I really enjoy bread…sour dough is my favorite. Then of course there are fresh biscuits, thick cut multigrain bread and don’t tell anyone but occasionally I sneak in a donut or two.
I’m a little more picky about crackers. Not too many really wake up my palate but if I had to choose I would grab a box of Cheese-Its or Town House crackers.
The major difference between bread and crackers is the yeast. In the Bible we will find it called leaven. Jesus taught numerous times about removing leaven. The traditional Jewish feast of Passover is celebrated with unleavened bread.
There’s a true correlation in life between the two.
The Apostle Paul talks about our lives as dough. Dough without yeast was a sign of purity. This went back to the time of the Passover in Egypt. The Israelites were told to boil the lamb and eat unleavened bread.
They were waiting on God to move and deliver them from Egypt. They had to be ready at a moments notice. There wasn’t time to let the bread rise or the meat to roast. Boiling the meat and baking the bread without leaven was the fastest way to make their meal.
“Your proud talk is not good. You know the saying, “Just a little yeast makes the whole batch of dough rise.” 7 Take out all the old yeast, so that you will be a new batch of dough. You really are bread without yeast—Passover bread. Yes, Christ our Passover Lamb has already been killed. 8 So let us eat our Passover meal, but not with the bread that has the old yeast, the yeast of sin and wrongdoing. But let us eat the bread that has no yeast. This is the bread of goodness and truth.” I Corinthians 5:6-8 ERV
Paul is referring to our daily life – it should be leaven free! Pretty appropriate for this day and age when everyone is wanting to be “gluten free”.
Jesus, our Passover Lamb, was sacrificed to bring forgiveness and restoration to our lives. We need to be an example of His goodness and truth.
Take out the yeast! Periodically I have to take inventory and have the Holy Spirit reveal to me areas in my life that have leaven. He’s faithful to do that when I ask.
Leavened bread is full of air that is caused by a chemical reaction in the yeast. That’s what makes it rise. Our lives can be full of air! We get so caught up in ourselves that we puff up. You know the sayings, “he’s full of hot air” or “they are puffed up like a peacock”. These are referring to someone who is selfish, conceited or prideful.
Look at these two translations of the same verse from I Corinthians 13.
“Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,” verse 4 KJV
“Love is kind and patient, never jealous, boastful, proud,” verse 4 CEV
Jesus warned people to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. He wasn’t talking about the bread they were serving but of their teachings. The Pharisees were inflicting all types of rules and regulations on the people. Their teaching was based on what “they” could and needed to do to be in right relationship with God. They taught the people that if they weren’t good enough, didn’t celebrate enough festivals, bring enough sacrifices, give enough tithe that God wouldn’t be pleased with them and they couldn’t have relationship with Him.
Jesus’ teaching and God’s desire were completely opposite. Jesus told us to come as we are. God’s love is unconditional, not based on our good works. It is His free gift to us, presented by Jesus who died for our sins.
Pharisees teaching: “ Why is it that you do not see that I was not talking to you about bread? I was talking to you about keeping away from the yeast of the proud religious law-keepers and the religious group of people who believe no one will be raised from the dead.” 12 Then they understood that it was not the yeast of bread that He was talking about. But He was talking about the teaching of the proud religious law-keepers and of the other religious group of people.” Matthew 16:11-12 NLV
Jesus’ teaching: “ For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. Whoever puts his trust in God’s Son will not be lost but will have life that lasts forever. ” John 3:16 NLV
Am I big and fluffy or flat and salty? Am I puffed up with self or am I deflated of selfish ambition and trusting God to use me how He sees fit?
I am so glad that we have a loving heavenly Father who desires that we have a life of goodness and truth free from selfishness and pride.