The children of Israel were to observe the feast of unleavened bread as a continuation of the feast of Passover (12:15-20; 13:6-7). Exodus 12:18 says, “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.” We have pointed out that when the children of Israel ate the Passover lamb, they were also required to eat unleavened bread. We have seen that the feast of the Passover lasted one day, whereas the feast of unleavened bread continued for seven days. Therefore, the feast of unleavened bread was a continuation of the feast of Passover.
The flesh of the Passover lamb signifies the sinless life of Christ. We received Christ not only in His death and resurrection, but also in His sinlessness, for His life is not only a crucified and resurrected life, but also a sinless life. Therefore, we must eat the flesh of the lamb and also the unleavened bread. This means that from the time we received Christ and were saved and had a new beginning in life, we began to live a life without leaven, a life without sin.
Exodus 13:7 says that no leaven was to be seen with the children of Israel. In our Christian life no leaven should be seen. It is impossible for us to have no leaven at all, but it is possible for the leaven not to be seen. Although it is not possible for us to be without sin, we must deal with any sin that is manifested, with any sin that is seen. This means that we are responsible to deal with the sin of which we are conscious. Whenever we discover something sinful in our lives, we must eliminate it. This, however, does not mean that we shall have no sin. There may be much sin in our lives or in our environment, but we may not be conscious of it. However, as soon as we become conscious of it, we must deal with it. We must forsake the sin of which we are conscious. We should not tolerate any manifestation of sin.
In 12:19 the children of Israel were given a strong word: “Whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.” To be cut off from the congregation of Israel was to be cut off from the fellowship of God’s chosen people. This serious word corresponds to Paul’s word in 1 Corinthians 5:13: “Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.” To put away such a one is to cut him off from the fellowship of the church.
If we tolerate sin once it has been exposed, our fellowship will be cut off. This indicates that as Christians we should live a sinless life, not tolerating any sin that has been exposed. To deal with manifested sin is to observe the feast of unleavened bread.
Exodus 12:14 says, “This day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to Jehovah throughout your generations: ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever” (Heb.). This verse indicates that the Passover was to be kept as a feast. The same was true regarding the feast of unleavened bread (12:17). A feast involves both eating and enjoyment. Whenever we eat without having enjoyment as the purpose of our eating, that eating is common. But when we eat for enjoyment, our eating becomes a feast. For example, we may daily eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner without any special enjoyment. But sometimes we come together to hold a feast. At such times, our eating is for the purpose of enjoyment. The eating of the Passover was called the feast of Passover because it was an eating for enjoyment.
When we were saved, we enjoyed the feast of Passover. But this feast should immediately be continued by the feast of unleavened bread. This indicates that a Christian’s enjoyment should not cease. However, in the experience of many Christians, the feast of Passover is not followed by the feast of unleavened bread. At the time of their conversion, they were joyful But this enjoyment did not last, because they did not observe the feast of unleavened bread. This means that they did not deal with their sinful living. Rather, they allowed the leaven that was exposed to remain. They did not deal with sin that had been exposed. For this reason, many Christians do not observe the feast of unleavened bread.
After we receive the Lord and are saved, we should continue our enjoyment by dealing with sin. This should last not just for one day, but for seven days. This means that it should last throughout the course of our life. Our whole life after we are saved should be a feast of unleavened bread.
This was Paul’s concept in 1 Corinthians 5. In verse 7 Paul says, “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.” Then in verse 8 he goes on to tell us to “keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” Day by day we need to keep the feast of unleavened bread. We should keep this feast throughout the course of our Christian life until we see the Lord.
As soon as we refuse to deal with any sin that has been exposed, we no longer keep the feast of unleavened bread. This means that we lose the enjoyment of this feast. Tolerating sin causes loss of enjoyment. On the contrary, the more we deal with sin that has been manifested or exposed, the more enjoyment we have. This is to keep the feast of unleavened bread.
I appreciate the way Paul allegorized the Passover and the feast of unleavened bread. He says that Christ our Passover has been sacrificed, that we should purge out the old leaven, and that we should keep the feast of unleavened bread. We keep this feast by dealing with sin and by living a sinless life. Whenever something sinful is exposed, we immediately deal with it. In this way no leaven shall be seen in our houses. Christ is the unleavened bread. The more we eat Him, the more we shall become unleavened. The only way to eliminate sin is to eat Christ’s crucified, resurrected, and sinless life.
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