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First Day of Unleavened Bread
April 16, 2022

Today is the first day of Unleavened Bread, one of the Holy Days given by God in the Bible. Some may wonder why we keep the Holy Days, and we only need to look to the writings of Paul who told the Corinthians to keep the feast, not with the old leaven, or the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. He added that Jesus Christ is our Passover who was sacrificed for us.

1 Corinthians 5:6-8
Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? 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: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

He did not tell the Corinthians to not keep the feast. If there had been a problem or no need for Christians to not keep the feast, Paul would have been able to clearly explain why not, but he did not. Instead he contrasted how Christians should keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread compared to how it had been kept. He was telling the Corinthians how Christians might keep the feast might look different and would be based in sincerity and truth. We know from Acts that the Feast of Unleavened Bread was used as a marker in the journey of Paul. It was after the Days of Unleavened Bread that Paul set sail from Philippi.

Acts 20:1-6
And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them, and departed for to go into Macedonia. And when he had gone over those parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece, And there abode three months. And when the Jews laid wait for him, as he was about to sail into Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia. And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus. These going before tarried for us at Troas. And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days.

One way how the feast would have looked different for Christians and continues to be different for Christians today is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ who died once for all through which we are sanctified. There is no longer any need for the ritual sacrifices and offerings as given in the Old Testament, however, nothing in what Paul wrote to the Corinthians indicates the Holy Days were no longer being kept. These were still being kept by the Christians, albeit with a different look and feel. This change is beautifully explained in Hebrews where the wording shows that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ replaces all of these offerings and sacrifices of the Old Testament.

Hebrews 10:1-10
For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come in the volume of the book it is written of me, to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

As we observe this feast, it is timely to focus on that Jesus is our Bread of Life. While we may be physically eating unleavened bread during this feast as we focus our life on sincerity and truth, that action will not attain eternal life. Jesus is the Bread of Life, which is one of the reasons why during the Passover those who observed ate unleavened bread which represented His body. It is only through the death of Jesus Christ that life, eternal life, can be given to people, and as we surrender ourselves to His will and love, that we will never hunger and we will never thirst.

John 6:27-58
Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

Keeping this Feast of Unleavened Bread where Paul reminds us to keep this feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, should give us pause to contrast that which is unleavened to that which is leavened. If unleavened bread is sincerity and truth, what would leavened bread be? We can look to the words of Jesus, the Bread of Life, to see how Jesus explained this to the disciples. He told the disciples to beware the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, and in the lesson to His disciples, the leaven wasn’t about the bread, but the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Matthew 16:5-12
And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

Because we know the full story today of the life and death of Jesus and the people who favorably and unfavorably interacted with Him during his life, we sometimes overlook an important concept. We know Jesus is our Lord and Savior, and we accept that. Back in the day, when people needed a religious authority they went to the temple and interacted with people like Pharisees and Sadducees. If we want to beneficially apply Matthew sixteen to our lives today, we must consider who the religious authorities are in our life. For those who are of the Church of God, the religious authorities in our life are found within the Church of God. The Church of God will not look to another religious group or leader, it will look among itself to find these religious authorities. If we want to beneficially apply the warning of Jesus to beware the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees, we need to look within our own teachings, our own doctrines in self-reflection to see which have departed from that unleavened bread standard of sincerity and truth. If in preparation for the Feast of Unleavened Bread we have removed leaven from our homes, we have done good, because the Bible tells us to do this. We will do better to also focus our efforts on sincerity and truth as we avoid doctrines which are not sincere or truthful. That which is not sincere or truthful might be described as hypocrisy, and Jesus also used this word to describe the leaven of the Pharisees.

Luke 12:1-3
In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread is a great time to examine how we might be hypocritical in our own lives, and collectively as a Church to examine how we might be hypocritical in our teachings. As we examine ourselves we need to remember we are charged to keep the feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, meaning we do not act with hypocrisy and we do not compromise on what the Bible teaches, knowing that if we allow any space for hypocrisy and false teachings, these can grow and multiply just as much as leavening causes a bread dough to rise.

Galatians 5:7-12
Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be. And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased. I would they were even cut off which trouble you.

The scribes and Pharisees were berated by Jesus as hypocrites because they kept people from the Kingdom of God. In hindsight it is easy for us to see the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees, but how did the scribes and Pharisees see themselves? Might they have saw themselves as guardians and protectors of the truth of God?

Within the Church of God, do we see ourselves as guardians and protectors of the truth of God? To some degree we do. If the religious authorities of Jesus’ day were overtaken by hypocrisy in their religious practices, we must be mindful we can be overtaken by hypocrisy in our religious practices because Satan is at war against God, and the people of God. We can do nothing that keeps a person from the Kingdom of God.

We cannot use religious displays to buffer exploitation. This world has a long history of people using religious authority to exploit the faithful. We can never allow doctrine and religious teachings to exploit people. In the passage Jesus mentioned how the homes of widows were devoured. The scribes and Pharisees didn’t eat the house, but they found crafty ways to take the house away from the widow. We cannot allow doctrine and religious teachings to separate people from what is rightfully theirs, especially at a time when they might be without family.

We cannot be on a mission to convert people to the faith and then create a situation where once these people are of the faith, to expect more spiritually of these people then we expect of ourselves. We should always be holding ourselves to the highest spiritual standards, and Jesus clearly shows there is no basis to apply an even more stringent standard to others.

We cannot use phrases and words to justify our actions. An action of hypocrisy will always be an action of hypocrisy no matter what words are spoken. There is no magic phrase or words that ever will justify an action of hypocrisy.

We cannot be micro-focused on lesser issues of faith while ignoring the broader spiritual principle. For instance, if we have removed leaven from our homes, we have done good because that is expected of us, but we also have to be living lives of sincerity and truth. Jesus would rightfully call us a hypocrite if we live a life of hypocrisy, even if we removed leaven from our homes.

We cannot live a life where religious faith is a costume we wear. Outward appearances of righteousness may look religious to others but the inward reflection of faith is what is most important. Before looking good religiously for others, we first must ensure we are living a life of sincerity and truth.

We cannot appear righteous to people while secretly living a life of sin. Our outward appearance of faith must match our internal reflection of faith.

Matthew 23:13-28
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

The prophet Isaiah, long before Jesus lived, wrote of how God was not pleased with the feasts, sabbaths, and sacrifices and offerings of the people, and why was God not pleased with the people? The people were accused of provoking God to anger, of being a sinful nation, laden with sins where children were born evil and refined evil into even more sinister forms of evil. God gave the people two demands. One was to stop the evil. The second is easily overlooked because the scribes and Pharisees overlooked this. In addition to stopping the evil, was the demand to do well, seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, and plead for the widow. If we have put evil out of our life, we have done what is expected, but have we also done what is expected, to do well, seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, and plead for the widow, or do we just let bad situations continue?

Isaiah 1:1-17
The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

This very first Holy Day as given by God provides a shadow of things to come, as do the months and years and the weekly Sabbath. These all give us a shadow of things to come, and we can use these days to help us better understand God’s plan of salvation. The keeping of these days does not replace the death of Jesus, because without the death of Jesus, the meaning of these days would have no importance for us, because without the death of Jesus, there would be no opportunity for salvation.

Colossians 2:16-17
Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

With today’s focus on the Holy Days, specifically the First Day of Unleavened Bread, let’s go back and review what is written regarding the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Today is the First Day of Unleavened Bread and in 2022 Friday will be the seventh day, the last day of Unleavened Bread. Both are Holy Days. We are to do no servile work. The references to the offering have been fulfilled by the death of Jesus Christ who died once for all.

Leviticus 23:6-8
And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.

In Exodus, we are told to eat unleavened bread for seven days, the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. We are not to eat leavened bread, nor are we to allow hypocrisy to be part of our life. No leaven is to be found in our homes during the feast, nor are we to eat anything that is leavened.

Exodus 12:15-20
Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you. And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. 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. Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for 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. Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.

Historically, it was on this day that the Children of Israel departed from Egypt as they prepared to leave Egypt. It was on this day that the Children of Israel left their oppressors, and as we eat the unleavened bread of sincerity of truth we cannot become oppressors to others. The truth that God has given us is never a license to oppress.

Numbers 33:3-5
And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians. For the Egyptians buried all their firstborn, which the Lord had smitten among them: upon their gods also the Lord executed judgments. And the children of Israel removed from Rameses, and pitched in Succoth.

Leaven puffs up. We need to be on guard for what causes us to become spiritually puffed up to the point where we think we have license to judge and condemn, or oppress others. The Pharisees did not magically appear overnight at the birth of Jesus. The Pharisees and their hypocrisy were long in the making and probably originated with sincere religious devotion. Over time, something happened that resulted in the Pharisees getting to the point where they thought they could judge and condemn, and oppress others. We cannot allow the same to happen to us, and we must be spiritually on guard because becoming like the Pharisees is something that happens over a period of time. Instead, we need to be like Paul who very well knew that within him was a battle with sin taking on righteous that happens every day. Paul explained that it is through Jesus we are delivered from this body of death.

Romans 7:14-25
For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after 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 shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God 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.

Living a spiritually-focused life with our mortal bodies should be a constant reminder of sin, and a constant reminder that it is through Jesus that we attain eternal life. As we are living our life, we are not to be living a life of hypocrisy, but of sincerity and truth. We can read the words of Peter to help us do this by knowing through the Holy Spirit we have a taste of the divine nature of God and with this gift we must through diligence exercise our faith and grow virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love so that one day we can be part of the Kingdom of God.

2 Peter 1:1-11
Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Today and throughout this feast, we are to eat unleavened bread, having removed leaven from our homes. We are reminded of the words of Jesus who explained He was the Bread of Life and how the religious authorities of His day were hypocrites. We cannot become religious hypocrites today. We are reminded by Paul of the need to keep this feast not with the leavened bread of hypocrisy, but the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Let us keep this feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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