RESOURCES — SHORT ARTICLES

 

SHORT ARTICLES BY TOM ELSEROAD
	2020-04-09	Feast of Unleavened Bread - Jesus in the Grave for Our Sin
		Feast of Unleavened Bread - Jesus in the Grave for Our Sin This is THURSDAY, the day after Christ was crucified. So this is day one in the grave. What happened on this day in relation to Christ's crucifixion week? Mat 27:62 On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, Mat 27:63 saying, "Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise.' Mat 27:64 Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead.' So the last deception will be worse than the first." Mat 27:65 Pilate said to them, "You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how." Mat 27:66 So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard. Matthew tells us this is the day after Christ was crucified by calling it “the next day”. He also clarifies that this day is a Sabbath by describing it as “which followed the Day of Preparation”. Remember Jesus was crucified on the Day of Preparation (Wednesday) for the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Thursday). By describing this way, he helps us to not confuse it with the normal weekly sabbath (Saturday). This makes today (Thursday) the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This is the first day of a seven-day Feast. As it is a sabbath no work is to be done. The text tells us the Pharisees and priests talked Pilate into sealing the tomb. It is interesting to see the religious folk, on a High Sabbath (Feast day), they are asking the Romans to do work by sealing the tomb. Hypocrites! This Feast is one of three where all able-bodied Jewish males were required to attend. As Israel had to depart Egypt in haste (no leaven), so Christ had to be buried in haste before the start of this Feast of Unleavened Bread. The Feast of Unleavened bread pictures the burial of Christ. And of course, Jesus is in the grave on this day. Jesus, as our Savior, is buried for our sin. As Jonah was 3 days and 3 nights in the great fish, so Jesus will be in the grave. What application is there for us? As it is the Feast of Unleavened Bread, we too should remove leaven from our lives. The Israelites removed literal yeast. The New Testament pictures leaven (yeast) with sin (1Co.5:7-8) 1Co_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. 1Co_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. May we remove all known sin from our lives! We are building up to our Resurrection Sunday message. Pastor Tom Elseroad

 

An Evangelical Free Church of America

23304 E Wellesley Ave. Otis Orchards, WA 99027 Church Office: 509.926.9552 Church Cell: 509.342.9145 Pastor Cell: 509.828.8843 tomelseroad@gmail.com