Series on Old Testament Festivals and Sacred Days – Festival of Unleavened
Bread
(Click on the
link below to read the verses.)
Exodus 12:14–20;
John 6:25-51
[Many of the
festivals and sacred days from the Old Testament don’t seem to be relevant for
us today. They may have been significant for the Jews at the time, but not now.
In this series, we’re going to take a closer look at the festivals and sacred
days to learn what the significance was for the people of Israel at the time.
And to learn what the significance is for us today.]
During my college years, I discovered deep dish pizza.
Unfortunately, the best deep dish pizza was Gino’s in downtown Chicago. Despite
this, my friends and I made at least one pizza run from Lansing to Gino’s – a four-hour
drive one way, but worth every minute of it.
Israel also had a flatbread. It was an important
part of celebrating their freedom from slavery in Egypt. For 400 years they had
been slaves when finally, the Lord was going to set them free. However, it was under
the most terrible circumstances.
The Lord sent a plague upon Egypt where every
firstborn male, both human and animal, would die. Israel was given grace by the Lord
if they put the blood of a sacrificial lamb over their doorpost. By doing so,
the Lord would Passover their house.
In addition, they were to eat a special meal that included
unleavened bread – a flatbread if you will. These ceremonies of Passover and the
Festival of Unleavened Bread were to be celebrated from that day forward. It was
to remind them of how the Lord had miraculously delivered them from slavery.
17 “Celebrate the
Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I
brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting
ordinance for the generations to come. NIV
But why unleavened bread? One reason is that it was
known as the “bread of haste”. Since there was no yeast, it didn’t require time
to rise. And because the Israelites fled Egypt so quickly, unleavened bread was
perfect for making a fast escape.
Secondly, unleavened bread was known as the “bread of affliction”. Therefore, it was a physical reminder of the hardship, suffering, and bitterness of Israel’s bondage under Pharaoh.
In the New Testament, a different reason is given
for using unleavened bread. Jesus warned his disciples about “the
yeast of the Pharisees”. Paul wrote to the Corinthian church to “get
rid of the old yeast”. In fact, yeast was normally used as a metaphor for a
small, hidden sin that spreads and affects others.
However, Jesus turned everything upside down. After he fed the five thousand, the crowds tracked him down. They asked him
for a sign and reminded him how God provided manna for their ancestors in the
wilderness during the Exodus.
When Jesus told them the true bread from heaven
would give them life, the crowds asked Jesus to give it to them.
Jesus didn’t differentiate between leavened or
unleavened bread. But he declared that he was “the bread of life”. Therefore, my conclusion is that his
bread is worth far more than a pizza run to Gino’s.
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