What does the timing of the Feast of Unleavened Bread signify for believers today? Text in Focus Exodus 12:18: “You are to eat unleavened bread from the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month until the evening of the twenty-first day of the month.” Built-In Timing, Built-In Message • Passover evening (14th) and the first bite of unleavened bread happen back-to-back. Redemption and removal of leaven are inseparable. • Israel left Egypt in haste; there was no time for dough to rise (Exodus 12:33-34). The timetable itself preaches urgency—salvation is received and holiness begins immediately. • The first month signals a new calendar, a fresh start (Exodus 12:2). Life is reset around God’s saving act. Jesus and the Fourteenth Day • Jesus, “our Passover lamb,” was slain on the very day Jews were preparing the Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7; John 19:14). • His sinless body, “unleavened” by corruption, was placed in the tomb before sundown—precisely when households were removing leaven from theirs. • The overlap shouts fulfillment: the cross (14th) secures redemption; the unleavened week showcases the sin-free walk He enables. Seven Days, Every Day • Seven symbolizes completeness (Genesis 2:2-3). A full week of unleavened bread calls believers to wholehearted, continuous purity. • Paul applies it: “Let us keep the feast, not with old leaven… but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:8). • Daily life becomes an ongoing festival of sanctification, not an annual event. Sunset-to-Sunset Rhythm • “From the evening… until the evening” (Exodus 12:18) sets a sunset clock. Darkness gives way to light in God’s timetable (cf. Genesis 1:5). • Believers start each new “day” of discipleship resting in finished redemption, then move into works prepared beforehand (Ephesians 2:8-10). • The cycle plants hope: even when days close in darkness, dawn is built in. The Twenty-First Day Finish Line • Jewish tradition places the Red Sea crossing on this seventh day; Egypt’s power was finally broken (Exodus 14). • By the twenty-first, leaven was long gone, and deliverance was visibly complete. Likewise, Christ’s resurrection seals the believer’s freedom from sin’s mastery (Romans 6:4-7). • The end of the feast anticipates the ultimate rest in the coming kingdom (Hebrews 4:9-11). Living Unleavened Now Practical take-aways: – Clean house spiritually; remove everything that puffs up pride or impurity (Colossians 3:5-10). – Celebrate redemption daily; remember it began the moment you trusted Christ. – Persevere for the full “week”; holiness is a lifelong journey completed when we see Him (1 John 3:2-3). – Order your calendar around the cross; let every sunset remind you the Lamb has already paid the price. The timing of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is God’s built-in sermon: redeemed people are to walk out of bondage immediately, live continuously in purity, and look forward confidently to complete victory. |
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