What significance does the "Feast of Unleavened Bread" hold in Luke 22:1? Setting the scene in Luke 22:1 • “Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching.” (Luke 22:1) • Luke identifies the moment when Jesus’ final earthly hours coincide with Israel’s great redemption festival. • By mentioning the feast at the outset, Luke signals that every event that follows—the betrayal, arrest, trials, crucifixion, and resurrection—unfolds against the backdrop of God’s covenant timetable. Old Testament roots of the Feast • Ordained at the Exodus (Exodus 12:14-20, 17; Leviticus 23:6-8). • Lasted seven days, beginning with the Passover sacrifice on the 14th of Nisan and continuing through the 21st. • Unleavened bread (matzah) was eaten exclusively; leaven was removed from every house (Exodus 13:7). • Memorialized God’s swift deliverance: “You came out of Egypt in haste.” (Deuteronomy 16:3) Prophetic foreshadowing in the Unleavened Bread • Leaven consistently images sin’s permeating influence (Matthew 16:6; Galatians 5:9). • Removing leaven symbolized separation from corruption and a fresh, holy beginning (Exodus 12:15). • Paul draws the explicit connection: “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven…but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 Corinthians 5:7-8) Fulfillment in Christ’s Passion • Timing: Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion occur precisely when Israel is killing Passover lambs (Luke 22:7; John 19:14). • Sinless Substitute: Like unleavened bread, Jesus is wholly without sin (Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 1:19). • New Exodus: His death inaugurates a greater deliverance—from bondage to sin and death (Romans 6:6-7). • Communion: At the Last Supper, Jesus “took bread, and after giving thanks He broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body, given for you.’” (Luke 22:19) – The unleavened bread in His hands becomes the tangible pledge of His sinless, self-giving life. • Continuity and Culmination: Luke links the historic feast to the cross so we grasp that the ancient ordinance was always pointing to Christ. Why Luke 22:1 highlights the Feast’s significance • Establishes that the coming sacrifice is divinely scheduled, not accidental. • Connects Jesus’ body to the unleavened bread—pure, broken, shared. • Underscores that true deliverance is achieved not through ritual alone but through the Lamb of God (John 1:29). • Invites believers to live the “unleavened” life—cleansed, set apart, and nourished by Christ the Bread of Life (John 6:35). Practical implications for believers • Celebrate the finished redemption with gratitude and holiness. • Remove spiritual “leaven” by confessing sin and embracing Christ’s righteousness. • Partake of the Lord’s Table with fresh wonder, remembering that the bread proclaims both His sinlessness and His sacrifice until He comes (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). |
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