For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast. On the first day of the festival, remove every trace of yeast from your homes. Anyone who eats bread made with yeast during the seven days of the festival will be cut off from the community of Israel. Exodus12:15
Today is the first full day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread. During this seven day festival, all leaven, which is yeast, must be removed from every Hebrew home, and no work is permitted on the first day (today) or on the seventh day. The festival is a remembrance of how the Israelites scurried out of Egypt in such a hurry that they had no time to prepare the dough for their bread. The night before, they had eaten the Passover meal of lamb and bi er herbs, sprinkling the blood of the lamb on their doorposts so that the angel of death would pass over their homes and not strike down their firstborn. They ate the Passover meal dressed and ready for travel as an act of faith, trusting that God would be faithful to deliver them out of Egypt and from their slavery. In the early morning hours of this day all those years ago, the Israelites were forcibly ordered out of Egypt by Pharaoh. The whole nation of Israel, which totaled about 600,000 men, plus women and children and a few non-Israelites who believed in the Hebrew God, headed from Ramses to Succoth in the wilderness.
Fast forward to the times when Jesus walked on the earth. This is the same day, the last day of His life on earth, on which He was tried and crucified, completing the work of redemption for us through the shedding of His blood. The night before, He had celebrated the Passover meal with His disciples, knowing that He would be handed over to be killed. He had prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane and in an act of faith submitted Himself to God’s will over His own, trusting that God would be faithful to deliver Him from death and the grave. In the early morning hours of this day, the leading priests and elders of the people acted upon their plans to put Jesus to death. They bound Him, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate. In the series of events that followed, the religious leaders demanded His crucifixion. They murdered the one and only Son of the God that they claimed to serve and the very Messiah that they so eagerly awaited in the most supreme act of hypocrisy of all time.
During His life, Jesus warned of the yeast of the Pharisees as a metaphor for their hypocrisy. The Pharisees were the strictest religious sect in Israel, placing heavy legalistic requirements of righteousness on the people without demonstrating any of God’s merciful or compassionate character. The Pharisees, and other religious leaders, placed more emphasis on the rules, regulations, and false doctrines which they had created – their works – than the true teachings of God’s Word. Therefore, when God Himself showed up in the flesh teaching the Word of God with superior understanding to theirs and with the authority which comes from authorship, they didn’t even recognize Him. As a matter of fact, He just made them frustrated, confused, and angry. They demanded a sign from Jesus, but He refused by saying that they would not believe even if God raised Him from the dead. (How true!)
Unfortunately, today we have modern-day “Pharisees” within the Church, who have created their own man-made doctrines, rules, and regulations, placing more importance on them than the Word of God. They do not fully understand the sufficiency of God’s grace or that salvation is a free gift, not based on works, so that no one can boast in themselves. These wolves in sheep’s clothing, just like their spiritual predecessors the Pharisees of Jesus’ day, can be described as boastful, proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to authority, ungrateful, unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, lacking self-control, reckless, and puffed-up. They love money and pleasure more than God, and they consider nothing sacred. They act religious, but they lack the power of the Holy Spirit. We must very careful not to be led astray by people like this because if Jesus returned today, He would expose them as religious counterfeits, and I guarantee that they would not recognize Him.
Today, let us observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread in our hearts as we walk in the obedience of faith. Let us do a self-inspection for the yeast of hypocrisy in our lives and if we find it, let us hurry to remove it from our homes and our hearts. Do the words describing modern-day Pharisees describe you and your faith? Are you trusting in your works more than you trust in the work Jesus completed on the cross? Do you seek money or personal pleasure more than godliness and true holiness? Most importantly if Jesus returned today, would you recognize Him?
Today, let us turn ourselves over to God afresh, seeking His will for our lives over our own with readiness to go wherever He may lead us as we diligently follow Him. Let us strive to enter into His rest through faith in Christ’s work and trusting in His words from the cross on this day, “It is finished.”
Scripture References: Exodus 12, Luke 12:1-12, Matthew 16:1-12, 2 Timothy 3:1-13, Ephesians 2:-9
The Crucifixion: Matthew 27:45-66, Mark 15:24-57, Luke 23:47, John 19:18-42
Note: This is the day commemorated as Good Friday in some churches around the world.
Originally published as: "Unleavened Faith" - Reprinted from The Obedience of Faith Blog - Copyright © 2013 Wendy Bowen – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED WORLDWIDE