INTRODUCTION
We have spent the last seven days of this Feast of Unleavened
Bread in homes devoid of physical leaven while at the same time
consuming bread which has not been leavened. What has this ritual
meant to each of us spiritually? How do we understand the meaning
and symbolism behind the putting out of old leaven and the putting
in, the eating, the ingesting, of what is unleavened? And what
will be different for us once this evening marks the end of this
Unleavened Bread period?
THE GOOD BATCH
This parable, however, is reinforced, and thus explained, by the
preceding parallel one of the mustard seed (vs 31-32), in which
a very small seed grows into such a tall plant. So the parable
of the leaven hidden in the meal is in fact teaching us that the
power of the Spirit and the forces of the Gospel of the Kingdom
are pervasive and dynamic, like leaven or yeast which, when kneaded
into the dough, expands by itself. It is an internal dynamism,
working slowly, non-dramatically at first, but gradually and constantly.
Ultimately it will engulf the entire earth.
The yeast was generally a small piece of dough—small enough to
be "hidden"—from a previous batch of baking, which had
been allowed to ferment for several days—like sourdough. It was
added to the flat bread—usually kneaded into the middle of the
dough (picture the Spirit in the very mind or heart of those begotten
by God) so as to make it lighter and more flavorful. Just as the
leaven changed, or assimilated to its own nature, the meal or
dough with which it was mixed, so too is it the purpose and operation
of the Holy Spirit of God to transform the recipient of His Spirit
into the image of our heavenly Father—a total transformation,
a complete leavening. This then is a leavening process which is
approved of by God, is it not? This is the leaven of righteousness.
It should be contagious for good. So the symbolism of leaven in
the Scriptures is not always the symbolism of evil, is it?
Both these parables, of the mustard seed and the leaven, are prophetic,
intended to show, principally, how, from very small beginnings,
the Gospel of Christ will pervade the entire world with the fruits
of righteousness and true holiness. The reference to leaven "hidden"
in the meal has nothing to do with hidden evil, or sin, but rather
with the "hidden" workings of the Spirit of God:
The resultant batch of dough depicted in this parable will be
holy to God (cf. Ro 11:16), for the leavening that takes place
to produce it is good, positive, beneficial—it is the new leaven
of righteousness.
THE BAD BATCH
OLD AND NEW
Notice how Christ's use of parables fulfilled prophecy:
However, to return to our theme, there is an "old" that
does need to be renewed:
And it can be an even worse situation. Notice what Luke alone
adds to this parable:
The words of Jesus Christ in these two parables, while here directly
applicable to a contemporary Judaism unwilling to relinquish old
ideas, customs and traditions at odds with the "new"
teachings of the Son of God, are also valid for Christians today.
Let's consider this principle of the old and the new
in the context of our past and present experiences.
It can be hard to abandon the old ways have been so used to—the
old teachings, past ideas that seemed to slot so well into the
scheme of things, notions and concepts which once sat so comfortably
in our minds. Our Church of God legacy delivered to us a neat
little package of doctrine, of philosophy, even of history, bundled
together by man-made notions embracing prophetic speculation,
distortions of the Scriptures and misinterpretations of history,
most—if not all—of which had been either begged, borrowed or stolen
from other sources. Nevertheless, like the pieces of a completed
jigsaw puzzle, everything was made to fit together very well for
us, and every piece had its correct place in the scheme of things.
Yet as the new wine of the Word and the Truth of God pushes its
way into a mind still cluttered with these relics from the past,
what needs to happen to all the other remaining inter-linked jigsaw
pieces as more and more of the major pieces are found to be faulty
and are indeed cast aside? Do we still try to patch them up to
make them co-exist with the new truths we are learning or do we
see the necessity of abandoning all that is tested—honestly,
on the basis of the Word of God—and found wanting?
To what do we default when put on the spot? The old leaven of
false notions and ideas, the product of the thinking of this world,
aspects of the maddening wine of Babylon (Jer 51:7; Rev 14:8;
17:2) that intoxicates the whole earth, just as it has poisoned
the religious culture from whence we came? Or the new, clean leaven
of truth, hopefully coming to reside more and more in the recesses
of our thinking? And do we in fact know, can we differentiate
between what is old and what is new? Let's notice the reaction
of the Jews to the words of Christ rebuking them for the bondage
they were unwilling to recognise and deal with:
This leaven of false teaching can be very enticing, yet ultimately
destructive! The apostle Peter describes false teachers (2Pe 2:1-2)
whose erroneous, corrupt notions ended up pervading their character
to such a degree that they become reprobate (v. 3):
While Christ's words related directly to teachings old and new,
correct and incorrect, to knowledge and ideas valid or invalid,
to truth and error, they are of course also applicable more directly
to the godly character-building process which is to take place
in the life of every son and daughter of God. New wine needs to
be stored in new wineskins, which can expand with the wine as
it ferments and which, unlike the old wineskins, will not crack
or tear (cf. Job 32:19). The new man—the new creation—which Christians
are to become cannot be superimposed upon the existing old man—onto
character that is still flawed as much by ideas and thinking that
are in error scripturally as by actions and behaviour that still
fall short of godliness. To build upon such a foundation is unsustainable:
the new wine will eventually be completely spilt and wasted—the
new creation will be malformed or even aborted—and the original
tear in the old garment—the corrupted old man—will only widen
to allow in even more of the old leaven. Yet how often do we still
attempt to mend the worn-out and cracked old wineskins (Jos 9:4)
or try to patch up the old garments! If we really want to continue
to enjoy the old wine, there's going to have to be a lot of mending,
of patching up!
So upon what sort of a foundation are we building: an old, corroded
and flawed one or a new, sound, tried-and-tested one?
BAD FRUITS OF THE OLD LEAVEN
Paul restates the principle in his epistle to the Galatians:
THE OLD AND THE NEW MAN
The Scriptures reveal to us that putting off the old man
is—or at least, should be—synonymous with the putting on the new
man; in this sense, eating the unleavened bread as we have been
does symbolise both the putting out of the old and the putting
on of the new.
So let us then consider this process of spiritual purging, this
putting off the old, and putting on the new, a little more.
SPIRITUAL PURGING: PUTTING OFF THE OLD
CRUCIFIED TO THE WORLD
Eph 6:11-1 admonishes us to ensure that we have an additional
outfit in our wardrobe to put on in order to be able to withstand
the assaults of the Devil and to keep ourselves unpolluted from
the world: the whole armor of God. Our belts are tightened with
sincerity, the heart is guarded by righteousness to keep out the
leaven of the world, the Gospel of peace constitutes our sandals;
along with the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the
sword of the Word of God, our offensive weapon, these can help
to ensure that the old self is not readily revived.
Let us then consider the true unleavened Bread of Life, the only
means by which this transition from the old leaven to the new
can be successfully accomplished.
SPIRITUAL MANNA—THE TRUE UNLEAVENED BREAD OF LIFE
Jn 6:32-35 Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly,
I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but
My Father gives you the true bread from heaven [the true spiritual
food—the real bread from heaven—is not able to be provided by
men]. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven
and gives life [Christ not only nurtures and sustains but also
gives and guarantees true life] to the world." 34 Then they
said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always [but did this
crowd really fathom what Christ meant by this "bread of life"—a
bread that did more than merely sustain them?]." 35 And
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life [the bread that
imparts true life]. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and
he who believes in Me shall never thirst."
CONCLUSION
The true leaven, the penetrating, contagious, life-giving leaven
of righteousness, the leaven of life, the leaven of the Word of
God, "kneaded" into the hearts and spirits of His people,
must also continue to leaven the whole lump, producing that universal
holiness without which none can see the Lord (Heb 12:4). It is
to dwell within and amongst spiritually-unleavened Christians.
Is it present in and amongst us?
The ultimate renewal, the full deleavening, the incorruptible,
totally-unleavened state is something we all can look forward
to:
This holy day season has much to do with leaving things behind
and moving forward, with putting off and putting on, with renewal,
with rededication—with "old" and "new", which
is the theme I would like to explore today, centering around the
symbolism of the leaven which has given its name to this festival.
Let us begin by reconsidering some of the biblical teaching about
the meaning inherent in the symbolism of leaven:
Mt 13:33 Another parable He spoke to them: "The kingdom
of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three
measures of meal [representing the Old Testament ephah; Ge 18:6;
Jg 6:19 show that it was a not-uncommon quantity for a batch of
baking] till it was all leavened."
Some, assuming that leaven is always a symbol for evil in the
Bible, argue that what is here being taught by Christ is that
the Kingdom to come will contain hidden evil which multiplies—yet
which presumably is still overcome! How does this notion of a
little evil—of a little leaven—being allowed to enter God's Kingdom
sit in our minds?
Jn 3:8 "The wind [or "the Spirit"] blows
where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell
where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born
of the Spirit."
As the wind seemingly blows where it wills, and we see only the
effects it produces, so the Holy Spirit works according to the
will of God. Yet the results of the invisible wind can be discerned,
as will be, in time, the full workings of the Spirit of God in
His saints. The righteousness which is of the Kingdom is also
to be pervasive, although at present, like the leaven as it works
its way through the lump of dough, its workings are hidden and
silent. Yet its results will ultimately be very visible.
Yet it is not always so in the symbolism of the leavening process,
for the leaven can also be evil, corruptive, as indicated by Christ's
response to the Pharisees and Sadducees who, in order to test
Him, requested a sign from Him (Mt 16:1-4):
Mt 16:6 Then Jesus said to them [the disciples], "Take
heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."
That Christ was not speaking about physical leaven was not immediately
understood by the disciples (v. 11), for we are informed that
the term leaven was very rarely used among the Jews to signify
doctrine. So Christ had to explain the symbolism:
Mt 16:12 Then they understood that He did not tell them
to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine [NRSV, NIV:
"teaching"] of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
So leaven has also to do with teaching (a meaning which of course
we can also inject into the previous parable about the leaven),
with what is taught and learnt; in this instance, it is false
teaching, teaching which corrupts instead of producing
righteousness. Yet this leaven, too, was—and is—invisible and
pervasive, sin hidden away deep in the heart, aptly portraying
the subtle and corrupting influence these leaders had on society.
Again, like the action of physical leaven in flour, evil teaching
and false doctrine assimilate the spirits of those contaminated
by them to their own nature. And like leaven that works its way
into fresh dough, spreading out through it until its effects are
evident in the entire batch, so false ideas and notions, doctrinally
unsound teachings, allowed to infiltrate our minds will, if unchecked,
gradually penetrate and permeate every part of our thinking. After
all, it is what we believe, how we think—our creed, if you like—that
influences how we act. Or do we perhaps believe that our minds
can accept unsound teaching and not be affected by it?
At any rate, the legalism, pride, political opportunism, spiritual
hardness of heart and worldliness which constituted the leaven
of the Pharisees and Sadducees is to be avoided by those who follow
the Son of God.
Christ expanded upon this in the account in Mark's Gospel:
Mk 8:15 Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed,
beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod
[perhaps secularism, worldliness: Herod also wanted Christ to
produce a sign or a miracle (Lk 23:8); like the Jewish religious
leaders, he did not believe in the identity of Christ]."
This is again the "old" leaven that corrupts, that contaminates,
thinking that should be kept pure.
Luke then further categorises this :
Lk 12:1 In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude
of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another,
He began to say to His disciples first of all, "Beware of
the leaven of the Pharisees, which [Christ then classifies
this leaven] is [or which belongs to the category of] hypocrisy."
Hypocrisy, although it wasn't the only attribute of this leaven
of erroneous teaching, characterised the lives, actions and philosophy
of these leaders of the Jews.
The symbolism of leaven as false or incorrect teaching is carried
through also into Christ's parables of the old and the new wine
and the old cloth and the new patch. But before we consider these,
and against this background of old things that are to be removed
and to become new, the key theme of these Days of Unleavened Bread,
let us note these words of the Son of God to do with things old
and new. For there is a "new" that is not really new
and an "old" that is quite commendable:
Mt 13:52 Then He said to them, "Therefore every scribe
instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder
who brings out of his treasure [or treasury] things new and old."
A disciple of the Kingdom of God, such as are all of us, continues
to discover, as it were, a wealth of treasures "old"
as well as "new" as he or she learns, all of which Christ
would have us incorporate into our thinking so as to able to use
them to teach others also; this appears to be the intent of this
parable. Col 2:3 tells us that "all the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge" are "hidden" in Jesus Christ.
The most obvious conclusion is to label the "old" as
the sacred writings of the Old Testament, and the "new"
those of the New Testament in the age of the Church, and Ro 7:6
does indeed contrast "the newness of the Spirit" with
"the oldness of the letter". Yet what is really "new"
about the Plan of God whose works, as Heb 4:3 informs us, "were
finished from the foundation of the world"?
Mt 13:35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by
the prophet, saying: "I will open My mouth in parables; I
will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world
[so therefore already in existence from the very beginning]."
What has been hidden is revealed to those who are seekers of God.
Like the Renaissance of the Middle Ages, where knowledge lost
was rediscovered, so the eternal truths of God are re-learnt by
His followers. They are "new" only in the sense that,
like the "new commandment" given by Christ to His disciples
(Jn 13:34) and re-iterated by the apostle John (1Jn 2:7-8; 2Jn
1:5), they are now understood by and lived through the Holy Spirit
in us.
Mt 9:17 "Nor do they put new [in the sense of freshly-made]
wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine
is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine
into new wineskins, and both are preserved."
New wine as it fermented would expand, stretch and crack the dried-up
old wineskins brittle with age and unable to expand any further.
This fermentation process can be quite violent!
Notice also:
Mk 2:21 "No one [at least, no one with an ounce of
common sense!] sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment;
or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear
is made worse."
An old garment, patched up with a piece of new, stronger cloth,
would, as it shrank, instead of closing up the rent, pull away
the adjacent threads from the old garment. The initial tear in
the old piece of clothing would be made worse—the whole breadth
of the cloth over which it was laid would now be torn away with
it. In Matthew (Mt 9:16) and Mark's account, the damage is only
to the old garment, whose rent is enlarged. In Luke's account
the damage is twofold; firstly, in injuring, perhaps even rendering
useless, the new garment by cutting out a piece from it; and secondly,
in making the old garment appear patched:
Lk 5:36 (NRSV) "…. No one tears a piece from
a new garment [they'd be even more stupid to do so!] and sews
it on an old garment; otherwise the new will be torn, and the
piece from the new will not match the old [you can tell
it's been patched up even before it begins to tear away]."
So the new as well as the old garment end up being damaged, which
agrees with Mark's rendering of the parable of the new wine into
old wineskins, where the new wine is lost:
Mk 2:22 "And no one puts new wine into old wineskins;
or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled,
and the wineskins are ruined [both wine and wineskins are
damaged, or lost]. But new wine must be put into new wineskins."
The emphasis of these two parables is upon the quality
of that which is new: it is good. We can't patch up the old clothes
with brand-new material. They'll look patched and in time the
tear initially patched up will be even greater. And, as the parable
of the new wine and old wineskins illustrates, ultimately the
old wineskins we foolishly filled up with new wine will be completely
wrecked and all the new wine lost, just as a new garment would
be ruined if one were foolish enough to cut out a patch from it.
Yet instead of abandoning the old in favour of the new, we often
do a lot of patching, don't we? The garments of righteousness,
however, are not patched with spots, blemishes and wrinkles from
the old, but instead are radiant and unblemished!
Lk 5:39 "And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately
desires new; for he says, 'The old is better [or better rendered
"good"—because the new has not really been tested; or
"fit, manageable, useful"].'"
Jesus is pointing out that someone who likes old wine will
not readily try the new, since such a person is used to,
satisfied with, the old. It's hard to change the tastebuds. There's
such a reluctance to abandon the old that the new wine being offered
to you is very often refused.
Jn 8:31-33 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed
Him [so these Jews outwardly professed some sort of belief in
Him], "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you
free [that is, free from the bondage of sin, of corruption; Christ
was talking about spiritual slavery (v. 34)]." 33
They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have
never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, 'You will be
made free'?"
Now even considering the heat of the exchange here taking place,
this was an incredible claim to make, given that they were there
and then under the Roman yoke—despite the measure of religious
freedom granted them—just as they had been under that of Egypt,
Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Alexander the Great and his successor
kingdoms—again, any freedom of worship allowed them notwithstanding.
Perhaps they reasoned that since they had never willingly submitted
to any of this past legacy of bondage, it was not bondage in any
real sense. They could not see, or were unwilling to see, their
own bondage. Can we discern areas in our lives, in our thinking,
where this leaven of error is still present? The hidden leaven
of deceit, in this case self-deception, can also cause us to be
blinded to and unaware of these old, false ways of thinking that
may yet be cleaving to our minds and enslaving us.
Do the words of John the Baptist, in rebuke to these same Jewish
leaders, have some import for us today?
Mt 3:9 "and do not think [don't even attempt to delude
yourselves, to begin to make excuses] to say to yourselves, 'We
have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able
to raise up children to Abraham from these stones."
It can be easy, if we're not careful, like the Jews of Christ's
day who referred and defaulted back to a religious legacy which
they had corrupted and which they corruptly understood, for us
to default to the old, even when we realise that it is flawed.
Perhaps we feel some loyalty to man-made traditions which featured
in our past, or to aspects of a dubious religious heritage. We
can delude ourselves with false reasoning such as "Well,
it made sense." And sometimes this "old" pre-dates
even our Church of God experience: it was mentioned to me on Passover
evening how notions of a death-bed repentance, a product of earlier
religious background, now and then intrude themselves into the
thinking of one person, although of course he clearly understands
their invalidity. This is the point: the old can still be pleasant,
feel sufficient, quite suitable for us. So why should we change?
Yet, once again, for entrance into the banquet of God we all need
new clothes of righteousness, unpatched, and unblemished.
2Pe 2:20 For if, after they [referring to these false
teachers] have escaped the pollutions of the world through the
knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again
entangled in them and overcome [overcome by the
corruptible influences of the world—the old leaven—instead of
purging and overcoming them; a return to the "old
man"], the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.
Too many patches cut out from a new garment and sewn onto an old
piece of clothing which should long ago have been thrown out?
Perhaps.
It is vital that the old leaven be removed. What "old"
ideas and notions about God and His Plan, about His Word, do we
yet cling to? Or what have we borrowed from the world that is
extraneous to the truth of God, that clashes with "the simplicity
that is in Christ" (2Co 11:3)? Are our ideas pure and unleavened,
correctly based on Scripture, or are some our concepts of God
and of His truth still leavened and thus in need of further deleavening?
It is only by setting aside all preconceptions, false traditions
inherited from the past and our own self-will that can we see
properly and thus begin to fully understand the whole truth, especially
about ourselves. This is the truth that sets us free from the
bondage of sin, as Christ pointed out.
1Co 3:12-13 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with
gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one's
work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it
will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work,
of what sort it is.
What will be revealed about the nature of our works? Will they
be found to have more in common with the old leaven—the "aimless
conduct received by tradition from your fathers [or father!]"
(1Pe 1:18), which should have been left behind—or will they indeed
consist solely of the new leaven of righteousness?
Let us note the example of the Church in Corinth as yet another
warning against the polluting influence of the old leaven on the
mind, while at the same time considering the antidote offered
by the apostle Paul for this:
1Co 5:2 And you are puffed up [arrogant, proud; their perspective
was twisted], and have not rather mourned [which would have been
the correct, godly response to this sin that had impregnated the
entire Church], that he who has done this deed [this evil depicted
as old, rotting leaven] might be taken away from among you [just
as the physical leaven had already been removed by them].
Paul then iterates the principle symbolised by the leaven:
1Co 5:6 Your glorying [NIV: "boasting"] is not
good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole
lump [and if it is old, putrefying leaven, as it was here,
then the whole lump, the entire batch of dough, will be contaminated]?
Our ideas, the pictures in our minds, will determine our actions.
Paul goes on the remind the Corinthians of the correct action,
action based on godly thinking, they ought to have taken:
1Co 5:7 Therefore purge out [collectively and individually]
the old leaven [as Israel of old, as individuals and as a community,
searched for and removed physical leaven in preparation for the
Passover (Ex 12:15); in fact, a custom later developed among the
Jews where with the use of candles the smallest crumbs of leavened
bread were searched out in every corner of the house (cf. Zeph
1:12)], that you may be a new lump [NEB: "bread of a new
baking"], since you truly are unleavened [Gk: azumos;
they were so physically, at this Passover season, but should also
have been so spiritually, for such should be the Christian condition].
For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us [yet the
house is not yet cleansed (cf. Dt 16:4)].
These Corinthians were unleavened physically, but not in practice.
Their thinking was unclean, spiritually leavened, and it produced
ungodly actions. Excusing or overlooking evil in another produces
the future likelihood that we will tolerate similar evil in ourselves—this
is why God tells us to expose (Eph 5:11) and rebuke (Lev 19:17;
Lk 17:3) evil in our midst. This corrupting leaven must be identified,
promptly purged and then avoided if Christians are to maintain
this unleavened state. Sin, like cancer, demands drastic surgery.
Unfortunately, this is where we all fall short.
1Co 5:8 Therefore [having purged out the old leaven] let
us keep the feast [the Greek verb suggests continuity:
"Let us 'keep on keeping' the feast"—a perpetual feast;
even though we only eat unleavened bread for seven days, our festival
is not for just a week, but for a life-time!], not with old leaven,
nor with the leaven of malice [malicious motives; 1Co 14:20: "in
malice be babes"] and wickedness [the evil acts which can
follow such inclinations], but with the unleavened bread [Gk:
azumos; the word "bread" is actually not there
in the Greek; the plural word may suggest "elements"
or "loaves"; it is an unleavened state,
a circumcised heart] of sincerity [purity of motive; Gk: eilikrinai;
probably derived from eile—the sun's rays or heat—suggesting
a transparent purity of purpose and character, as when something
is held up to the light of the sun to be judged] and truth [purity
of action].
So one of the lessons here for us is the need to keep the leaven
out of our lives, not just physically—and of course spiritually—during
this Unleavened Bread period, but spiritually on an ongoing basis.
Any old leaven, leaven that has become rotten and is putrefying
must be purged, for unless it is removed, its influence will,
in time, spread, to pervade the whole batch of dough, this time
for evil.
Gal 5:9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
While here the reference appears to be to Judaic legalism introduced
into the congregation—an attempt to do some patching up—the principle
is yet true: a little portion of this type of leaven, when mixed
into the batch, soon leavens the whole lump. A small amount of
old, rotting leaven, of error, of evil, even though present in
a larger amount of good, can, if it is not dealt with, still alter
the nature of the whole into which it is injected. What may be
seen as relatively harmless may end up unbalancing the total individual.
Here the false doctrines and influences of these outsiders was
destabilizing the Church. Let us all take the warning to heart.
As we pursue this theme of renewal, the issue for consideration
is, of course, what is the nature of the process whereby the "old"
becomes "new"?
Gal 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision [although
the old leaven may be as painful to remove!] nor uncircumcision
avails anything, but [what matters most is] a new creation [or
a re-creation].
However, we know that for us the reality is that this process
does not occur instantly; rather, it is a long, painful, step-by-step
struggle. Before the unleavened state is attained, the
old leaven in the heart, the mind, must be sought, found
and disposed of—put out/off—so we are told, in the same way the
physical leaven is first removed from our homes—as far away
as possible—before we even begin to eat unleavened bread in
a manner spiritually profitable for us. Or, once again, let us
ask ourselves: do we perhaps still imagine that we can somehow
superimpose the new unleavened state we are called upon to develop
over an 'old man', still leavened? If this is indeed the case,
we have been eating unleavened bread in vain over the past week!
2Co 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is [he
should be] a new creation; ["the"] old things have passed
away; behold [as if contemplating a rapidly shifting scene….as
in a flash, old things vanish, and all things become new] all
things have become new.
Eph 4:22-24 that you put off, concerning your former conduct,
the old man which grows [increasingly] corrupt according to the
deceitful lusts, 23 and [as you do this] be renewed in the spirit
of your mind [the renewal takes place in our innermost being],
24 and that you put on the new [Gk: kainos: new in
kind] man which was created according to God [not by our own
efforts; many individuals have become better, have improved their
character, have dispensed with habits of a life-time even, but
is such the new creation of God?], in true righteousness and holiness.
The old cannot be reformed, like the patching up of old,
torn wineskins or tattered clothes, with just a few elements of
the new; it must be a total renewal, a regeneration, after
the image of God:
Col 3:10 and have put on the new man who is [being] renewed
in knowledge according to the image of Him [of God] who created
him [it].
So this is not going to happen automatically: the dirty clothes
of the sinful man must first be put off—sometimes peeled off slowly,
layer by layer, bit by bit, from the body if they are clinging
too tightly to it—and then replaced with the pure, clean, white
robes of the righteousness of God. The apostle Paul, in reference
to himself, tells us in 2Co 4:16 that "the inward
man is being renewed day by day" Can we say
this of ourselves? How exactly does this renewal take place?
There are spiritual encumbrances that slow down our Christian
growth which must be removed, put out, put off, just as the seemingly
ever-present leaven is put out during the Passover season:
Heb 12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by
so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight
[every worldly hindrance to our Christian race], and the sin which
so easily ensnares us [a sin which can readily and easily entangle
the Christian runner (who is here being pictured), like a long,
loose robe clinging to his limbs], and let us run with
endurance the race that is set before us.
This call to clean out, to put off, the old is part of the purging
process that produces the holiness desired by God.
2Co 7:1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let
us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh [the actions
of sin—cf. the physical removal of leaven] and spirit [the
attitude of sin deep in our hearts, our minds], perfecting
holiness in the fear of God.
Let us note some specifics that need to be "put off",
"put away", "put aside"—discarded—as manifestations
of the old self, of the old leaven:
Jas 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Eph 4:31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and
evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice [1Co 5:8:
"the leaven of malice"].
But is it just a case of putting things away?
Col 3:5 (NRSV) Put to death [we will consider shortly which
particular instrument of death is chosen, symbolically, to picture
the killing of the old man], therefore, whatever in you is earthly
[whatever within us that is still serving sin]: fornication, impurity,
passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry).
It is not merely a matter of evil conduct or sinful habits of
body and mind being put off; it goes deeper, to the very self,
the old self that still clings to us all. We must deal with causes,
not symptoms. Yet it is not something that can be done
in a vacuum, or our eating of unleavened bread over the past seven
days has been only an empty ritual. Overcome evil with good, we
are all instructed (Ro 12:21). If follows then that the evil
is purged and eradicated by the good, which then takes
up residence in the chambers of the mind once occupied by the
evil, for these chambers cannot not simply stay vacant after having
been swept out. This is why there must therefore be a commensurate
action—there is something we need to "put on" to replace
what we have "put off". Let us note a few more examples
to illustrate this:
Col 3:8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these:
anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.
Ro 13:12 The night [the time of living according to the
dictates of this present evil age] is far spent, the [fullness
of the] day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off [like a garment
of the night; an old, tattered, patched-up, spotted garment, let
us say] the works of darkness, and let us put on [or else there
will be an untenable void] the armor of light.
Again, some specifics, this time of what we must "put on":
spiritual fruits that flow out as manifestations of the "new
man" as it is being created:
Jas 1:21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow
of wickedness [NIV: "the evil that is
so prevalent"], and receive with meekness [with a
teachable spirit] the implanted word [the divine Word grafted
onto our hearts], which is able to save your souls.
Col 3:12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved,
put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering.
And all this is very much a renewal, a transformation, old becoming
new:
Col 3:14 But above all these things [or, in the metaphor of the
garment being used here: over all, like an upper
garment], put on love, which is the bond of perfection
[like a girdle that holds the other garments in place].
Ro 12:2 And do not be conformed [NIV: "Do not conform
any longer"; don't be fashioned to] to this world [Gk: aion—the
old age, this culture, which for us should be becoming out of
date] but be transformed by the renewing of your mind [as
the old leaven of sin is being purged out and replaced], that
you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will
of God.
Once again, this purification of our hearts is not something we
can accomplish of and by ourselves:
Col 3:9-10 Do not lie to one another, since you have put
off [NRSV: "stripped off"] the old man with his deeds,
10 and have put on [NRSV: "clothed yourself with"]
the new man [this is a new garment, the robes of righteousness;
there is no patching up of the old clothes, they must be completely
discarded] who is renewed [or "is being renewed"—as
a continual process] in knowledge according to the image of Him
who created him,
1Pe 2:1-3 Therefore, laying aside all malice, all
deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 2 as newborn
babes [as though we have been literally "born anew"
(Jn 3:3; 1Pe 1:23—but through the Word of God; Jn 1:13)], desire
[in other words, you want to put on] the pure milk of the
word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed you have tasted
[the appetite has been whetted; do we now long for more and more
of the goodness of God?] that the Lord is gracious [cf. Ps 34:8].
1Pe 1:22 (NRSV) Now that you have purified your souls [how?]
by your obedience to the truth …
Nothing is ever done in a vacuum!
However, as Christians, we have a dual obligation when it comes
to dealing with sin. The ancient Israelites, on that very first
Passover, departed from Egypt—fled from sin, from any possible
contamination—so rapidly that they took with them bread that was
unleavened; there was no time to wait for leavened bread to rise.
Similarly, we are told in 2Pe 1:4 that we are to "'escape'
the corruption that is in the world through lust". This is
parabolic also of this second part of our obligation. The command
to purge the old leaven, to remove the existing pollutions of
the world still resident within us, is only one part of our responsibility.
It is futile to put leaven out and then allow other leaven in
to again or to further pollute us. So there is also the need to
keep oneself unpolluted—deleavened:
Jas 1:27 (NIV) Religion that God our Father accepts as
pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in
their distress and to keep oneself [Gk: "to keep on keeping
oneself"] from being polluted by the world [to maintain the
deleavened/unleavened state].
Let us consider James' sober warning to us in this regard:
Jas 4:4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that
friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore
wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
How does the world still govern us? You know, it has many manifestations,
including past false religious experiences. Do we continue to
have a love affair of sorts with the world, with its notions,
its ideas, teachings, practices?
1Jn 2:15-17 Do not love the world or the things in the
world [its values, its tone, its attitudes, its practices and
philosophies]. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father
is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust
of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not
of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing
away [and it, too, will not be reformed, but will also be a new
creation, built upon a totally new foundation], and the lust of
it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Or, on the other hand, are we crucified (the instrument
of the putting to death of the old man previously alluded to)
to the world, as the apostle Paul was, through the purging of
the leaven of sin and the maintaining of the unleavened state?
Gal 6:14 [NRSV] May I never boast except in the cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified
to me, and I to the world [cf Jn 16:33: "I have overcome
the world"; Jn 14:30 (NIV): "He (the Devil) has no hold
on Me"].
What does it mean to be so crucified?
Ro 6:4,6 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism
into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the
glory of the Father, even so we also should walk [lit: "walk
about": the implication is as habitual conduct; cf.
1Jn 1:6-8] in newness of life.
If the body is crucified, it is dead to the influence of the old
leaven of sin, is it not?
6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him [a crucifixion
of the old self with Christ], that the body of sin [the body belonging
to, or ruled by, sin] might be done away with, that we should
no longer be slaves of sin.
The physical manna provided for ancient Israel was a type of the Word of God:
Dt 8:3,16 "So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger,
and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers
know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread
alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth
of the LORD.
The physical manna, as well as the water and the rock, were symbols
also of the spiritual—of Christ, the true manna, the Rock, and
the Provider of the water of life (Neh 9:20). It was also a type
of Jesus Christ, the true Bread of Life as well as the Water of
Life (Jn 4:14):
16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which
your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He
might test you, to do you good in the end."
Mt 4:4
But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not
live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the
mouth of God.'"
1Co 10:3-4 all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all
drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual
Rock [Ex 17:6; Nu 20:7: just as Moses struck the rock that yielded
water for the people] that followed them, and that Rock was Christ
(Dt 32:4,15,18,30,31,37; Ps 18:2,31; Isa 30:29).
The manna of Moses was not the 'real bread', the true spiritual
sustenance, which gives life to us today, as it will eventually
to the world:
Jn 6:48-51 "I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers
ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the
bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and
not die [it is the antidote to spiritual death]. 51 I am the
living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this
bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is
My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."
Notice how this new life through Jesus Christ comes about:
Jn 6:53-56 Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly,
I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink
His blood [you spiritually appropriate the life of Jesus Christ:
Gal 2:20], you have no life in you [because true life is through
Jesus Christ indwelling us: Col 3:3]. 54 Whoever eats My flesh
and drinks My blood [symbolised by the Passover wine, the "new"
wine of God, from Jesus Christ, the new Vineyard (Jn 15)] has
eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For
My flesh is food indeed [or "true food"], and My blood
is drink indeed [or "true drink"]. 56 He who eats My
flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him."
Reflecting upon the death of Christ, symbolised in the bread and
the wine, the latter particularly picturing our sharing in His
sufferings, should lead us to mortify—crucify—our own members,
after the perfect example of the Son of God.
Jn 6:57-58 "As the living Father sent Me, and I live
because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because
of Me [cf. Jn 14:19: "Because I live, you will live also"].
58 This is the bread which came down from heaven; not as your
fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will
live forever."
What are we primarily still feeding on? Does our sustenance still
include the old worldly leaven, or is it the true spiritually-unleavened
bread alone? Jesus Christ is the ultimate new creation after which
we are to be patterned. When we eat the unleavened bread we picture
sin being eliminated from our lives to make the new unleavened
man. The Bread of Life will purge out the old leaven still left
and replace it with His pure, unleavened Life in us. So what yet
clings to us that is inconsistent with the life and Name of Jesus
Christ?
Rev 2:17 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give
some of the hidden manna [recalling the physical manna
of ancient Israel and alluding to the pot of manna which was laid
up in the ark in the sanctuary as a memorial (Ex 16:32-34)] to
eat…."
Christ is the true manna of which those who eat shall never die
(John 6:31-43, 48-51); hidden, in that He is withdrawn from sight,
and the Christian's life is hidden with Him in God (Col 3:3).
We eat of this hidden manna [Ps 119:11: Your word I have hidden
in my heart, that I might not sin against You!] as we live through
Him in us.
Col 3:3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ
in God [our life in now the life lived by Christ, now resurrected
and unseen with God].
CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST: THE LIFE OF CHRIST IN US
So, finally, how can we be truly unleavened—spiritually, as we have been physically?
Let us take the imagery of being crucified to the world a step
further in conjunction with Christ as the true, unleavened bread.
Ro 6:4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism
[a burial and a washing] into death, that just as Christ was raised
from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should
walk in newness of life.
Paul goes on to explain that this "newness of life"
is the life of Christ—the true unleavened Bread of Life—in us:
Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ [because the
'old man' the old leaven, is being continually purged—put to death—and
the new man sustained]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ
lives in me ['my own life can now be nothing other than the life
of Christ in me']; and the life which I now live in the flesh
I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself
for me.
The Christian's identification with and response to the sufferings
and the crucifixion of Christ is to crucify—to deny—the flesh:
Gal 5:24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified
the flesh with its passions and desires.
In the final analysis, Jesus Christ, the life of Jesus Christ,
is that "new" which we should be putting on, through
which the "old" remains crucified:
Ro 6:8 (NRSV)
But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also
live with him [that is, we participate, in this earthly body,
in the life of Christ as He lives in us].
Ro 13:14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ ['clothe
yourself with Christ'—consciously, thoughtfully, responsibly;
Moffat: "Put on the character of the Lord Jesus Christ"],
and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
It is Christ, as the apostle Paul said (Col 1:29), who works mightily
in us, ensuring the success of this transformation of old into
new.
Gal 3:27 For as many of you as were baptised into Christ [Eph
5:26—with the washing of water by the Word] have put on
Christ [His mind, His life should be insinuating itself into our
minds and lives].
You know, in ancient Israel leaven—along with honey—was forbidden
in any sacrifices fully burnt upon the altar of God in complete
dedication to Him (Ex 23:18; Lev 2:11), its fermentation presumably
suggestive of the corrupt and the putrid, of defilement. This
symbolised the old leaven, unacceptable to God in the lives of
those who would be totally dedicated to Him.
Rev. 21:4-5 And God will wipe away every tear from their
eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There
shall be no more pain, for the former things [the "old"
things] have passed away." 5 Then He who sat on the
throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He
said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful."
This is the culmination and consummation of our struggle for renewal.
Let this vision motivate and inspire us to continue—onward past
these Days of Unleavened Bread—to "'keep on keeping' the
Feast'" in the "unleavened [state] of sincerity and
truth".