THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD

 Removing Leaven...."Sin" from our lives

Immediately after the Passover comes a festival that depicts the next step in the fulfillment of God's master plan. After God, through Christ's sacrifice, has forgiven us of our sins, how do we continue to avoid sin, since we must go on living in newness of life? How do we live as God's redeemed people? We find the answer in the remarkable symbolism of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

When God freed Israel from slavery in Egypt, He told His people that for "seven days you shall eat unleavened bread" (Exodus 12:15). Verse 39 further explains, "And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves."

Leavening is an agent such as yeast that causes bread dough to rise. And the leavening process takes time. The Israelites had no time to spare when they left Egypt, so they baked and ate flat bread. What started out as a necessity continued for a week. God appropriately named this time the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:6), or Days of Unleavened Bread (Acts 12:3).

Jesus observed this seven-day festival—sometimes called the Feast of Passover by the Jews because the days of Unleavened bread followed immediately after Passover, so that the two adjoining festivals could seem to be one—and in fact Passover themes do carry over into the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Jesus observed this festival as a child and later as an adult (Luke 2:41; Matthew 26:17). The early Church, imitating Christ in His religious practices, observed it as well.

Earliest instructions and Christ's teachings

God gave His earliest instructions concerning this festival to the Israelites as they prepared to leave Egypt. "For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat—that is all you may do" (Exodus 12:14-16, NIV). 

So this was a seven-day festival, with the first and seventh days being annual Sabbaths or Holy Days.

Each year as the Israelites observed this feast, it reminded them of God's deliverance of their forefathers from Egypt. The Creator instructed, "Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt" (verse 17, NIV). The Exodus from Egypt remains as a foundational reason for observing this feast today. 

Just as God delivered ancient Israel, He delivers us from our sins and difficulties.

Now notice Jesus Christ's teaching about leaven, which expands the meaning of this feast.

During Christ's ministry He performed two miracles in which a few fish and loaves of bread fed thousands of people. After one of these incidents, when His disciples had gone around the Sea of Galilee, they forgot to bring bread with them. So Jesus told them, "Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees" (Matthew 16:5-6, NASB).

The disciples thought Jesus was referring to their lack of bread. However, He was using the occasion to teach them by calling on the symbolism of leaven. Christ asked them: "How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." Then the disciples "understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees" (verses 11-12, NASB).

Some of the members of the religious establishment of Christ's day appeared to be righteous, yet they secretly practiced sinful behavior. Jesus let them know He knew their hearts. They may have appeared righteous to other people, "but inside," He told them, "you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness" (Matthew 23:28).

The Days of Unleavened Bread remind us that with God's help we must remove and avoid all types of sin—symbolized by leaven—in all areas of our life.

Continued importance of these days

During the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the apostle Paul taught the same spiritual lessons Jesus had, invoking the comparison of sin to leaven. In the context of reprimanding the Corinthian congregation for its divisions, jealousies and tolerance of sexual misconduct, Paul wrote: "Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Corinthians 5:6-8).

The church at Corinth was obviously and unmistakably keeping the Feast of Unleavened Bread, to which Paul repeatedly alluded. However, Paul used the Corinthians' faithful obedience in keeping the feast physically (removing leaven from their homes) as a basis to encourage them to celebrate this feast with proper understanding of its spiritual intent.

Today removing leaven from our homes for seven days reminds us that we, too, through prayer and God's help and understanding, must recognize, expel and avoid sin. The Feast of Unleavened Bread is thus a time of personal reflection. We should meditate on our attitudes and conduct and ask God to help us recognize and overcome our shortcomings.

Paul spoke of this much-needed self-reflection in 2 Corinthians 13:5, when he told the Corinthian church: "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified."

Paul explained the significance of the phrase "Jesus Christ is in you" in a verse quoted earlier—Galatians 2:20: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (KJV).

These seven days of self-examination prove invaluable in helping us to devote our lives to God and Jesus Christ. This week-long period also pictures our eventual triumph over sin. As God delivered the ancient Israelites from enslavement to Egypt, so He delivers us from our enslavement to sin (Romans 6:12-18).

Applying the spiritual lessons

We learn by doing. We learn spiritual lessons by doing physical things. Performing the task of deleavening our homes reminds us to vigilantly watch for sinful thoughts and actions so we can avoid them. God knows that, in spite of our good intentions, we all sin.

Many years after his conversion, Paul described the powerful human tendency to sin: "I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—[deliverance will come] through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin" (Romans 7:21-25).

Paul knew life itself is a battle with sin. The Bible speaks of "the sin which so easily ensnares us" (Hebrews 12:1). We have our own part to play in struggling to overcome sin. Yet paradoxically, we must rely on God to help us. Paul explained this to the Philippians by telling them to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:12-13, KJV).

Indeed, Paul did not end his discussion about struggling with sin in Romans 7 on the seemingly hopeless note of remaining enslaved to sin. He went on in chapter 8 to show that we can be free of the way of sin and death—with Christ's help through God's Holy Spirit.

Our observance of the Days of Unleavened Bread helps us realize our crucial need for Jesus' help in overcoming our weaknesses. And this feast is certainly a time for rejoicing because He freely gives us the help we need. Jesus, the Lamb of God, was sacrificed for the forgiveness of our sins, thus enabling us to be unleavened, cleansed of sin. And He continues to help us put sin out of our lives by dwelling in us through the Holy Spirit, thereby leading us to regular repentance and empowering us to live in obedience to God.

The Days of Unleavened Bread

Christ’s sacrifice, depicted by the Passover, was the beginning of God’s Master Plan of Salvation. Professing Christianity claims that upon acceptance of that sacrifice, the only remaining obligation is to “just believe.” Although genuine belief is crucial, there is much more to do in order to qualify for eternal life.

The sacrifice of Christ is what covers the sins of those who truly repent. The definition of sin is found in I John 3:4: “Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” In order to truly repent of sin, one has to stop breaking the Law of God—the Ten Commandments. Christ’s own words in this regard are “…if you will enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matt. 19:17). Once someone has come under the blood of Christ, having been forgiven of past sins, he has the opportunity for a new start.

The very process of coming out of sin is what true Christians must do once their slate has been wiped clean. Even before coming under the sacrifice of Christ, there has to be an acknowledgement and regret of having sinned as a way of life. The process of coming out of sin is not instantaneous—it requires many years of overcoming and character building. This second step of God’s plan is pictured by the Days of Unleavened Bread, which typify putting sin out of our lives.

This lesson will examine the origin and meaning of these days.

The Days of Unleavened Bread
tues-mon april 19-25 2011
sat-fri april 7-13 2012

(1) Can valuable lessons be learned from the experiences of ancient Israel as they came out of Egypt? Romans 15:4; I Corinthians 10:1, 5, 11.

(2) In review of the Passover, was the lamb to be eaten at a designated time and was a memorial of this event to be observed at that precise time on an annual basis? Exodus 12:6, 11, 14.

(3) In the wake of the Passover, was Israel commanded to do more? Exodus 12:15-16.

Comment: The first Day of Unleavened Bread immediately followed the Passover. There were seven days of Unleavened Bread, in which the first and seventh days were holy, requiring a convocation or gathering and an offering to be presented to God.

(4) Were the Days of Unleavened Bread only to be kept for a limited time? Exodus 12:17.

(5) What did God further explain had to be done during these seven days? Exodus 13:6-10; Deuteronomy 16:3-4.

Comment: Leaven had to be put out of the Israelites’ homes and away from their property. They were to instruct the following generations about what had happened in Egypt during that time. God’s people were commanded to eat unleavened bread for the entire seven days of Unleavened Bread.

Christ and the Apostles Kept the Days of Unleavened Bread

(1) Did the parents of Jesus Christ keep the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread? Luke 2:41-43.

Comment: Verse 43 states, “when they had fulfilled the days,” which meant the Passover and the seven days of Unleavened Bread.

(2) Did Christ observe the Days of Unleavened Bread as an adult? Mark 14:1-2, 12-16.

Comment: Verses 1-2 pertain to the planning of Christ’s enemies to arrest Him. They were well aware that He would be observing the Days of Unleavened Bread. Verses 12-16 show how Christ directed His disciples in arranging for the Passover meal. Passover was observed prior to these days. The same God who commanded Passover to be kept forever also commanded that the Days of Unleavened Bread be kept forever.

Even though the Passover meal required unleavened bread, Passover was not a time of unleavened bread. Although leavened bread could be eaten on this day, by this day’s end, all leaven had to be put out in order to enter the First Day of Unleavened Bread as commanded. The Jews at Christ’s time wrongly counted Passover as a time of unleavened bread (see Mark 14:12).

(3) Did the apostles observe the Days of Unleavened Bread after Christ’s death and resurrection? Acts 12:3; 20:6.

Comment: As the writer of the book of Acts, Luke (Acts 12:3) used this reference as an event that was observed by the true Church. Likewise, this timeframe was used again as Luke was later traveling with Paul in Asia Minor (Acts 20:6).

(4) Does the Bible contain any explicit command to observe the Days of Unleavened Bread? I Corinthians 5:7-8.

Comment: Paul was expressing that as Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us, we should proceed to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The central meaning of leavening will be
discussed in more detail below.

Symbols That Typified Sin

(1) Does Scripture refer to Egypt as being a symbol of sin? Revelation 11:8; Hebrews 11:24-27.

Comment: In Revelation 11:8, the great city (referring to Jerusalem; see also Rev. 16:19) in its sinful state was spiritually compared to Sodom and Egypt. In Hebrews 11:24-27, we find that Moses rejected the pleasures of sin that Egypt had to offer—choosing to obey God and suffer along with His people, while looking beyond the attraction of this temporary evil world.

(2) How was Israel treated in Egypt? Exodus 1:11, 13-14; 2:23.

Comment: All the world has likewise suffered in the bondage of sin, since the time of Adam.

(3) Are those called of God admonished to resist this present evil world and the sin it promotes? I John 2:15-17; Hebrews 12:1-4.

Comment: Resisting and turning from sin in this world requires diligence and sustained effort.

(4) Why did God command Israel not to eat leavened bread (or leaven in any food) during the Days of Unleavened Bread? Exodus 12:15, 20.

Comment: A leavening agent causes bread to rise or become puffed up.

(5) What is wrong with a person being “puffed up”? I Corinthians 5:2, 13:4; Colossians 2:18.

Comment: “Puffed up” is a condition of self-exaltation or pride that comes from a sinful or defiant attitude. It is clear that a “puffed up” condition results from sin. Just as bread rises as the result of containing leaven, men are “puffed up” as a result of sin. Note that it was permissible to eat leavened bread at any other time outside of these days.

Israel Comes Out of Egypt

(1) When and where did Israel begin their exodus out of Egypt? Was Israel very joyous and excited upon first leaving Egypt? Numbers 33:3; Deuteronomy 16:1.

Comment: Rameses was located in Goshen, where the Israelites lived. After having approached the Egyptians on Passover day to “borrow” (Ex. 11:2) treasures from them (actually to receive the fair wages they were never paid as slaves), they assembled on the night beginning the 15th of Abib. This was the “Night to be Much Observed” as the cloud first formed over the Israelites, providing light by night and shade by day (Ex. 12:42; 13:21-22). Soon after gathering and organizing according to tribes, they began their journey. Israel disembarked that night and continued traveling through the next day.

(2) To where did Israel go from Rameses? Numbers 33:5.

Comment: They traveled on the route called “Way of the Red Sea” until reaching a point near Succoth (a name which means “temporary dwellings” or “tents”). On the following morning, they proceeded to the next campsite.

(3) What was Israel’s next destination after Succoth? Numbers 33:6.

Comment: They continued eastward on the Way of the Red Sea until reaching Etham. Etham was located on this major travel route near the eastern edge of Egypt where the wilderness began.

(4) Where did God instruct Israel to go from Etham? Exodus 14:1-2, Numbers 33:7.

Comment: The logical way out of Egypt was to continue straight ahead to the east, but at this point, God instructed Israel to “turn” or change direction from where they were previously headed. Apparently, they turned sharply to the south from Etham, just before reaching the region of the Red Sea.

(5) As Israel headed south, did God cause Pharaoh to have a change of heart? Exodus 14:8.

Comment: Israel camped in the region of Migdol, as Numbers 33:7 states. Here, the land was more rugged and progress was much slower in this wilderness between Baal-zephon and Migdol, just west of this upper portion of the Red Sea. This Migdol is also mentioned in Jeremiah 44:1 and 46:14 as being in Egypt.

(6) Did the people of Israel panic upon learning that they were trapped by the Egyptians? Exodus 14:10-12.

Comment: As Israel was escaping Egypt, it appeared that the Egyptians had trapped them between the Red Sea to the east and the Pihahiroth mountains to the south (Ex. 14:2-4). Pharaoh intended to destroy as many of these helpless Israelites as possible with his well-equipped army—the most powerful army in the world at that time. Josephus recorded that the Egyptians who pursued Israel included not only 600 chariots, but 50,000 horsemen and 200,000 footmen (Antiquities, bk. II, ch. 15, par. 3). Pharaoh had pursued those who were leaving the bondage of Egypt, just as Satan attempts to block anyone’s efforts to flee the bondage of sin. As Egypt typified sin, so did Pharaoh typify Satan.

(7) How did Israel escape their deadly entrapment by the Egyptian army? Exodus 14:13-16.

Comment: Only by God’s miraculous intervention of opening up the Red Sea was Israel delivered from the Egyptians. The seven days of Unleavened Bread (Ex. 12:15) picture leaving spiritual Egypt and completely coming out of sin. Coming out of Egypt required effort on the part of Israel, as well as God’s intervention. Likewise, we have to exert sustained, persistent effort with God’s help to come out of sin.

Commanded Observance of the Days of Unleavened Bread

The day that Israel started their exodus was on the 15th of Abib and the day they completely came out of Egypt was on the 21st of Abib. We will see that both days are commanded to be observed as Holy Days—times of commanded assemblies.

(1) What does God command with respect to the First Day of Unleavened Bread and the day that immediately precedes it? Leviticus 23:4-7; Numbers 28:17-18.

(2) What does God command with respect to the seventh and last day of Unleavened Bread? Leviticus 23:8; Numbers 28:25.

Comment: Both of these Holy Days (also referred to as High Days) fell within the first month of the sacred year, which occurs in the spring. “Abib” was the name of this first month, which was later called “Nisan.” On these two Holy Days, no servile work was to be done, commanded assemblies were to take place, and special offerings were to be given.

Avoiding Spiritual Leavening

(1) Did the apostle Paul have to address a particularly grievous sin in Corinth on one occasion prior to the Days of Unleavened Bread? I Corinthians 5:1.

(2) Did the brethren who tolerated such sin consider themselves to be especially forgiving and righteous? I Corinthians 5:2.

(3) What did Paul command to be done with the offender in this matter? I Corinthians 5:4-5.

(4) What did Paul command those who had this puffed up condition? I Corinthians 5:6-7.

Comment: After condemning their puffed up condition, Paul warned that even a tiny amount of leaven can leaven a large amount of dough, just as even the smallest sin can corrupt one’s character. He then charged them to purge out the old leavening or put away the leavening, as done about the time Passover arrived (as true Christians practiced both then and now).

Paul was emphasizing the spiritual aspect of putting away the spiritual leaven of sin, pride and self-righteousness, in order to become unleavened, or pure from sin. This analogy would have been useless if the brethren had not been familiar with the putting out of leavening during this season on an annual basis.

(5) Having put away the old leavening, both literally and spiritually, what did Paul command these brethren to do next? I Corinthians 5:8.

Comment: Paul explicitly commanded the Corinthian brethren to keep the Feast. The old leavening, which was thrown out, represented malice and wickedness, while the unleavened condition represented sincerity and truth. The meaning of the Days of Unleavened Bread pointedly defines what God expects of His people—we are to put out sin as a way of life!

Kings of Judah Observed the Days of Unleavened Bread

(1) As King Hezekiah ascended to the throne, did he institute needed reforms? II Chronicles 29:3-10.

Comment: Hezekiah feared God and sought to obey Him in all things. Hezekiah charged the priesthood to put the temple in order and to prepare to resume the sacrificial system that had been neglected for many years.

(2) After having kept the Passover, did Judah and those of Israel who journeyed south to join them keep the days of Unleavened Bread with great gladness? II Chronicles 30:21.

(3) After having rejoiced during these days (for the first time in many years), did those of Judah and Israel take counsel to observe another seven days of Unleavened Bread? II Chronicles 30:23.

Comment: Nowhere else in Scripture do we find this ever happening. So joyous was this event that the people celebrated 14 days of Unleavened Bread with God’s approval and blessing!

(4) Did Hezekiah’s great grandson, Josiah, likewise institute reforms after Judah had departed from following God? II Chronicles 34:1-5.

Comment: Josiah deeply sought to obey God, and did so with all his heart.

(5) Did Judah (and the remnants of Israel who had previously relocated to Judah) keep the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread during the reign of Josiah? II Chronicles 35:1, 16-17.

(6) Was that Passover and the following Feast a memorable occasion? II Chronicles 35:18.

 The Feast of Firstfruits – Pentecost

The third step in God’s Plan of Salvation is pictured by the Feast of Pentecost.
 
The Days of Unleavened Bread picture God’s people coming out of sin, just as ancient Israel coming out of Egypt typified coming out of sin. This is the second step in the Plan of Salvation. But another vital step is necessary in order to successfully overcome sin in this physical life. We will find that this missing element, central to the Day of Pentecost, is the Holy Spirit—the very power of God.

Comment: The term “Passover” (or Passover season) has often been used to describe both Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. This occasion was so memorable that such a Passover had not occurred in all Israel since the time of Samuel, about 500 years before that time. This was surely a joyous time of celebration and heartfelt worship of God. After having been deprived of the worship of the true God for a number of decades, the people once again rejoiced to worship Him according to His laws and statutes.

Far from being a burden, worship of the true God in the true manner is indeed a joyous privilege for those who come to (or return to) follow His Way wholeheartedly.

In the next lesson, we will examine the next Holy Day in God’s Plan, the Day of Pentecost.

What day was the wave sheaf offering made each year? Leviticus 23:10-11.

“The morrow after the Sabbath” means the first day of the week, or Sunday. The context of this verse falls within the time frame of the Days of Unleavened Bread, as verse 8 summarizes the seven days and states that the seventh day is a time of holy convocation. The Sabbath referred to in verse 11 could only be the weekly Sabbath that falls within the Days of Unleavened Bread. If it were counted from either one of the Holy Days (first or seventh), then Pentecost would always fall on the same day of the month year after year and would not have to be counted.

How was the count made from the day of the wave sheaf offering? Leviticus 23:15-16.

We are to begin counting on the first day of the week after the Sabbath of the wave sheaf offering. The target day is clearly stated in verse 16, which shows that we are to number “even unto the day after the seventh Sabbath,” or seven weeks.

Jesus Christ opened the way to salvation by giving His life as our Passover sacrifice to pay for our sins.  

The Feast of Unleavened Bread is symbolic of the Christian's responsibility to strive to live a sin-free life. We prepare for the Feast of Unleavened Bread by removing leaven and leavened products (bread or other baked items that are made with yeast, baking powder, baking soda or potassium bicarbonate) from our homes (Exodus 12:18-19).

We also do not eat bread products made with leaven during the seven days of the Unleavened Bread festival in keeping with God's instructions. Two of the most common commercial unleavened breads are Ry-Krisp and matzos. (Not all matzos are free of leaven, however, so one has to read the labels.)

This festival begins and ends with an annual Holy Day on which church services are held similar to the kind of services we hold on every weekly Sabbath. However, on each of the annual Holy Days, the messages focus on various aspects of the meaning of the day we are observing. 

The story of Israel's exodus from slavery in Egypt and the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea parallels a Christian's miraculous deliverance from slavery to sin.

After the Passover lambs were slain and the blood put on the doorposts, God protected the Israelites in their homes. But throughout Egypt a loud wailing was heard that night as thousands of firstborn Egyptians died. Finally, Pharaoh was willing to let his Israelite slaves go.

The tribes of Israel gathered and started out of Egypt the night of the 15th of the first month (on the Hebrew calendar), the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. They had no time to let their bread rise, which was fitting since God commanded them not to eat leavened bread during that feast.

God didn't take Israel on the shortest route to the Promised Land, but led them toward the Red Sea. The Israelites must have wondered where they were going, and the hard-hearted Pharaoh certainly did. He decided to go after them, and he figured he had them trapped.

"As Pharaoh and his army approached...the people began to panic, and they cried out to the Lord for help...
"But Moses told the people, 'Don't be afraid. Just stand where you are and watch the Lord rescue you. The Egyptians that you see today will never be seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you. You won't have to lift a finger in your defense!'" (Exodus 14:10, 13-14, NLT).

When there was nowhere to turn, God opened up a new path—straight through the Red Sea!
"The people of Israel had walked through the middle of the sea on dry land, as the water stood up like a wall on both sides" (Exodus 14:29, NLT). The Israelites were saved through their symbolic baptism in the Red Sea and began a new life, freed from slavery and now committed to learn and live God's way of life.

Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.

On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat—that only may be prepared by you.

So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. (Exodus 12:15-17)

And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. (Leviticus 23:6)

The rescue of the people of Israel from Egyptian slavery occurred during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Remembering God's deliverance and their exodus is a major theme of this festival.

Egypt is a type of sin (Hebrews 11:25-26). The crossing of the Red Sea, which probably took place near the end of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, was a type of Christian baptism (1 Corinthians 10:1-2; Romans 6:3-4).

But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.

And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. (Romans 6:17-19)

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. (Psalm 18:2)

But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinks upon me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God.(Psalm 40:17)

For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (Romans 5:10)

The apostle Paul tells us that we have been enslaved to sin, but through Jesus Christ's sacrifice we can be set free. God mercifully delivers us from that bondage that leads to death. In return it is only fitting that we turn our lives over to Him and fully commit to righteousness—to obeying the wonderful laws that God made for our benefit (Deuteronomy 10:12-13).

Though it is impossible for us to come out of sin and perfectly obey on our own, with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). As Passover pictures our being reconciled, or made right, with God through Christ's death, the Feast of Unleavened Bread pictures us being saved by His life. That is, by allowing Jesus Christ to live in us, we can please God, become righteous and receive salvation (Romans 8:8-11).

Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth [emphasis added throughout]. (1 Corinthians 5:8)

The apostle Paul commanded the Christians in Corinth to continue celebrating the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The New Testament also mentions the Feast of Unleavened Bread several other times, often in conjunction with Passover (Luke 2:41-43; 22:1; Matthew 26:17; Mark 14:12; Acts 20:6). Since Unleavened Bread was celebrated immediately after the Passover, the entire period was loosely known by either name.

Essentially, leaven is a substance that can make food (like bread) rise. Leaven includes yeast, a biological leavening agent that produces fermentation, and chemical leavening agents such as baking powder, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and potassium bicarbonate. Leavened items typically include such things as bread, cake, crackers, cookies, prepared cereals and some pies that contain leavening.

Therefore let us keep the 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)

In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." (Luke 12:1)

"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. (Matthew 16:11-12)

Leaven pictures sin. It is compared with malice (wrong motives) and wickedness (breaking God's law). Since leaven puffs up bread, it provides an object lesson about pride and hypocrisy. And Jesus Christ used it as an analogy of the wrong teachings (doctrines) of the Pharisees that had been derived by human reasoning, yet were given more importance than the actual laws of God. Jesus gave several examples of these human traditions of His day (Mark 7:1-13), and by implication Christians must be careful not to follow teachings today that stray from the Bible.

Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?
Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.

Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Corinthians 5:6-8)

Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified. (2 Corinthians 13:5)

That you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24)

Like leaven, sin easily grows, spreads and can permeate our lives. Putting out leavening from our homes is symbolic of putting both the visible and hidden sins out of our lives. Christians come to realize that we can't do this on our own. We need to examine ourselves and repent and strive to change, but it is Jesus Christ's help, as we submit to Him living in us, that produces true spiritual progress.

Therefore let us keep the 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)

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1-2)

Jesus Christ living in us helps us overcome and remove sins, and Christ in us also helps us develop His positive character. Eating unleavened bread is symbolic of feeding on every word of God, and becoming like Jesus, the bread of life (Matthew 4:4; John 6:35).

Submitting to our Savior and Deliverer is the only appropriate response to His incredible sacrifice and love. An appreciative, forgiven Christian will seek Christ's help to not repeat the sins that earned that death penalty.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread is a reminder of our deliverance from slavery to sin and of the transformation we can have by allowing our Deliverer to live in us.