“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’” John the Baptist identified Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29)
Immediately after the Passover comes a festival that depicts the next step in the fulfillment of God’s master plan: the seven days of Unleavened Bread. The Passover pictures Christ’s death to save us from sin and its ravages. Jesus did not sacrifice Himself for us so we will continue to live in sin. Christ’s death reconciles us with God so we can become children in His family. Sin separates us from God. We read in Isaiah: “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2).
After God has forgiven us of our sins through Christ’s sacrifice, how do we continue to avoid sin, since we must go on living in newness of life (Romans 6:4)? How do we live as God’s redeemed people? We find the answer in the remarkable symbolism of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Instructions to eat Unleavened Bread in the Old Testament
We find in the context of the Passover in Exodus 12 God’s instructions for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, although this feast was not actually kept at that time, but was to be kept henceforth. As explained in the Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament regarding Exodus 12:15-20: “Judging from the words ‘I brought out’ in Exo 12:17, Moses did not receive instructions respecting the seven days’ feast of Mazzoth till after the Exodus from Egypt; but on account of its internal and substantial connection with the Passover, it is placed here in immediate association with the institution of the paschal meal. ‘Seven days shall he eat unleavened bread, only (אך) on the first day (i.e., not later than the first day) he shall cause to cease (i.e., put away) leaven out of your houses.’ The first day was the 15th of the month (cf. Lev 23:6; Num 28:17). On the other hand, when בּראשׁון is thus defined in Exo 12:18, ‘on the 14th day of the month at even,’ this may be accounted for from the close connection between the feast of Mazzoth and the feast of Passover, inasmuch as unleavened bread was to be eaten with the paschal lamb, so that the leaven had to be cleared away before this meal. The significance of this feast was in the eating of the mazzoth, i.e., of pure unleavened bread (see Exo 12:8). As bread, which is the principal means of preserving life, might easily be regarded as the symbol of life itself, so far as the latter is set forth in the means employed for its own maintenance and invigoration, so the mazzoth, or unleavened loaves, were symbolical of the new life, as cleansed from the leaven of a sinful nature. But if the eating of mazzoth was to shadow forth the new life into which Israel was transferred, any one who ate leavened bread at the feast would renounce this new life, and was therefore to be cut off from Israel, i.e., “from the congregation of Israel” (Exo 12:19).”
God instructed the Israelites concerning this the Feast of Unleavened Bread: “On the first day you shall remove [Hebrew could be also translated “cause to cease,” or “suffer to be lacking,” i.e., no leaven was to be found from the first day of the feast to the end of the last day] 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” (Exodus 12:15-16). 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 was to remind them of God’s deliverance of their forefathers from Egypt. The Creator instructed, “And you shall observe the unleavened bread for on this very day I brought out your armies from the land of Egypt. And you shall observe this day for your generations, a statute forever” (Exodus 12:17, Green’s Literal Translation). 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.
In Leviticus 23:6-8, God reiterates the command as He says, “…on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it. But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord for seven days. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.” Why did God insist that His people keep this feast? What is the spiritual lesson of the symbolism of this festival?
The spiritual lesson of the Feast of Unleavened Bread
There is a spiritual lesson in the manner in which the Passover was eaten. “And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover” (Exodus 12:11). They were to be prepared to flee. Eat in haste. Fleeing began with Unleavened Bread. They were poised to flee from Egypt. Egypt was given wholly to idolatry. Being given over to customs and habits such as those that prevailed in Egypt’s culture is equated with sin. “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:24-25).
They kept the Passover on the night of the Passover. The next morning they gathered and then left the following night, the fifteenth. “And the Egyptians urged the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste. For they said, ‘We shall all be dead.’ So the people took their dough before it was leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their clothes on their shoulders. Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians. Then the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children. A mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds—a great deal of livestock. 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. Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day it came to pass that all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. It is a night of solemn observance to the Lord for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the Lord, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations” (Exodus 12:33-42) .
The unleavened bread reflects fleeing in haste. They had spoiled the Egyptians. They were, it’s estimated, possibly as many as about three million who left. “They departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the Passover the children of Israel went out with boldness in the sight of all the Egyptians” (Numbers 33:3).
Israel left the night after the night of Passover. They ate the Passover on the fourteenth and departed on the fifteenth. They began their journey at night on the fifteenth. Days begin at sunset according to the sacred calendar. “Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night” (Deuteronomy 16:1).
The lesson for us is that in regard to sin, do not delay removing ourselves from sin or circumstances that would lead us into sin. We are to separate ourselves from influences that lead astray. Israel fled Egypt physically, but not in their hearts. We must make sure our hearts are not back in the world. Think about where your affections lie. Is your heart attuned to the world, or to the word of God?
“Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses” (1 Timothy 6:6-12).
Most people are consumed with material pursuits, money or the things money can buy. Money itself is not evil, nor the material things we have need of. But the inordinate love of those things is a root of evil. If we set our hearts on those things, and put them first, we will be distracted, and turned aside from the way of eternal life.
“Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:22). Avoid situations and associations that are likely to stir up lusts. Involve yourself in things that lead to righteousness and righteous conduct. Just as Israel left Egypt in haste, look at sin in the same way. Egypt is a type of sin and a system of lawlessness.
What was it like to live in Egypt as an Israelite? Was it pleasant? In one way, even to those in slavery there was much that appealed to the flesh. Moses preferred the reproach of God rather than the sin of Egypt. Sin is fun for a while sometimes. It’s attractive and appealing to the flesh. There can be pleasure associated with sin for a while. Israel had selective memory. In their trek through the wilderness they tended to remember the pleasant things—not the awful oppression of slavery. “Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: ‘Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!’” (Numbers 11:4-6).
The world can be very appealing if we set our hearts on it. Pursuing God’s kingdom can be daunting, and often involves sacrifice, inconvenience, trials and difficulties. But we need to set our minds on seeking the kingdom of God anyway, regardless of what it takes, and not be distracted. Like the Israelites accused God of wanting to do them harm (Numbers 14:3), in their lusts they forgot that Egypt was the system that oppressed them, we can forget that sin oppresses because of our lusts. Reading Galatians 4:3, “Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world”, this refers to the false system of religion and government ruled by Satan that the whole world is in bondage to, except for those God has freed.
As God freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, God also wants to free us from slavery to sin.
But we are no longer slaves but sons of God; seed of Abraham; heirs of God through Christ, if we are of the faith of Abraham. “…as Abraham ‘believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham” (Galatians 3:6-7). To remain as children of Abraham, sons of the kingdom of God, through faith we must allow God’s Spirit to work in us. We must heed God’s word and obey, or we can be lured back into sin and bondage. In John 8:31-36, Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered Him, ‘We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, “You will be made free”?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.’”
We can be Jesus’ disciples only if we abide in His word. We can be heirs if we abide in God’s word, that is live by it. The key to spiritual truth is God’s word. Whoever commits sin, that is, practices sin, is a slave to sin. Because God’s word had no place in many of them, especially their leaders (John 8:37), the Jewish people, most of them, were enslaved to sin, along with the rest of the world. They rejected God’s word sent through Christ. In order to remain spiritual sons of Abraham, sons of God and heirs of the promises, we must abide in God’s word and have His Spirit in us.
We must exercise faith, obey God, and make sure we are not hardened trough the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:12-19; 4:1-2, 11). Leaven symbolizes sin that permeates a world that presses on us and we can easily step into. We need to continue to make the effort to put sin out of our lives.“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” (I Corinthians 5:7).
By striving to put sin out of our lives, and overcome it, with the help of God’s Spirit, we can do it. “For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who [which] dwells in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors–not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Romans 8:3-14).
The Feast of Unleavened Bread pictures the life God calls us to live, that is fleeing in haste the life of sin and bondage caused by sin. Pursuing in its place a life of obedience to His commandments. By so doing, we are fighting against sin and striving to put it away. That’s the very meaning behind Jesus’ death at Passover. He died to save save us from sin so we will be able to put it out of our lives and walk with God with the help of God’s Holy Spirit. Jesus died to reconcile us with the Father. Immediately after this reconciliation, we need to learn the Father’s lifestyle of purity, so we will not separate from Him again.
Ask God every day to strengthen you, to deliver you from evil, to help you overcome your fleshly nature and weaknesses. He will if you strive to overcome and cry out to him. God is working in you if you are yielding and seeking His help. God is always there to help. Allow God to work in you and with you as you strive diligently to put away sin.
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