Considering they happen so close in Scripture, it’s very easy to confuse the Passover and the Feast of the Unleavened Bread. They happen almost simultaneously, represent almost the exact same idea, and yet are very different.
How different, exactly? The Passover symbolizes God literally “passing over” the houses of the Israelites during the tenth plague. The Feast of the Unleavened Bread, on the other hand, symbolizes the haste with which they left Egypt.
Haste is the key word here. Once the Lord passed over the houses of the Israelites, Pharaoh called the nation together and forced them to leave Egypt in the middle of the night. The Unleavened Bread symbolizes the fact that Israelites didn’t even have time to let their dough rise before they left.
Unleavened bread is mentioned elsewhere in Scripture when urgency is required. When the angels visited an unsuspecting Lot in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, he made “unleavened bread” for them (Genesis 19:3). If he had known they were coming, maybe he would’ve thrown in some leaven.
Ironically, leaven also symbolizes sin. Jesus warns His followers about the “leaven of the Pharisees” in Luke 12:1—the idea being that, if left unchecked, the corruption and hypocrisy in your own heart can rise like bread in the oven.
By removing the leaven from their houses the night of the Exodus, God is, once again, communicating haste to His people. Leave now. Be ready.
Removing leaven from your home is actually quite a bit of work. I did a quick Google search to find all the things in the average house that might have leaven in them, and the list is pretty exhaustive. If I were to partake in the Feast of the Unleavened Bread today, it would take me a while to get all of it out.
And yet I know many Christians that do still partake in this feast. Not officially, of course, since the Old Law has been done away with. But individually (or as a family) they make a point of celebrating this feast just like the Israelites did. My hat is off to them.
Incidentally, the feast of the Passover was the meal Jesus ate with His disciples the night He was betrayed. The Feast of the Unleavened bread would’ve started the day after—most likely on the day that Jesus was actually executed.
Symbolically, we join in this feast when we take Communion. Just like Jesus, we use unleavened bread and fruit of the vine to symbolize our deliverance from sin through the Passover lamb, which is Jesus. It’s a powerful image, and one that should be performed with all the respect and reverence we possess.
