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Being “unleavened” during God’s Festival of Unleavened Bread (חג מצות Khag Matzot) is not about being a “holier than thou.” It’s not about overpowering or dominating others. We need to have humility, mercy, kindness and gentleness that comes from God. We need to keep ourselves low, not higher than one another. It’s foolish to measure yourself against someone else.
Remember that those who have put an end to their “old self” by trust in the death and resurrection of Messiah Yeshua are “unleavened.” You are with God; you are clean and holy. We have His strength to overcome anything, in that strength, we can become humble, lowly and peaceable. We stand strong because Messiah is our Passover. We have the whole armor of God, all we have to do is put it on.
How does one get “puffed up”? According to the Apostle Paul, it’s when we tolerate sin in our community and are proud of it. What they should have been doing is mourning over the sin, but they were enjoying themselves and not concerning themselves about this man’s sin instead.
“It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst.” (1Corinthians 5:1–2 NASB)
What should they have done?
“I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” (1Corinthians 5:5 NASB)
Really? Yes. Why? To save his soul, which is more important than the body. The congregation needed to put this man into the place where he could learn how to be sorry for his sin and repent. We might call this “tough love” in modern terminology.
The church of God is not made up of a bunch of sinners who habitually sin and wallow in it, but an unleavened, clean people who don’t enjoy sin but are sorrowful and repent of it when it pops up.
“For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice [κακία kakia, Strong’s lexicon No. G2549] and wickedness [πονηρία poneria, G4189], but with the unleavened bread of sincerity [εἰλικρίνεια eilikrineia, G1505] and truth [ἀλήθεια aletheia, G255].” (1Corinthians 5:7–8 NASB)
The Apostle Paul is getting really tough with this congregation, you can sense his anger and fury in the words.
Just as the believing households were to throw the leaven out of the home, the believing congregation were to throw out the man who was a source of malice and wickedness in the congregation. They were to approach the Passover as a pure congregation.
“Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:1–3 NASB)
We don’t look at ourselves this way but Messiah Yeshua and the Apostle Paul do. We keep peace with one another when we operate in humility, gentleness and patience. It’s not about overpowering or dominating others. No one likes to be dominated and oppressed.
This is not about your next door neighbor, your boss, those who are in the world, but those are in the Body of Messiah Yeshua.
It might seem like a hopeless mission to be unleavened but Messiah Yeshua is our Passover and He gives us strength.
“Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” (Colossians 3:1–2 NASB)
What is God’s mind? It is “getting even”? No.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” (John 3:16–17 NASB)
It isn’t just Messiah Yeshua who died. What you did in your past is hidden from God’s eyes.
“For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3 NASB)
God sees us as children, not as adults. He is the adult, the parent and we are the children, regardless of how old we are.
When we fall into sin, we have to call upon the One with the power to take it away and give us power to overcome (Colossians 3:1–17).
“…and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him —” (Colossians 3:10 NASB)
What we think we are: American, Ephraimite, Jewish, Russian, etc. means nothing to God. What does it mean to be a son of Abraham by the flesh, not as much as it means to be a son of Abraham in the spirit.
“a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.” (Colossians 3:11 NASB)
There’s something that God values much more.
“Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.” (1Peter 2:1–3 NASB)
We can always find fault with someone else whether it’s the Israelites who went through the Exodus and the wilderness, or the Apostles who didn’t initially believe the report of Yeshua’s resurrection. That is malice and judgement. We are not to find fault with each other. People always fall short no matter how powerful or weak they are in this world. No one is meant to stand higher than God.
Where does God place His unleavened people?
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1Peter 2:9–10 NASB)
We are also told “not to sweat the small stuff.”
“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:31–33 NASB)
We need to have humility, mercy, kindness and gentleness that comes from God. We need to keep ourselves low, not higher than one another. It’s foolish to measure yourself against someone else.
You can go to a place where there’s little to no truth and when God is with you, God is there, too.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.” (Ephesians 6:10 NASB)
If you have seen Yeshua Messiah, you have seen the Father because they are the same.
“Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11 NASB)
Our enemy is not our unbelieving parents, boss or neighbors. It’s not the grocery store cashier who says, “Happy Easter” or “Merry Christmas.” Our enemy is haSatan.
I want you to remember that you are unleavened. You are with God, you are clean, and holy. We have His strength to overcome anything, in that strength, we can become humble, lowly and peaceable. We stand strong because Messiah is our Passover.
We have the whole armor of God, all we have to do is put it on.
Speaker: Richard Agee. Summary: Tammy.