Bible Question #35 - Let Us Keep the Feast

Christians across the world commonly hear the same explanation about the law and the holy days of the Bible. The teaching is simple: those things belonged to ancient Israel. When Christ died, their observance ended. According to this view, the law was nailed to the cross, and the festivals of the Old Testament NO longer apply to Christians.
Because of that belief, most churches do not observe the Passover or the Feast of Unleavened Bread. These days are usually described as part of the old system given to Israel, not something meant for the Church.
Yet when we turn to the New Testament, we encounter a statement that does not seem to fit that conclusion.
1 Corinthians 5:7–8 – “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. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”
Those words were written by the apostle Paul.
Paul is often presented as the teacher who set aside the law and replaced it with grace. Yet here he tells the Church, “let us keep the feast.”  The statement raises an important question.
If the law and the holy days were abolished, WHY would Paul instruct Christians to keep one of them?
To understand WHAT Paul was saying and WHY we need to understand several KEY points:
1.    Pauls Background and Audience
2.    The Bible is Not a Textbook
3.    Ancient Christian Teachings were Verbal
4.    The Holy Days have meaning for the Church today
Let’s walk through these points together to learn WHY question #35 is important to know and understand.
Point 1 — Paul’s Background and Audience
To understand why Paul would tell a congregation to “keep the feast,” we first need to understand two things clearly: who Paul was and who he was writing to. Paul did not come from a casual knowledge of the Scriptures. He grew up in an environment where the law of God was studied carefully and taught in detail. His background explains WHY he understood the meaning of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Acts 22:3 – “I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today.”
Paul explains that his training took place “at the feet of Gamaliel.” In the Jewish world of the first century, that phrase meant formal instruction under a recognized teacher. Gamaliel was not an ordinary instructor. He was one of the leading teachers of the law in Jerusalem and a member of the Jewish ruling council.
The book of Acts records Gamaliel speaking during a meeting of that council when the apostles were being judged. His words reveal both his authority and the respect he commanded among the leaders.
Acts 5:34 – “Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people, and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while.”
Gamaliel stood among the most recognized scholars of the Scriptures in Jerusalem. To study under him meant receiving a serious and disciplined education in the writings of Moses and the prophets.
That detail helps us understand Paul’s background. Paul was not learning the Scriptures casually or on his own. He was trained by one of the most recognized teachers of the law in the Jewish world. His education focused on the commands of God recorded in the Scriptures and the traditions of the Jewish teachers who studied those writings.
Because of that training, Paul knew the history and meaning of the biblical festivals. He understood the commands concerning the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. These observances were part of the instruction he received as a student of the law.
The people he was writing to in Corinth did not share that background. Corinth was a Greek city, not a Jewish one, and it was known across the Roman world for wealth, trade, and moral corruption. Temples dedicated to pagan gods stood throughout the city, and idol worship formed part of everyday life.
Paul reminds the believers in Corinth of the life they had left behind. Many of them had been deeply involved in the pagan practices that surrounded them in the city.
1 Corinthians 12:1-2 – “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:  You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led.”
Paul’s statement makes their background clear. These believers had not grown up studying the Scriptures or observing the laws given to Israel. Their earlier life had been STEEPED in idol worship and the customs connected with it.
The book of Acts describes how the Church in Corinth began. Paul arrived in the city around 50-52 AD and began teaching about Jesus Christ. As people listened to the message, some believed and chose to be baptized.
Acts 18:8 – “Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.”
The congregation grew as more people responded to Paul’s teaching. Some Jews joined the Church, but many members came from the broader population of Corinth. These converts entered the Church with little knowledge of the law of Moses or the holy days described in the Scriptures.
That background matters when we read Paul’s letter, (61-62 AD). The believers in Corinth had not grown up observing the Passover. They had not spent their childhood removing leaven from their homes during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The practices Paul refers to were not part of their upbringing.
Yet Paul writes to them 10 years AFTER their Church was formed, as though they already understand the subject. He speaks about leaven and the feast without stopping to explain what those things are.
1 Corinthians 5:7–8 – “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. Therefore let us keep the feast…”
Paul’s words assume that the congregation already knows what he means.  He does not describe when the feast occurs or how it is observed. Instead, he refers to it directly and instructs them to keep it.
That detail tells us something important about the Corinthians. These Gentile believers had clearly been taught about the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread after entering the Church, 10-11 years EARLIER. 
The knowledge did not come from their pagan past. It came from the instruction they received from Paul and others who taught them the Scriptures. Paul could refer to these things without explanation BECAUSE they were already part of the instruction the congregation had received.
This leads us to another question: If Paul had already taught these Gentile believers about the law and the holy days when he first lived among them, why does the New Testament not repeat those instructions in detail, to REINFOCE the teachings? Why do the letters simply refer to these practices instead of explaining them in DETAIL?
To answer that, we need to understand something about the nature of the New Testament itself.
Point 2 — The New Testament Was Not Written as a Textbook of Church Practice
Many mainstream Christians today believe the New Testament was written as a kind of Textbook – everything we MUST know to “be” a Christian is EXPLAINED in it and ANYTHING we Don’t NEED to know is not.
Under that assumption, if something were required for Christians to observe, the New Testament would restate it clearly and explain it in detail. If the New Testament does not repeat an instruction in full, many conclude that the practice must no longer apply.
But the books of the New Testament are not organized as a systematic explanation of Christian practice. The Gospels record the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. The book of Acts records the spread of the Church as the message about Christ moved through the Roman world. The remaining books are letters written by apostles to congregations that already existed.
Those letters were not written to introduce all of the DOCTRINES of the Church. They were written to address problems, answer questions, and correct behavior that had DEVELOPED among believers.
Paul’s letters show this pattern clearly. In several places he reminds the congregations that he had already taught them certain things when he was with them in person. The letter does not repeat those instructions from the beginning. Instead, it refers back to what they had already learned.
2 Thessalonians 2:5 – “Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?”
Paul expected the congregation to remember teaching that had already been given. The letter was simply to remind them of what they should ALREADY know, rather than restating it in detail.
The same pattern appears in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. Early in the letter he refers to instructions he had already delivered to them when the congregation was first established.
1 Corinthians 11:2 – “Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you.”
Paul speaks of teachings he had already delivered to them. The word translated “traditions” refers to instructions that had been handed down to the congregation. These teachings were NOT first introduced in the letter. They were given earlier when Paul was teaching them directly.
This pattern appears throughout the New Testament letters. The apostles assume that the congregations already possess certain knowledge. The letters address specific issues that arose after those congregations had already received instruction.
When we recognize this pattern, the nature of the New Testament becomes clearer. The letters were written to guide and correct believers who had already been taught the Scriptures. They were not written to repeat every instruction from the beginning.
That understanding helps explain Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 5. When Paul tells the Corinthians to “keep the feast,” he does not pause to explain what feast he means. He does not describe its length or the practice of removing leaven.
Paul simply refers to the feast directly.
That approach makes sense if the Corinthians had already been taught about the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread when the Church was first established. The letter does not need to explain the observance from the beginning. It simply applies the meaning of the feast to the situation Paul is addressing.
Recognizing the purpose of the New Testament letters helps us read and understand them more clearly. These writings address real situations that arose in congregations that already existed. They refer to teachings that had been delivered earlier through direct instruction.
That leads to the next step in understanding the situation in Corinth. If the letters assume earlier teaching, how did believers in the early Church actually learn the law and the meaning of the holy days in the first place?
Point 3 — The Early Church Learned Through Direct Teaching from the Scriptures
We KNOW that the New Testament was NOT written to be a TEXTBOOK, teaching ALL of the doctrines Necessary for the Church. Instead, believers were taught through direct instruction from the apostles and ministers who traveled among the congregations.
Their teaching did not happen quickly or casually. When a congregation was established, the apostles often stayed for long periods of time, explaining the Scriptures and teaching the people how to live according to what God had revealed. Believers learned through repeated instruction and discussion as they gathered together.
The book of Acts records how Paul taught in Corinth when the Church there was first established.
Acts 18:11 – “And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.”
Paul did not simply visit Corinth for a short time and leave behind a letter. He lived there for a 1-1/2 YEARS (as of this message that’s about how long I’ve been PASTORING the Tacoma and Olympia congregations! Paul taught those WHOM God was calling in Corinth week after week. 
What was his MATERIAL? For 1-1/2 Years, the congregation heard the Scriptures explained and learned how those writings applied to their lives.
The Scriptures that Paul Taught from, already existed. At that time the New Testament had not yet been written. The only written word of God available to the Church was the body of writings we now call the Old Testament.
Jesus Himself taught from those Scriptures during His ministry. After His resurrection, He explained how those writings revealed the meaning of His life and sacrifice.
Luke 24:44-45 – “Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me." And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. 
Jesus TAUGHT from the writings of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms – what HE clearly identified as the “scriptures” – because those Scriptures formed the foundation for understanding God’s plan. The apostles followed that same pattern when they taught the people.
The book of Acts shows that the early believers were expected to examine the Scriptures as they learned.
Acts 17:11 – “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”
The people in Berea listened to the teaching they received, but they also searched the Scriptures themselves. Those Scriptures were the writings of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms – what are KNOWN as the “Triparte” Divisions of the “Scriptures.” Through those writings they confirmed the truth of what they were hearing.
That process shows how the early Church learned. The apostles taught the people directly – NOT through some kind of remote “correspondence” course!  And the people examined the Scriptures to understand those teachings more fully. The written word of God remained the source from which instruction came.
Because of that pattern, the believers did not rely on letters alone for their understanding of God’s law. The letters addressed specific situations, but the teaching of the Scriptures happened continually as the congregations gathered.
When Paul lived in Corinth for a year and a half, he had time to explain the Scriptures in detail. He would have taught about the history of Israel, the commands recorded in the law, and the meaning of the events described in those writings. He would have shown how those Scriptures pointed forward to Jesus Christ and the life Christians are called to live.
That instruction provided the foundation for the congregation. By the time Paul later wrote his letter to the Corinthians, the believers already knew the Scriptures that had been explained to them. They understood the meaning of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread because those things had been taught to them from the written word of God.
This explains why Paul could refer to those observances without lengthy explanation. The congregation already understood the lessons connected with those days. Paul did not need to teach the meaning of the feast from the beginning.
Instead, he used the imagery of the feast to address a problem that had appeared in the Church.
The Corinthians had allowed serious sin to remain within the congregation. Paul wrote to correct that situation and remind the believers of the lesson the Feast of Unleavened Bread was meant to teach.
Once we see how the early Church learned from the Scriptures through direct instruction, Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 5 become easier to understand. The feast was not an unfamiliar idea introduced in the letter. It was part of the teaching the congregation had already received.
That brings us to the final step in the passage. If the Corinthians already understood the feast, why does Paul refer to it in this letter, and what lesson was he reinforcing for the Church?
Point 4 — Paul Reinforces the Meaning of the Feast for the Church
When we arrive at 1 Corinthians 5, BECAUSE the congregation already KNEW about Keeping the Feast of Unleavened Bread and what it meant, Paul now uses the meaning of the feast to address a serious problem that had developed within the congregation.
The issue in Corinth was open sin that the congregation had tolerated. A man within the Church was involved in a form of sexual immorality that even the surrounding society recognized as wrong. Instead of correcting the situation, the congregation had allowed it to continue.
Paul addresses the problem directly and explains why the Church cannot allow sin to remain unchecked.
1 Corinthians 5:1-6  “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father's wife! And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?”
Paul draws on a lesson the Corinthians already knew from the Feast of Unleavened Bread. A small amount of leaven spreads throughout an entire batch of dough. Once it begins to work, it affects the whole lump.
Paul applies that same picture to sin within the congregation. Sin, when it is ignored or accepted, spreads and influences others. Over time the entire congregation can be affected.
Because of that danger, Paul tells the Corinthians that action must be taken, to PROTECT the flock. He COMPARES that action to PURGING out “old leaven”.
1 Corinthians 5:7 – “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.”
Paul CONNECTS the lesson of the feast with the sacrifice of Christ. Passover marks the moment when Israel was delivered from death through the blood of the lamb. That event pointed forward to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Christ’s death provides forgiveness for sin. Because of that sacrifice, converted believers are able to stand before God cleansed from the PENALTY of their past actions. Paul reminds the congregation that Christ, the true Passover sacrifice, has already been offered.
The statement carries an important implication. If Christ died to remove the penalty of sin, believers cannot continue to live in the very conduct that required that sacrifice.
Paul then turns to the meaning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread itself.
1 Corinthians 5:8 – “Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”
The Feast of Unleavened Bread begins immediately after Passover and continues for seven days. During that time the people of Israel were commanded to remove leaven from their homes and eat unleavened bread. The act of removing leaven served as a constant reminder that sin must be removed from the life of God’s people.
Paul applies that lesson to the Church.
For the Gentile believers in Corinth, the “old leaven” represented more than a symbol from Israel’s history. It represented the entire way of life they had left behind when they came into the Church. The city of Corinth was filled with practices that encouraged immorality, greed, and idol worship.
When these believers were called into the Church, they left that environment and began a new life. Paul reminds them that the congregation must remain distinct from the culture around them. Just as leaven was removed from the homes during the feast, sin must be removed from those in God’s Church.
The removal of leaven during the feast was a physical act. People searched their homes and removed every trace of leavened bread. That process required attention and effort.
Paul shows that the physical action points to a deeper lesson. Believers must EXAMINE their lives and remove conduct that does not belong among the people of God. The process involves repentance, correction, and a willingness to change.
Paul contrasts the “old leaven” with the “unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” Sincerity refers to a life that is genuine and free from hidden corruption. Truth refers to conduct that is consistent with the instruction God has given in the Scriptures.
Together these qualities describe the way believers are meant to live after the sacrifice of Christ.
The order of the festivals also teaches an important lesson. Passover comes first, marking forgiveness through the sacrifice of Christ. Immediately afterward comes the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which focuses on removing sin from daily life.
The sequence shows that forgiveness is not the end of the process. After forgiveness comes the work of turning away from sin and learning to live according to God’s instruction.
Paul uses the feast to remind the Corinthians of that responsibility. The congregation cannot claim forgiveness through Christ while at the same time allowing sin to continue within its midst. The lesson of the feast requires action.
The members of the Church must remove conduct that contradicts the life they have been called to live. By doing so they become, as Paul says, “a new lump,” a people whose conduct reflects the truth they have been taught.
This instruction shows that the Feast of Unleavened Bread still carries meaning for the Church. The observance teaches believers to examine their lives, remove sinful conduct, and live in sincerity and truth.
For the Corinthians, this lesson addressed a real situation that threatened the health of the congregation. Paul uses the meaning of the feast to call the Church back to the standard God expects.
As we approach the Feast of Unleavened Bread each year, the same lesson applies to us TODAY!
Through the SAME process the feast continues to teach US the lesson Paul gave to the Corinthians: God’s people must become a new lump, living in sincerity and truth.
Conclusion
As we step back and look at this passage, the tension we began with becomes much clearer. Many assume that the law and the holy days no longer matter for Christians. Yet in 1 Corinthians 5 we see Paul instructing a congregation of Gentile believers to keep the feast and to understand its meaning.
When we examine the context carefully, the situation begins to make sense. Paul was a Jew trained in the Scriptures, but the people he taught in Corinth were Gentiles who had come out of idolatry. They did not grow up observing the festivals of Israel. These things had to be taught to them when the Church was first established.
The New Testament letters were never intended to be a TEXTBOOK presentation on Keeping the Law. They were written to address specific problems that arose within congregations that had already been taught from the Scriptures. Believers learned through direct instruction from the apostles, and those teachings came from the writings of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms.
Because of that foundation, Paul could refer to the Feast of Unleavened Bread without explaining it in detail. The congregation already knew its meaning. The feast reminded them that just as leaven must be removed from the home, sin must be removed from the life of the believer and from the congregation as a whole.
That lesson still matters today. As we approach the Days of Unleavened Bread, the physical act of removing leaven reminds us to examine our lives carefully, to put away sin, and to live in sincerity and truth - remembering the sacrifice of Christ that makes that change possible.