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Why Do We Observe Unleavened Bread? (Part Two)

CGG Weekly by David C. Grabbe

The Feast of Unleavened Bread carries profound significance, primarily as a remembrance of God's deliverance. A key aspect of this observance, as outlined in Exodus 12:19-20, is the command to eat nothing leavened and to have no leaven in our houses. This symbolizes the removal of corruption from our lives, whether it be corrupt doctrine, hypocrisy, or malice and wickedness. Pursuing holiness and perfection involves identifying and removing sinfulness, as well as avoiding its influence. However, this effort to put away sin is not the foremost focus of the Feast. Our ability to fully eliminate corruption depends on first recognizing God's deliverance and consistently eating unleavened bread. Without these foundational elements, overcoming sin as required becomes impossible. Through Christ's sacrifice, as noted in I Corinthians 5:7-8, we are considered truly unleavened. This imputed righteousness means we are called to conform our behavior to this state, walking in alignment with the unleavened nature granted through fellowship with Christ. The second vital aspect of the Feast, eating unleavened bread, aligns with Christ's teaching in John 6:53-58, where He emphasizes the necessity of partaking in Him for eternal life. Christ, as the Bread of Life, represents the complete absence of corruption. Continuously feeding on Him through His Word and presence in our lives ensures we abide in Him, securing the extraordinary gifts of eternal life, resurrection, and unending fellowship with Him. Neglecting this ongoing action risks losing these incredible privileges.

The Reason for Unleavened Bread

Sermonette by David C. Grabbe

The Feast of Unleavened Bread signifies far more than the avoidance of leavening. Our focus needs to be on God's management of the process of deliverance.

Unleavened Bread Basics

Sermon by David C. Grabbe

The Feast of Unleavened Bread is highly disruptive, not only due to the effort required in deleavening but also because it alters our diets, drawing our attention as God intends. This feast, like other appointed times, prompts us to reflect on its purpose, interrupting our routine to focus on spiritual matters. God commands the observance of this feast as a memorial of His deliverance, as stated in Exodus 12:15-20, where He instructs that for seven days unleavened bread shall be eaten and no leaven shall be found in houses, commemorating the day He brought Israel out of Egypt. This fundamental reason, reiterated in Exodus 13:3-10, emphasizes remembering God's act of bringing His people out of bondage, making it a sign and memorial of His powerful intervention. Further instructions in Exodus 23:15 and Exodus 34:18 reinforce that the feast is to be kept in the month of Abib, recalling the exodus from Egypt, highlighting that it is a feast to the Lord, centered on what He has done. Deuteronomy 16:3-4 describes unleavened bread as the bread of affliction, a reminder of the haste of their departure from Egypt and the oppression endured there, urging God's people to remember His liberation. The feast serves as a continual reminder of deliverance from the environment of slavery and godlessness, symbolized by Egypt, and focuses on God's action rather than human effort. The act of eating unleavened bread and avoiding leaven carries symbolic weight, as noted in Exodus 13:9, where having God's law in our mouths connects to both speaking and taking in His teachings during this time. This feast is not merely about physical food but also about spiritual nourishment, encouraging a focus on God's word while avoiding corrupting influences. The disruption to normal routines through dietary changes reinforces the memory of God's works, ensuring that His deliverance remains central to the observance of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Truly Unleavened

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

During this significant season of Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread, we recognize our identity as sons and daughters of the Great God, preparing to marry our King, Jesus Christ. In this context, we must acknowledge that we truly are unleavened. The Feast of Unleavened Bread, as outlined in Leviticus 23:4-8, spans seven days from the fifteenth to the twenty-first of the first month, during which we are commanded to eat unleavened bread and observe holy convocations on the first and seventh days, refraining from customary work. Further instructions in Exodus 12:15-20 and 13:7 emphasize the strict removal of leaven from our homes and the prohibition of consuming leavened bread during these seven days, under penalty of being cut off from Israel. This removal of leaven is to be completed before the fifteenth day begins, ensuring no leaven is present in any place under our authority throughout the feast. In I Corinthians 5:6-8, Paul addresses the church, urging them to purge out the old leaven of sin, as a little leaven can affect the whole lump. He commands immediate action to remove sin, affirming that they truly are unleavened because Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore, we are to keep the feast not with the old leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. This state of being truly unleavened, despite the presence of sin, is grounded in the past sacrifice of Christ, which covers us and allows us to be seen as holy before God. The timeline of Passover and Unleavened Bread underscores this process, with Christ's sacrifice initiating our journey, followed by the feast's focus on removing sin from our lives. Even as we are viewed as unleavened by God through His grace, we must actively purge sin to become a new lump, moldable by Him. This dual reality reflects our ongoing obligation to live righteously, maintaining our state of grace through continual effort and relationship with the Father and the Son. Ephesians 5:25-27 illustrates Christ's purpose for the church, having given Himself to sanctify and cleanse it, aiming to present it as glorious, without spot or wrinkle, holy and without blemish. This ultimate goal reinforces our state as truly unleavened, compelling us to devote ourselves to remaining so, in gratitude for the greatest sacrifice made on our behalf.

Remaining Unleavened

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

The Feast of Unleavened Bread assists believers in the sanctification process by which God renews their minds against the natural direction of entropy and decay. It requires abstaining from leavened bread, which corresponds to refusing conformity to the world, while eating unleavened bread, which corresponds to being transformed by the renewing of the mind. These balanced commands function as an annual exercise that places the Lord's law in the mouth through the ingestion of His instruction, directing both work and thought toward His righteousness. The observance reminds participants that what enters the mind determines what proceeds from it, so sinful influences must be refused and replaced daily with the character, example, words, and way of Jesus Christ, the true bread from heaven. Within the church this transformation occurs collectively as each member receives grace according to Christ's gift and the ministry equips the saints for service and edification until all attain unity of the faith and the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Growth is measured by loving righteousness and hating lawlessness, serving God alone without divided loyalties, refraining from causing offense, and extending forgiveness whenever repentance is expressed. By ingesting the bread of life through the Spirit, believers are changed from within into the image of the Son, reflecting His glory in righteousness and true holiness.

Deleavening the Home

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

If each of us individually puts out the leaven of malice and consume the Unleavened Bread of sincerity, we would fulfill our community responsibility.

Dominion and Leaven (Part Two)

Sermonette by

Contrary to Dominion Theology, the Parables of the Mustard Seed and Leaven are not about the church but describe the history and condition of Israel.

Don't Stand Still!

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The best way to conquer evil is to do righteousness, serving God and mankind. Sins of omission are every bit as devastating as sins of commission.

Remaining Free

Sermon by David C. Grabbe

The text explains that because the church consists of those who are in Christ, and Christ is unleavened, the church can never be all leavened, even though there certainly can be corruption within it because of carnality. Paul tells the members at Corinth that they truly are unleavened. God considers them to be unleavened now and instructs them to start acting like it. The parable of the leaven shows that the kingdom of heaven is like leaven hidden in three measures of meal till it was all leavened. This warns that the physical nation as the kingdom became all leavened through corrupted belief systems introduced into the relationship with God. The religious atmosphere opposing the Son of God became a poisonous blend of what God had revealed plus beliefs and practices from the Babylonian captivity and Hellenistic influence. This unholy mixture hardened into traditions called Judaism. The major problem was the idolatry of false beliefs that kept people blind to the truth. Leavening can be a symbol of slavery just as unleavened bread is a symbol of deliverance from the house of bondage. The nation had become all leavened and filled with corrupted teachings, traditions, and practices. The people could not even see that they were in bondage. They believed they were free while spiritually enslaved.

The Appointed Weeks of Pentecost

Sermon by David C. Grabbe

Each day in the count is a reminder to consider what we are sowing and what we are cultivating because it will assuredly come to fruition and then evaluation.

Two Realities

Sermon by David C. Grabbe

At baptism, we begin living in two realities simultaneously, one identified by the physical senses and the other discerned by the eyes of faith.

What Is Christ's Hidden Treasure?

Sermonette by David C. Grabbe

The parables of the leaven and the treasure hidden in the field show two sides of the same coin. The hidden treasure is the God-given solution to the leaven.