Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm20010117.htm

LEVITICUS: GOD'S CALL FOR A SEPARATED WITNESS
Part II: The Path Of Walking In Fellowship With God (Leviticus 11-27)
M. God's Prophetic Assemblies Of Christ's Redemption
2. The Passover And Unleavened Bread: Foretelling Christ's Death For Sin
(Leviticus 23:4-8)
  1. Introduction
    1. The Old Testament prophecies verify our Christian faith as they predict what actually came true about it.
    2. The Hebrew feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread prefigure and predict the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we view those feasts predicted in Leviticus as a witness to the validity of Christ's death for us:
  2. The Passover And Unleavened Bread: Foretelling Christ's Death For Sin, Leviticus 23:4-8.
    1. The Lord had Moses announce the feast of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Lev. 23:4-5, 6.
    2. These feasts are closely connected, the Passover being on the fourteenth day of the first Hebrew month and the seven days of Unleavened Bread beginning the day after the fourteenth, on the fifteenth, 23:5-6.
    3. As such, these feasts predict the death of Christ and the holy walk designed to follow one's appropriation of His atonement by faith in Jesus Christ (McGee, Thru The Bible, vol. One, p. 427-428):
      1. The Feast of Passover predicted the substitutionary death of Christ for our sin as follows:
        1. The Passover was to be held the night when the Angel of God passed over the homes in Israel that had the lamb's blood applied to the door, cf. Exodus 12:11-13. The application of the blood to the door saved the life of the eldest son inside the home, 12:26-30.
        2. Hence, the death of Christ, the Lamb of God (John 1:29), provides redemption so that when one believes in Him, Christ's death is applied to him and he escapes God's wrath, John 3:16; 1 John 2:2. Notice how Paul names Christ as our Passover in 1 Cor. 5:7, and Jesus used the feast of Passover to tell His disciples of His body and blood that were sacrificed for us in Matthew 26:17, 26-28.
      2. Connected with the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread foretold the holy life that was to result:
        1. The Feast of Unleavened Bread, begun right after Passover, recalled the haste with which the Egyptians made Israel leave the land, not letting their yeast raise their dough, Lev. 23:6; Ex. 12:33f.
        2. This cause-effect relation of Passover with Unleavened Bread was to be commemorated for seven days, a signal of completeness in the Ancient Near East, Exodus 12:15 with Lev. 23:6.
        3. The days of Unleavened Bread pictured a release from sin seen in the leaven, 1 Corinthians 5:6-7, 8.
        4. At the beginning of the feast, and on its last day, there was to be no servile work: the emphasis throughout the feast was on a departure from work and entering God's rest, Leviticus 23:7-8.
        5. Throughout the days of Unleavened Bread, the nation was to offer offerings by fire unto the Lord: this meant the entire time was a time of consecration unto the Lord, Leviticus 23:8.
        6. Accordingly, the days of Unleavened Bread pictured the holiness of walk the believer is to have following his faith in Christ: (a) Since the days of Unleavened Bread followed Passover, Christ's death for sin was to leave the believer in Christ reckoning himself to be dead to sin that he might live unto righteousness in Christ, Romans 6:1-4, 22. (b) Since the feast of Unleavened Bread, lasting for seven days pictured completeness, the believer in Christ is to live his entire life in holiness unto the Lord, Romans 6:2. (c) Since Unleavened Bread highlighted the separation from corruption, the believer is to live separated from sin as his highlight in life, 1 Peter 1:13-16. (c) As the feast of Unleavened Bread began and ended with sabbath rests, the believer is to live the whole righteous life by faith, not by the works of the sin nature, Hebrews 4:10; Galatians 5:16. (d) As the Unleavened Bread was marked by offerings every day of its observance, the believer is to live in the power, cleansing and provisions of Christ's atonement throughout his earthly life, 2 Cor. 12:7-10.
Lesson: The Passover predicted Christ's substitutionary death for us, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread the holy life that was to follow the application of Christ's death by faith in His Gospel.

Application: (1) The Christian faith is verified as true by way of its prediction in the feasts of Passover and the Unleavened Bread. (2) As such, we (a) can be confident in that faith, and (b) focus on the holy, gracious, faith-oriented walk (Unleavened Bread) to which we are called in connection to salvation.