A Morning Bible Study ── The Days of Unleavened Bread (A Part of God's Master Plan)

by Leonard V Johnson

The most important ‘feast of the LORD’ will soon be here! The LORD’s Passover ── April 11th, beginning at sunset. Besides the weekly holy Sabbath, it is the first of the LORD God’s annual commanded feasts (Leviticus 23:5), it pictures for us the first of many steps in the LORD God’s (the Elohim; the family of God – which at this time consists of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ) MASTER PLAN for the redemption of all mankind. It was Jesus Christ, “our Passover” (1 Corinthians 5:7), who was sacrificed for our past sins. Yet, just accepting the Lord and believing in Him, and His living sacrifice is not enough.

Once we have truly repented of our transgressions against the LORD God, been properly baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and having received the gift of the Holy Spirit ── we must continually have CHRIST IN US!

We must come out of this world and its religious institutions ──

“ …’ Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.’” – Revelation 18:4.

Just as the children of Israel left ancient Egypt ── used in God’s living word as an analogy to represent the people of God’s bondage to sin. We must strive to PUT ON CHRIST! That is our part in the LORD God’s Master Plan.

The LORD God gave His begotten people the annual Feast of Unleavened Bread. The keeping and observance of this glorious feast impresses upon us the great need to daily imbibe within us God’s living Spirit. Let’s understand.

1) What feast did the LORD God command the children of Israel to proclaim, to keep, and celebrate immediately after the LORD’s Passover?

“’ And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; SEVEN DAYS you must eat unleavened BREAD.’” – Leviticus 23:6.

“’ So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day THROUGHOUT YOUR GENERATIONS as an EVERLASTING ORDINANCE.’” – Exodus 12:17.

So, the children of Israel were to keep and observe this feast throughout all their generations as an everlasting ordinance.

2) How many days is the Feast of Unleavened Bread? Notice ──

“’ And on the fifteenth day of this month is the feast; unleavened bread shall be eaten for SEVEN DAYS.’” – Numbers 28:17.

“’ The Feast of Unleavened Bread you shall keep. SEVEN DAYS you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in the appointed time of the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt.’” – Exodus 34:18.

Were the first day and the seventh day set apart as “holy” days on which God’s people were to assemble together? Notice ──

“’ 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 12:16.

The very first month of God’s sacred calendar – which the LORD God has preserved through the Jews, though they don’t keep it accurate ── is called Abib or Nisan in Hebrew. It corresponds to our pagan Gregorian calendar to the time that falls during March and April. March is named after the pagan god Mars. Interestingly enough, the Anglo-Saxons called April ēastre-monaþ ── which The Reckoning of Time states that this month ēastre is the root of the word Easter. Therefore, the Feast of Unleavened Bread begins the evening of the 14th immediately after the LORD’s Passover. It continues for seven days until the sunset of the 21st. Both the 15th and the 21st are holy Sabbaths ── annual “holy convocations.”

3) Were the children of Israel to have no leaven (speaking of bread with leavening in it; as in baking) in all their territory for those seven days? Notice ──

“’ You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), that you may remember the day in which you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life. 4) And no leaven [speaking of bread with leavening in it; as in baking] shall be seen among you in all your territory for seven days, …’” – Deuteronomy 16:3-4.

So, that’s very clear. During the Days of Unleavened Bread, you are to eat – every day – at least some unleavened bread. And for those seven days you will not eat leavened bread. Now that’s all it said. It didn’t say, “Get down on your hands and knees and look for old cookie crumbs.” It just didn’t say it. It is not the Days of Unleavened Beer. You know, to make beer you have to have yeast. Yeast, the number one leavening agent in the history of mankind, always has been and will be. It is not the Days of Unleavened Wine. It is not the Days of Unleavened Toothpaste. Because some toothpastes have baking powder in them. A lot of people think, ‘Well, I’m not supposed to eat leavening.’ You’re not supposed to consume leavened bread. Didn’t we read that?

4) Is leaven ever used metaphorically in God’s living word?

Our Lord Jesus did speak of leaven metaphorically ──

“Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. 6) Then Jesus said to them, ‘Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.’

7) And they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘Is it because we have taken no bread.’

8) But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, ‘O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? 9) Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? 10) Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?

11) How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? ── but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’

12) Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” – Matthew 16:5-12.

The ‘doctrine’ of the Pharisees ──

• The importance of keeping rituals.

• The overwhelming desire to convert Gentiles.

• The Way to God was by obeying the physical Law.

• Extending Jewish practices into life outside the temple.

• Instilling greater piety in “the common people.”

To name but a few.

Additionally, they put significant weight on the “oral tradition,” or the traditions of the elders, believing this interpretive framework helped clarify the written Law. Ancient rabbinic sources and later compilations, such as portions of the Talmud, reflect the Pharisaic influence in codifying and teaching these traditions. This oral tradition functioned to address practical questions about Sabbath observance, dietary laws, ritual purity, and other facets of devotion.

Our Lord Jesus is showing us that His New Covenant does not match the old rites of the Pharisees, which required a lot of fasting. Our Lord Jesus taught against syncretism ── which is the mixing of beliefs, such as Judeo-Christianity.

Having a show of piety, without true holiness, is like leaven in that it gradually increases and spreads corruption, puffing up a person with vanity. Indeed, friends, the very nature of leaven (or, rather, yeast) is to change whatever it contacts. Yeast does its job slowly, secretly, and silently, but no one can deny its effect on bread. Yeast is microscopic in size, and only a little is kneaded into the dough. Yet, given time, the yeast will spread through all the dough.

The ’doctrine’ of the Sadducees ──

• Rejection of the Resurrection and Afterlife.

• Adherence to the Written Law.

• Temple Worship and Sacrificial System.

The Sadducees’ interactions with our Lord Jesus were marked by theological disagreements, particularly concerning their rejection of a resurrection. In Matthew 22:29-32, our Lord Jesus addresses their unbelief by affirming that there is a resurrection unto life and correcting their misunderstanding of His living word.

In Jewish tradition, the removal of all leaven, known as “bedikat chametz,” is a meticulous process that involves searching and ritualistically cleaning the home to ensure no leaven remains in the home. However, this practice greatly underscores the great importance of true obedience to the LORD God. In our Lord Jesus’ New Covenant, the concept of leaven is used by our Lord Jesus along with the apostles to WARN us against false doctrines and hypocrisy.

5) Does the LORD God specifically command the people of God to consume unleavened bread during this feast?

“’ Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the FIRST DAY you shall remove leaven [speaking of leavened bread] from your houses.’” – Exodus 12:15.

So, not only were the children of Israel to remove any leavened bread from their houses, they were also commanded to eat unleavened bread during the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Why some want to make this command complicated is beyond me! This act of eating a little bit of unleavened bread every day of the feast symbolizes the imbibing of CHRIST IN US!

6) Upon our proper repentance, proper baptism, and the laying on of hands, and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit ── our Lord Jesus Christ’s sacrifice blots out all our past sins. And when the apostle Paul asks if we as true Christians should continue in sin ── he gives the answer!

“What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law [speaking of the Old Covenant] but under grace? Certainly not! 16) Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death [speaking of the second death], or of obedience leading to righteousness?” – Romans 6:15-16.

What was his admonishment for us to put on?

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” – Romans 13:14.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was tortured, beaten, and sacrificed so that mankind did not have to pay the penalty of eternal death ──

“For if by one man’s offense death [speaking of the second death; eternal death] reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life [eternal life] through the One, Jesus Christ.)” – Romans 5:13-17.

7) Did our beloved apostle Paul admonish us ── through the inspiration of God’s Spirit ── to keep and observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread?

“Therefore purge out the old leaven, …” ── recall what the old leaven he is speaking of. False doctrines. “ … that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 8) Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” – 1 Corinthians 5:7-8.

The unleavened bread of sincerity and truth is JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD!

The Holy Days are all Christocentric! The Days of Unleavened Bread are pointing us to one thing – Jesus Christ! He is that unleavened bread of sincerity and truth!

The LORD God knows that to properly overcome and faithfully obey Them, we need Their spiritual help! We must eat unleavened bread every day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread to symbolize us imbibing the glorious Spirit of God ── Their mind, Their strength! □

Being Born Again (Sermon) - delivered by Minister Leonard Johnson

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE "BORN AGAIN"! If someone were to come to your door and ask, "Brother, have you been born again?" Would you know how to properly answer─ using God's living word!? Here in this sermon, Minister Leonard V. Johnson covers with you─ the answer. Using God's living word.