Christ Our Passover
1 Corinthians 5:6-8
[6] Your glorying is not good.
Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
[7] Purge out therefore the old leaven,
that ye may be a new lump,
as ye are unleavened.
For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
[8] Therefore let us keep the feast,
not with old leaven,
neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness;
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Introduction:
Review: The issue is the purity of the Church, and Church discipline when wickedness is detected within the Church
Bible Study Pointer: Pay attention to the New Testament’s usage of the Old Testament! Learn the Old Testament to understand the New Testament!
Key features of this passage: leaven, Passover, the spiritual significance of leaven
Outline:
Don’t Glory Until the Old Leaven is Purged Out –
What’s up with all this about leaven? (5:6-7c)
Christ our Passover is Sacrificed for Us –
How is Christ our Passover? (5:7d)
Keep the Feast with Unleavened Bread –
How are we to keep the leaven out of the feast? (5:8)
Difficulties:
Sequence of events: purging of corruption, sealing with blood protecting from Angel of Death, the Destroyer, celebration of the Feast
Treading underfoot the blood of the Covenant, Hebrews 10:26-31
I. Don’t Glory Until the Old Leaven is Purged Out – What’s up with all this about leaven? (5:6-7c)
Your glorying is not good.
Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump,
as ye are unleavened.
1. The Problem - Your glorying is not good (5:6)
1 Cor. 3:21 - Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1 Cor. 5:2 - And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
James 4:16 - But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
Romans 6:16 - Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
The problem is that glorying is inappropriate while leaven is present in any amount.
2. The Principle - a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump (5:7a)
Leaven as corruption
1 Cor. 15:33 - Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
Hosea 7:4 - They are all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker, who ceaseth from raising after he hath kneaded the dough, until it be leavened.
The effect of even a little corruption is total
Galatians 5:9 - A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
The Parable of the Leaven
Matthew 13:33 - Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
Luke 13:20-21 - And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
3. The Solution - Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened (5:7b)
The Original Passover
Exodus 12:1-14, 21-30
The Feast of Unleavened Bread
Exodus 12:15 - Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. [3-20, 1-30]
Exodus 12:19 - Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.
Exodus 12:21-23 - Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover. [22] And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. [23] For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.
Exodus 13:7 - Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters. [3-10]
Deut. 16:3 - Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.
The Leaven of the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and Herod
Matthew 16:6 - Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. [5-12]
Matthew 16:11-12 - How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? [12] Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
Mark 8:15 - And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod. [14-21]
Luke 12:1 - In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
The Jewish Traditions for Purging Leaven
Helpful sources on Jewish traditions concerning the Passover, leaven, and preparation for the Passover, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread:
http://www.myjewishlearning.com
[accessed 21 MAR 2009]
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com
[accessed 21 MAR 2009]
http://www.chabad.org
[accessed 21 MAR 2009]
II. Christ our Passover is Sacrificed for Us –
How is Christ our Passover? (5:7d)
For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
Sounding a sweet note in the middle of a grievous confrontation!
The Original Passover
Exodus 12:1-14, 21-30
Christ Our Passover
Isaiah 53:7 - He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
John 19:14 - And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!
1 Peter 1:19 - But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
Sequence of events: purging of corruption, sealing with blood protecting from Angel of Death, the Destroyer, celebration of the Feast – This has to do with future judgment – the present is the time for preparation – purging out the leaven, and remaining under the protection of the blood of the Covenant – the Passover, the judgment and destruction of the world (Egypt), and unbelievers (Egyptians) is yet future – the Feast will be kept as the Marriage Supper of the Lamb
Consider the significance of treading underfoot the blood of the Covenant in Hebrews –
[26] For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, [27] But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. [28] He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: [29] Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? [30] For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. [31] It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
(Hebrews 10:26-31)
III. Keep the Feast with Unleavened Bread –
How are we to keep the leaven out of the feast? (5:8)
Therefore let us keep the feast,not with old leaven,
neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness;
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Jewish traditions concerning the keeping of the Feast
The “old” leaven
The leaven of “malice and wickedness”
The Leaven of the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and Herod
Matthew 16:6 - Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. [5-12]
Matthew 16:11-12 - How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? [12] Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
Mark 8:15 - And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod. [14-21]
Luke 12:1 - In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
The unleavened bread of “sincerity and truth”
The lessons to be learned from the Jewish understanding
Conclusion:
How meticulous are we in purging out leaven?
How concerned are we concerning impurity in our lives and in the Church?
Get your spiritual “toothbrushes” out!
Purge out the old leaven! Keep the Feast in a way that honors and glorifies our Passover!
[Sermon preached by Pastor John T. "Jack" Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA on March 22, 2009.]
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