Let Us Keep the Feast
Let Us Keep the Feast
Pastor E. Keith Hassell
1 Corinthians 5:1-13
I. Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us
A. 1 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJV) “Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.”
B. Passover represents Redemption (freedom, salvation) from:
1. Slavery
2. Bondage
3. Pharaoh
II. Feast of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 13:3-7)
A. The Feast of Unleavened Bread was celebrated the day after Passover and lasted from the 15th to the 21st of the Hebrew month Nisan.
B. Israel was to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread as a memorial that God had called them out of Egypt to be a special people to Himself. It was a reminder that they had been redeemed from Egypt and were to put off the mindsets, culture, and philosophies of Egypt. They were also to put away the mindset of being slaves for now they were free.
C. Feast of Unleavened Bread represents Separation (holiness, sanctification) from:
1. Egypt’s gods
2. Egypt’s religion
3. Egypt’s defilements
4. Egypt’s wisdom, glory, and might
III. Purge out the old leaven that you may be a new lump
A. The Nature of Leaven (Hametz)
1. Leavening is achieved by fermentation that releases carbon dioxide gas and can produce ethyl alcohol.
2. Fermentation is caused by the anaerobic (oxygen deficient) breakdown of energy rich molecules (usually sugars and carbohydrates) in cells (organic building blocks).
3. Leavening agents such as bakers yeast act as catalysts to speed up the process of fermentation.
4. The speed of leavening also depends upon temperature and osmotic pressure (ability of the leaven to work consistently throughout the substance)
B. Unleavened bread represents the first food of freedom
C. Unleavened bread was the only bread acceptable for sacrifice (Leviticus 2:4-5)
D. The Rabbinic Symbolism of Leaven Explained: "The Rabbis regarded hametz [unleavened bread] as the symbol of the evil inclination. The 'yeast in the dough' (the evil impulse that causes a ferment in the heart) prevents human beings from carrying out the will of God (Ber. 17a). Hametz also represents human haughtiness and conceit. Just as leaven puffs up dough, so human arrogance cause us to believe that we, not God, control our destiny." [1]
E. Types of spiritual leaven mentioned in the Bible
1. Leaven of Herod (Mark 8:15; 6:14-28): Worldliness
2. Leaven of Sadducees (Matthew 16:6-12): Skepticism, Modernism, Humanism
3. Leaven of Pharisees (Matthew 16:6-12; Luke 12:1): Self righteous hypocrisy
4. Leaven of Corinth (1 Corinthians 5:1-13): Malice, Wickedness, Sensuality, Sexual sin
5. Leaven of Galatia (Galatians 5:9): Legalism
F. Old Leaven
1. Worldly mindsets
2. Worldly attitudes
3. Worldly affections and desires
4. Worldly influences (people, places, media, substances)
5. Worldly behavior
6. Religious doctrines and traditions of men that are contrary to the Word of God
G. Nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness
1. Malice (Strong's G2549) means "ill will, desire to injure, evil, wickedness that is not ashamed to break laws."
2. Wickedness (Strong's G4189) means "depravity, iniquity, evil purposes and desires"; twisted, perverted
H. How do we purge out the leaven in our lives?
1. We allow God to search our hearts, lives, homes and churches for hidden leaven
a) Psalm 139:23-24 (NKJV) “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
2. Repentance (Removing hidden leaven from our lives)
I. As we purge out the leaven in our lives, we become a new lump
IV.How do we keep the Feast?
1. With the unleavened bread of sincerity (spiritual purity, honesty, and freedom from hypocrisy)
2. With the unleavened bread of Truth (God’s Word; John 17:17)
3. Jesus said that those who worship God must worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24)
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[1] [Ronald L. Eisenburg, The JPS Guide to Jewish Traditions (Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society, 2004), p. 269]