Leaven is used to symbolize sin (1 Cor. 5:6–8). The putting out of leaven from one's house pictures ridding one's life of sin as a continual process. The positive act of eating unleavened bread represents our conscious desire to actively seek a sinless way of life — spiritually manifesting "Christ in us."
What is the Feast of Unleavened Bread?
Immediately following the Passover, God commanded Israel to observe seven days of eating unleavened bread — bread made without yeast or any leavening agent. This feast begins on the fifteenth of Nisan and continues for seven days, with the first and last days observed as annual Sabbaths with sacred assemblies.
The feast commemorates Israel's hasty departure from Egypt. They had no time to leaven their bread before fleeing. But far beyond the historical commemoration, the feast pictures a deep and ongoing spiritual truth about the Christian life — the continual putting out of sin and the active pursuit of righteousness.
"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."
— 1 Corinthians 5:8What Does Leaven Represent?
Leaven in this festival is a negative symbol representing sin, pride, malice and false doctrine. Just as a small amount of yeast permeates and leavens an entire lump of dough, even a small amount of sin left unchecked can corrupt and spread throughout one's entire life — and even an entire congregation.
The physical act of diligently searching out and removing every trace of leaven from the home before and during the feast pictures the spiritual need to root out and remove sin from our lives — not passively, but actively and thoroughly.
"Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened."
— 1 Corinthians 5:6–7The Positive Side — Eating Unleavened Bread
While removing leaven pictures putting sin out, eating unleavened bread pictures something equally important — actively taking in righteousness. It is not enough to simply remove sin from our lives; we must replace it with something better: the sinless character of Christ.
Unleavened bread represents Christ Himself — the Bread of Life who came down from heaven, the only truly sinless One. When we eat unleavened bread throughout this feast, we symbolically partake of Christ daily, manifesting His righteous character in our walk. This is the picture of "Christ in us, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).
"I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."
— John 6:51Israel's Exodus — A Picture of Our Spiritual Journey
The physical exodus of Israel from Egypt is a type of the spiritual journey every believer must make — leaving the old life of sin behind and walking toward the promised inheritance. Egypt in Scripture pictures the world and its sinful ways. Pharaoh pictures Satan. And the Israelites' liberation through the blood of the Passover lamb pictures our own deliverance from sin through the blood of Christ.
But leaving Egypt was only the beginning. The journey through the wilderness required daily dependence on God, obedience to His commandments, and a daily turning away from the ways of Egypt. The Feast of Unleavened Bread pictures this ongoing journey — the lifelong process of walking out of sin and into righteousness, one day at a time.
"You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance."
— Exodus 12:17How We Observe It Today
God commanded Israel to observe seven days of unleavened bread beginning on the fifteenth of Nisan — the day after the Passover. The Church of God International observes this feast in 2026 from April 2 through April 8, as an "everlasting ordinance throughout your generations" (Exodus 12:17).
"In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord's Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread."
— Leviticus 23:5–6The five days between the two annual Sabbaths are regular days — members continue their normal activities but eat only unleavened bread throughout. Visitors are always welcome at our holy day services.