecost.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread! Is it for Christians? Yes!
The article identifies leaven as a symbol of sin, “Jesus identified leaven as a symbol of sin and uses Matthew 16:6-12, Mark 8:15 and Luke 12:1 to bolster it’s validity of why a Christian should avoid all leaven for the Feast days. It further states that “Members of the Church started by Christ continued to celebrate this festival by putting leaven out of their homes for the week as a symbol of the sinless lives and attitudes God desires of His people.”
When examining these particular quoted scriptures I find it impossible to not see that the scriptures clearly speak of the leaven which comes from what can be called “contemporary” Christian pulpits. I am confident that anyone else who takes the time to read the above quoted scriptures will come to the same conclusion.
Matthew 16:6-12. Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”
And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have taken no bread.” But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?—but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Mark 8:15. And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.
Luke12:1 In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, “Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”
Jude: 1-14 We are warned, “For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” And 2 Peter 2:1,“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.”
It is my contention that Christians are under a much higher set of standards (spiritual verses physical) than those practiced by keeping the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Our Savior taught us John 6:63. “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”, and Matthew 5:28, “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”
Matthew 15:8-15 states: “These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand: Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.” In this passage, Jesus criticizes the Pharisees for their superficial worship and emphasizes the importance of genuine faith over mere ritual.
My opinion is that “Leaven” representing sin and “removing” it for a week is purely a physical gesture verses the walk of a Christian who is “spiritually working” on removing sin 24/7/365.