The Leaven of Character

Jewish and Christian Perspectives (Exodus 12, 1 Corinthians 5:6-8). “For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel” (Exodus 12:15, quotations from BibleGateway NIV, except as noted).

— Ken Osterman

The “Feast of Unleavened Bread” is intimately associated with the Passover. In the ancient custom, the Passover lamb was selected on the 10th of Abib/Aviv (Babylonian Nisan), and the lamb sacrificed between the evenings (~3 pm) on the 14th and the Passover meal eaten the evening of the 15th, beginning the 7-day Feast of Unleavened Bread. This joyous feast is still celebrated worldwide by religious Jews recalling the deliverance from Egyptian bondage. During the Christian age, Christians viewed this feast variously. In the fourth century, most of Christianity replaced this celebration with Easter. Since the late 1800’s, recognition of the lessons of God’s typical feasts has gained significant interest. Many Christians and Jews are coming together with renewed appreciation of these Feasts, as Jewish mistrust of Christianity is waning and Christian appreciation of God’s eternal promises to Abraham is waxing. Many understand that our Creator is working with Jews and Christians in very special ways (Romans 11).

These Feasts are described in Leviticus 23. The first feast being an 8-day celebration combining Passover and Unleavened Bread, with a firstfruits offering on the 16th. The first occurrence is described in Exodus 12 when Moses and Aaron received instructions describing the institution of Passover and Unleavened bread as a perpetual ordinance. This initial observance had important characteristics — an unblemished lamb, blood applied to the door, a meal eaten in haste with bitter herbs and without leaven and the people prepared in readiness for departure in the morning when a liberating deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage occurred. Before this morning deliverance of the nation, a miraculous midnight passing-over delivered the Israelite firstborn from the destroyer (Hebrews 11:28-29, Exodus 12:12-22).

As mentioned, this Christian feast was exchanged for Easter celebrations. From God’s view, Easter never replaced the feast nor does the Christian replace the Jew. Apostle Paul clearly states. “As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable” (Romans 11:28-29). Although truth shines brighter in this harvest age, there remain important elements many Christians do not fully comprehend. Though many recognize Jesus as the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world, many fail to see that the complete benefit of “Christ our Passover” is not yet fulfilled (1 Corinthians 5: 6-8, Luke 22:14-18). Fulfillment occurs after our Lord’s return to complete the two great antitypical deliverances promised. The deliverance of the first-born church precedes the deliverance of the world. “If we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship [placement as sons, RVIC], the redemption of our bodies [body]” (Romans 8:17-23).

Apostle Paul indicates the Jewish law and sacrifices were typical, pointing to Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:16- 17, Hebrews 9). This supports his admonition, “Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch — as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:6-8).

The Church at Corinth

The context surrounding these verses indicates the church in Corinth had an issue with tolerating open immorality. It was so serious that Paul says even pagans would not have tolerated it. Paul continued and said to purge it completely. He associated this sin of immorality with leaven — get rid of it, it is deadly. But it was not just immorality that concerned Paul. It was sin in general. He rebuked the church, saying, “Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough?”

In this situation the Corinthian church was corrupting itself just as one rotten apple in a barrel will destroy all. Paul associated leaven with malice and wickedness. How beautifully this illustrates the spirit of the law. It is not that we must literally remove leaven from our physical homes or from our physical bread. We are to diligently remove “sin” from the house of God and individually, from our house, our body.

Like the early Israelites, the religious Jews of today diligently scour the house for every vestige of leaven. Not a trace is to be present. If any is found, there must be remediation. In the antitype, Christians are to do the same, searching out every vestige of sin within the church, beginning with personal introspection. When found, we need our Lord’s help and his advocacy. Psalms 19:12-13 says, “But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression.” 1 John 1:8-10 and 2:1-2 add, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. … But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father — Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” Full deliverance from sin occurs first for each church member followed by the world’s deliverance.

These two deliverances involve more than a casual forgiveness from the Lord. Salvation involves our recognition of sin(s), confession of sin(s), repentance (change) and often reconciliation or restoration to those we have harmed. As purging leaven from a Jewish home requires close inspection, our purging of sin involves sincere personal introspection. Having been conceived and born in sin, sin is pervasive and requires our vigilance. Hebrews 12:1 reads, “let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.”

Pressing toward this goal, we remember the Apostle Paul’s admonition, “so that you may be a new unleavened batch.” Let us briefly touch upon a lesson of this issue’s topic, “Beware the leaven [of the Sadducees, Pharisees, and Herod].” Jesus warned his disciples (Luke 12:1) of the sin of hypocrisy and in Matthew 23, he warned the Pharisees, calling them hypocrites, blind guides, and a brood of vipers. Corruption had so hardened their hearts that Jesus asked, “How will you escape being condemned to hell?” (gehenna, second death). These false leaders were so steeped in their hypocrisy that they were nearing condemnation.

How did they get this spirit? Bit by bit they were searing their consciences. Jesus is not simply warning us against their evil spirit, but he is warning us how sin will eat away at our conscience. We must not harbor sin, for it will grow as mold on an apple.

Consider Paul’s wording of “a new unleavened batch.” Paul associated these words with the typical unleavened bread of Exodus 12. Elsewhere, Moses calls it the “bread of affliction.” Deuteronomy 16:3 reads, “Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left Egypt in haste — so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt.”

Over the past three millennia, traditions have been added to Passover. Jewish traditions include a beautiful Haggadah (retelling the story) which is read during a long, festive meal with questions from the children and answers from the eldest. The unleavened bread (matzah, matzo) is soft pita bread or hard and flat. This rich Passover tradition varies among the three large groups of Jews — Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Mizrachi — with additional insights from Messianic (Christian) Jews. However, Paul’s admonition draws us to the ancient custom of the “Bread of Affliction” and this recalls the harsh afflictions of bondage and poverty under Pharaoh. Paul, then, redirects our attention to the afflictions and poverty of our Lord Jesus and to the afflictions and poverty of his followers (Hebrews 5:7-9, Philippians 2:5-8, 2 Corinthians 8:9, Isaiah 53).

Our master throughout his sinless ministry felt and took on many afflictions of sinful humanity. He felt undeserved loathing from false leaders and direct attacks from Satan. His last day culminated with a solemn, rather than joyous, Passover with his closest disciples, followed by a trying, lonely Gethsemane experience, false judgments, beatings, a heavy cross and his cry, “My God, My God why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27-46 KJV).

As we follow in his footsteps, do we expect to go unscathed? Too many Christians rejoice in their salvation hope without appreciating the associated afflictions. The Psalmist writes, “Before I was afflicted, I went astray.” “Many are the afflictions of the righteous” (Psalms 119:67, 34:19 KJV).

Jesus, Paul and others indicated the same, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” “If we endure, we will also reign with him” (John 15:18, Matthew 5:10, 2 Timothy 2:12). “Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).

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