Frequently Asked Bible Questions

Why should Christians celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread?

The apostle Paul told Christians to keep this festival. What does the Feast of Unleavened Bread mean for Christians today?

God instituted the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread, which immediately follows the Passover (Leviticus 23:6-8). Historically it commemorated the ancient Israelites fleeing from slavery in Egypt in such haste that they didn't have time to leaven their bread or let it rise (Exodus 12:33-34).

God commanded the Israelites to keep this festival by removing leaven (such as yeast) out of their homes for seven days and to avoid eating any leavened foods during this time. The first and last days of this weeklong festival are set apart as holy convocations—annual Sabbaths—days devoted to rest and meeting together to be taught and to worship God.

Jesus identified leaven as a symbol of sin (Matthew 16:6-12; Mark 8:15; Luke 12:1). Members of the Church Christ started continued to celebrate this festival by putting leaven out of their homes for the week as a symbol of the sinless lives and attitudes God desires of His people. Paul, the apostle to the gentiles, even commanded the Church members in Corinth, "Let us keepthe feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Corinthians 5:8).

After accepting Christ's sacrifice for our sins, we must follow His example in living a life of righteousness, striving to keep sin out of our life.

It was during the Feast of Unleavened Bread that Jesus was raised from the dead—a vital factor for us to be delivered out of sin and on the path to God's Kingdom. Christians who celebrate this festival see that its meaning leads directly to the meaning of the third festival of God, the Feast of Pentecost.

Related Online Resources

The Feast of Unleavened Bread: The Lesson of Leaving Sin from the booklet God’s Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind
After God, through Christ's sacrifice, has forgiven us of our sins, how do we continue to avoid sin, since we must go on living in newness of life? We find the answer in the remarkable symbolism of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

What Does the Feast of Unleavened Bread Mean for Christians?
Central to our understanding of the biblical Feast of Unleavened Bread is the realization that the resurrected Jesus Christ lives His life in every individual Christian.

The Annual Festivals of God from the booklet God’s Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind
When is the Feast of Unleavened Bread this year?

How should a Christian today celebrate the annual festivals observed by Jesus Christ and the apostles?
Most Christians today don't observe the seven festivals God calls "My feasts" (Leviticus 23:2). Here is how the United Church of God celebrates these meaningful festivals today.

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