[Steve Myers] The Bible is filled with symbolism. And at the very end of Jesus' life, He gave quite a few symbols to the disciples. Certainly at the Passover He did that as He shed His blood and gave His body as a sacrifice for us. Right after Passover comes the Days of Unleavened Bread. And there's important symbolism that's found in the days as well. So, what does the symbolism of the Days of Unleavened Bread mean?

[Darris McNeely] Well, we move on from the Passover to the Days of Unleavened Bread because there is also a responsibility that each of us has to put sin from our life. That is done as we put leaven out of our homes and we eat unleavened bread during those Days of Unleavened Bread—strive to eat that seven days during that period of time. That shows our responsibility to work at and to overcome sin. And also as we take in the unleavened bread, we're symbolizing the life of Jesus Christ within us—a perfect life—that really helps us to put sin from our lives. Probably one passage in the Bible in the New Testament that helps us to understand that is Romans chapter 6 where the Apostle Paul addressed this critical subject of sin and raised the question, shall we continue in sin? In verse 1 he says, "What shall we say? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not," Paul writes. "How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" And he goes on to talk about the rite of baptism, which joins us with the death of Christ and shows us that we were baptized into His death and buried with Him through baptism. "That just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should also walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:1-4). And that is where we come to the Days of Unleavened Bread because Christ was resurrected during the Days of Unleavened Bread and we walk in newness of life by His life within us, symbolized as we take in and eat unleavened bread during that period.

[Steve Myers]  It's an important object lesson. Christ gave it to us. It's seven days—so there's a completeness, that we're completely to come out of sin. So after the sacrifice of Christ, we have our sins forgiven. Now, how are we going to live our life? Well, through this week, we're going to sort out what is good to eat and what is not good to eat. What is sin and what is not sin? We're going to put on righteousness and put out sin. And that's only possible because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. A little bit later in Romans, verse 11 it says, "Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:11). So through Jesus Christ it is possible to put the sin out and put on that unleavened sincerity and truth—the character of Christ.

[Darris McNeely] The seven day festival of Unleavened Bread is one of the most important of the festivals that we could keep—all of them certainly are important, but that really starts the year off right. Coming in the spring it gives us a wonderful reminder of the renewal of life, that opportunity that we have when we work against the effects of sin in our life and we strive to put within us the life of Jesus Christ and let Him life His life through us.

[Steve Myers] That's BT Daily. We'll see you next time.