Eating unleavened bread for seven days (v. 6b) signifies that we live a sinless life daily by enjoying Christ for the full course of our Christian life. In their teaching, the Brethren did not have much to say about Christ being our life apart from sin for our entire Christian life. Therefore, we need to emphasize this matter today. Having passed through the Passover, we are now enjoying the feast of unleavened bread. In this feast we enjoy one bread-the unleavened bread-which signifies the Christ who is unleavened, the Christ who is apart from sin.
When did we have our Passover? It is not easy to answer this question. Corporately as God’s New Testament people, we passed through the Passover on the day the Lord Jesus established His table. The Lord’s table is the replacement of the Old Testament Passover. The Lord Jesus, the very Lamb of the Passover, after being examined for some days, was put to death on the Passover. In the evening before He was crucified, He established the table (Matt. 26:26-30). First He “took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is My body” (v. 26). Then He gave them the cup, saying, “Drink of it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins” (vv. 27b-28). This is the Lord’s table becoming the replacement of the Passover. Although we have passed through this feast, we still keep it. Every week, on the first day of the week, we have the New Testament Passover. Hence, we are still enjoying this feast.
Individually we passed through the feast of Passover at the time we were saved. This means that, individually, we passed through the Passover at different times. Immediately after that feast, we were put into another feast, the feast of unleavened bread. The main thing we enjoy in the Passover feast is Christ as our Lamb. In the feast of unleavened bread, the main thing we enjoy is Christ as the unleavened bread, as our life supply without sin. Now for our whole Christian life we live day by day on this bread that is without sin.
On the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the people were to have a holy convocation and not do any laborious work (v. 7). This signifies that from the very beginning of the course of our Christian life we enjoy Christ corporately as our feast, without our human labor.
For seven days the people were to offer an offering by fire to God (v. 8a). This signifies that we offer Christ as food to God continually through the full course of our Christian life. Christ is our food. After we enjoy Him as food, He becomes our offering to God to be food for God. At the Lord’s table we make a display to the entire universe that during the week we take Christ as our unleavened food, as our life supply apart from sin, and that we come to the table with Him. Then we offer to God for His satisfaction the One we have been enjoying as our food. In so doing, we experience Him as our enjoyment.
On the seventh day also the people were to have a holy convocation and not do any laborious work (v. 8b). This signifies that we continue to enjoy Christ corporately, without our human labor, until the last day of the course of our Christian life.
Home | First | Prev | Next