8 April 2010
Psalm 146, 147; Exod. 13:3-10; 1 Cor. 15:41-50; Matt. 28:16-20

The feast of unleavened bread commemorates that the people were unable to allow the bread to rise as they fled in haste from Egypt. Leaven signifies sin and corruption in the Bible and they were unable to allow the leaven from Egypt to corrupt even their food as they left. Leaven causes fermentation, the breaking down of the sugars in the grain, in order to allow the bread to rise and God wanted them to remain pure from sin and corruption as they prepare to celebrate the Passover feast again in the land. They are to purge their houses of any old yeast to make way and make room for the new harvest that is coming. The process is called nullification and has its own rituals to ensure that all yeast and any products containing yeast are removed from the house prior to Passover. We use the season of Lent in much the same way if we keep it properly.

The disciples obediently gather in Galilee, just as they had been told to do. Jesus gives them here what we know as the Great Commission, their marching orders for the rest of their lives. They are to go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing in the name of the Trinity and teach those disciples to obey all that He has commanded. How often we are satisfied with the state of our own discipleship if we obey some of what He has commanded! The true disciple, however, sets herself to become like her master or rabbi in every respect. Discipleship sees the teacher as the example for living and undertakes to emulate him in every way, becoming almost indistinguishable in action from the teacher. We are to see in Jesus our example par excellence and set our lives, by the power of the Spirit working in us, to becoming like Him in every respect.

Paul sees again a progression from earth to heaven. What we have here is almost a dress rehearsal for what is to come. We must live well here, in keeping with the commandments of God, in order to inherit the new spiritual and eternal body. That isn’t to say we are saved by works but rather our works are evidence of our faith. To the degree that we believe Jesus is the perfect man, the fulfillment of God’s intention for His supreme creation, then our lives will show forth that belief. Life is never divorced from faith, we are a unity of body and spirit, what we do in the body affects the spirit of a person and vice versa, the old principle of garbage in, garbage out. It all comes back to purging the old leaven and obeying all Jesus has commanded. All this prepares us for eternity.

The LORD sets the prisoners free;
the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;
the LORD loves the righteous.
The LORD watches over the sojourners;
he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

The LORD will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the LORD!