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7 Feasts and a Fast – UNLEAVENED BREAD

UNLEAVENED BREAD / MATZAH – March/ April

A Special Sabbath

WHAT ARE THE NAMES FOR THIS 2ND FEAST ?
Matzah is the Hebrew word for Unleavened Bread.

WHEN IS IT OBSERVED?
It is observed in the early spring, the day after Passover, on the 15th of the Hebrew
month Nisan (March/April), and lasts for seven days until the 21st.
The first and 7th days are both High Holy Days in which no work was done.
(Sabbaths.)
It was the day the Israelites left Egypt. Exodus 23:15.

WHERE ARE GOD’S INSTRUCTIONS RECORDED?
Exodus 12:15-28, Exodus 13:3-8, Exodus 23:15, Exodus 34:18, Leviticus 23:6-8. Numbers 28:17-25,
Numbers 33:3-5, Deuteronomy 16:3-8.
It is a feast for remembering the deliverance from Egyptian slavery (Exodus 13:3, Deuteronomy
16:3) and of careful obedience to remove and not to eat any leaven.
The first and seventh days were Shabbat days – No work was done. Exodus 12:16, Leviticus 23:7-8
Nisan is sometimes called the Month of Aviv, which means in Hebrew:- Young, tender, green/new ear of grain. [1]
The required sacrifices, each day, throughout the 7 days of the Feast were:- Burnt Offering :- 2 Bulls, 7 Lambs, 1 Ram, plus flour, oil and wine. Plus a Sin Offering of 1 Goat. Num 28 :17-25. Plus Daily Burnt Offering of 2 Lambs +flour, oil and wine.

NOTICE:-
– Removal of leaven from homes – Instruction repeated 3 times – Exodus 12:15,19;
13:7.
– No leaven to be eaten – Instruction repeated 6 times – Exodus 12:15,19, 20; Exodus 13:3,
7.
– Unleavened only to be eaten – Instruction repeated 7 times – Exodus 12:15, 18, 20; Exodus 13:6,7; Exodus 23:15; Exodus 34:18.
– Punishment for disobedience regarding eating leaven was to be cut off from the house of Israel. Exodus 12:15,19. A very serious situation. In Hebrew thinking it meant to be cut out of the community, out of the covenants and the protection of God. To become a ‘goy’, a gentile, which meant:- to become part of a people group who were not blessed and therefore to be avoided.
– Exodus 12:19 tells us that foreigners who lived in the land of Israel were also required to eat unleavened food. No difference was made.
– All males were required to attend this feast in Jerusalem and they had God’s assurance that their lands would remain safe. Exodus 23:14-17; Exodus 34:23-24: Faith was required. Deuteronomy16:16-17.

HOW LONG WILL THESE FEAST BE OBSERVED ?
Forever! Exodus 12:17 tells us it is to be kept throughout your generations.
The prophet Ezekiel speaks of it being kept into the future. Ezekiel 45: 21-24.

HOW DID JESUS FULFIL THIS FEAST?
– He was born in Bethlehem. Grain crops for Temple use were grown in and around Bethlehem – Beth Lechem means “House of Bread”.
– Jesus said he was the true bread come down from heaven. John 6:32-35,
– Just before Passover Jesus cleaned the leaven out of His Father’s house. John 2:13-17, Matthew 21:10-13.
– Jesus was examined in the temple area over a four day period by the chief priests, the elders, the Pharisees and the Sadducees and no faults were found. Matthew 21-22,
– Pilate could find no fault in him either. Luke 23:14,22
– As Jesus broke the Unleavened Bread of Passover He said, “This is my body broken for you. Matthew 26 :26, Mark 14 :22, Luke 22:19.
– His sinless/unleavened body lay buried (resting) on the 1st day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a day of rest. Luke 22:19, 1 Peter 1;18-20.

GOD HONOURED OUR MESIAH IN HIS BURIAL.
The Hebrew prophets foretold about a Messiah who would suffer and die. Isaiah 52:13-53:12, Psalm 22.2-32.
Normally a criminal was not buried but thrown in a deep rubbish pit!
Jesus was cared for by rich men after he had died. John 19:38-42
Jesus was wrapped in a New linen cloth. Mark 15:46.
Buried in the New tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, who was himself a member of the Sanhedrin and a follower of Jesus.(Recorded in all 4 Gospels.) John 19:41.

BY THE WAY:- When Joseph and Nicodemus buried Jesus, they both disqualified themselves from being able to partake of Passover till one month later. Also known as the second Passover Numbers 9:6-14.

LEAVEN – DO THE SCRIPTURES TELL US WHAT LEAVEN COULD BE?
Leaven is another word for yeast/baking powder/baking soda, or anything which causes a baked product to rise or be puffed up. This process represents sin. Sin is symbolised by the slavery in Egypt.
– Leaven of the Pharisees was hypocrisy. Not living what one teaches. Luke 12:1.
– Leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees was unbelief in Jesus as Messiah. Matthew 16:1-12.
– Leaven of the Sadducees was unbelief in angels, spirits and the resurrection of the dead. Acts 23:8, Matt 22:23, Luke 20:27-38.
– Leaven of Herod was pride and political slyness. Mark 8:15, Luke 13:32. 2.
– Leaven of the church in Corinthians was pride, boasting, sexual sin, greed, worship of idols, abuse, drunkenness, stealing. 1 Corinthians 5. Clean out the old leaven… you are in fact unleavened. 1 Corinthians 5:7-8.
– Leaven of the church in Galatia was legalism. Gal 5:1-9
– Gal 5:9 tells us:- It takes only a little leaven to leaven the whole batch of dough.
– Gal 5: 19-21- Paul lists many things with a warning of the consequences. He is simply stating what he later taught in Romans 6:1-18. The believer is no longer under the power (dominion) of sin— it has been broken. The believer is no longer a helpless slave to sin, but rather chooses to sin when he is drawn away by his own lusts ( James 1:14-15). [3]
In summary we can say that yeast symbolises sin. The Torah teaches us that it is very important to get rid of it.

HOW IS THIS FEAST SIMILAR TO OUR CHRISTIAN JOURNEY?
– The Feast of Unleavened Bread was for 7 days, therefore it is likened to our walk with the Lord, which is a process of sanctification. Psalm 139:23-24. Examine me,.
God, and know my heart; test me, and know my thoughts. See if there is in me any hurtful way, and lead me along the eternal way.
– We are unleavened when we work to be pure, sincere and truthful. 1 Corinthians 5:8.
– We are unleavened when we have the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. Galatians 5:22-23.
– Guarding what we watch, what we allow our minds to dwell on, where we go, who we spend time with, what influences we allow into our home, etc, is a lifelong ‘work’ which we do with the help of the Holy Spirit to remove sin (leaven) from our lives.
– Remember Exodus 12:15:- Israelites, who ate food with leaven during the days after Passover were removed from the community. This is a picture of those who still want to hold onto sin and therefore, ultimately cannot remain part of God’s people. The people of God have to continue to sanctify themselves, and in this way, distinguish themselves from the people/nations around them. [4]
It’s Our work, not God’s, Our choices, not the devil making us do it.

WHY IS THE BREAD WE USE AT COMMUNION UNLEAVENED?
Matthew 26:26, 1 Corinthians 11:23-32.
Because it was unleavened bread that Jesus broke when He said, “This is my body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of Me”. Luke 22:19. He was saying he was without sin, fulfilling all the requirements of Passover.
Because the unleavened bread of Communion, reminds us of our sinless Saviour, and wanting to be like Him, we examine ourselves. This does not mean we can be entirely sinless, but that we should not purposely cling to sins or hide them somewhere in our spiritual “house”… The unleavened bread that we use at Communion is not “Old Testament” or “Jewish symbolism”. Rather, it is the sign that we still realise and confess that the deliverance from our “Egypt” and the cleansing by His atoning blood implies that we continue to repent from sin in our lives. This confession and practise during Communion should be in line with our daily lives.
Jesus is the personification of this unleavened bread. [5]

Summary:
– Leaving Egypt in haste.
– Jesus sinless life and burial.
– Our work, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to separate ourselves from the leaven of sin.

Sources:
1. Strongs Concordance.
2. Dr S. Ketriel Blad. Parashah 15. Page 19-20
3. The Feasts of the Lord, by Kevin Howard, Marvin Rosenthal. Page 71.
4. Wake up. By Arno Lamm & Emile Andre Van Beckevoort. Page 247.
5. Wake Up. By Arno Lamm & Emile Andre Van Beckevoort. Page 250.
Jenny Milmine 2025

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7 Feasts and a Fast – UNLEAVENED BREAD

UNLEAVENED BREAD / MATZAH – March/ April

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