31. March 2024
Easter Sunday
1 Corinthians 5:7-8; Mark 16:1-8
“Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little sourdough corrupts the whole lump of dough? Cleanse out the old sourdough so that you may be a new lump of dough since you are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover is offered for us. Therefore, we eat, not the old sourdough, nor the sourdough of malice and waywardness, but the unleavened bread of clearness and of truth.”
In the holy Name of + Jesus. Amen.
Christ Jesus suffered and died to forgive your sins and give you new life. He’s not content with you remaining in your sins, leading to death. He forgives you by His shed blood, washed upon you in your Baptism, and given to you to drink in the Holy Supper. He crucifies in you all your evil rebellion against His Word, buried in a watery tomb. He proclaims, absolves, and renews you daily and richly in this Good News of forgiveness. Because where there is forgiveness, you are being made new, raised from the dead, and given to live a new life.
You will not leave the same today. Jesus speaks the Word of life that death cannot stand. He proclaims a Word of forgiveness that removes the stains of guilt and shame. He drives a wooden stake through the Serpent’s skull, forever unraveling all the devil’s might. This eternal truth changes how you view yourself, the world, everyone, and everything. You now see yourself, your neighbor, and even this world as redeemed by Christ the crucified.
Why would you ever return to the darkness now that you’ve seen the light? Why would you fawn after idols, live by lies, or neglect this saving Word ever again? How could you continue rebelling against what God set up in good order? Why would you ever allow hate, lust, greed, or slander to enter the new heart Christ has given you again? Now that you’ve tasted and seen that the LORD is good, you are blessed to be the one who trusts in Him! And those that fear Him have no want, “those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing” (Ps 34:10).
St. Paul called Christ Jesus the unleavened bread of clearness and of truth. He is the bread from heaven that is our daily bread. Yes, daily bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body. And yes, the Word given under bread and wine, His body and blood, are the daily food for the hungry soul. With the mention of unleavened bread, the Apostle draws our attention to the Passover feast of old. You recall that our fathers had to prepare their dough with haste. They would not have time to prepare leavened loaves but would bake the unleavened as they fled Egypt toward the Red Sea. The Apostle also proclaims unequivocally that Jesus is the final and ultimate Passover lamb, whose death satisfies all the wrath of God and whose blood prevents death from ever touching us.
What does the Apostle mean when He says to cast out the old leaven, the sourdough? We do not need the leavened lump if Christ is our Lamb and the unleavened bread of clearness and truth. We can leave that behind in our Egypt, along with all the false gods, the bondage of sin, the murderous foe, and death itself. More so, the leavened lump is no longer good for us. It must be thrown away, never brought near us again. You probably like sourdough, but run with St. Paul’s picture with me.
The context of this statement is the wicked and disgusting immorality within the Corinthian congregation, something that not even the pagans do. And worse yet, the offending parties boast about it rather than mourn it. The congregation refuses to bring correction through the proclamation of God’s Law and exercising the Office of Keys. The immoral couple is allowed to commune at the holy altar, sinning against Christ’s body and blood. And Christ does not hold those guiltless who persistently sin against Him. The rot began to spread, with many being scandalized, leading others into sinful rebellion and some abandoning the congregation and Christ’s church altogether.
(This is why only those who have been examined and absolved are given the Holy Supper so that they may receive it for their spiritual health and not harm. See the Apostle’s instruction regarding the Supper in the same 1 Corinthians, chapter 10.)
The Apostle explicitly instructs them to “deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (1 Cor 5:5). The sourdough, so to speak, ought to have been dealt with when it was first known, with repentance, forgiveness, and Spirit-worked amendment of life. Rather than gossip and backbite about them, or worse, accept and encourage this public sin, it must be rebuked and corrected for the sake of the whole body of Christ in that place. Otherwise, like a little leaven, it would infect the whole congregation, undermining the preaching of the Word there and putting the beloved in spiritual danger. Thus, the Apostle brings the congregation to repentance, forgiveness, and Spirit-wrought renewal.
Okay, so that was pretty serious stuff. But all rejection of Christ’s Word is serious. Even a little sourdough corrupts the whole lump of dough. Thus, he exhorts each congregation member in Corinth to examine and judge themselves according to the standard of God’s Word. He tells them “not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person” (1 Cor 5:11). By dealing with sin in confession and absolution before it grows and infests, your life and the lives and community around you are spared the worst consequences. This is God’s Law at work, accusing and disciplining the sinner.
And St. Paul hinted already that there was hope for this utterly corrupt congregation. And this is true for all of us, too. No one is beyond saving. Even with a harsh rebuke from the LORD, he still proclaimed, “Christ, our Passover is offered for us!” He had many more things to say before returning to this Good News ten chapters later. But when the Apostle finally does, the Spirit-breathed Words pour forth in rich Absolution. He proclaims the Gospel with full-throated acclamation.
“But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive… And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ ‘O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?’ The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 15:20, 49-57).
Therefore, dear Christian, “Cleanse out the old sourdough so that you may be a new lump of dough since you are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover is offered for us.” Christ Jesus suffered and died to forgive your sins and give you new life. He’s not content with you remaining in your sins, leading to death. He forgives you by His shed blood, washed upon you in your Baptism, and given to you to drink in the Holy Supper. He crucifies in you all your evil rebellion against His Word, buried in a watery tomb. He proclaims, absolves, and renews you daily and richly in this Good News of forgiveness. Because where there is forgiveness, you are being made new, raised from the dead, and given to live a new life.
You will not leave the same today. Jesus speaks the Word of life that death cannot stand. He proclaims a Word of forgiveness that removes the stains of guilt and shame. He drives a wooden stake through the Serpent’s skull, forever unraveling all the devil’s might. This eternal truth changes how you view yourself, the world, everyone, and everything. You now see yourself, your neighbor, and even this world as redeemed by Christ the crucified.
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guards your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.
Rev. Christopher R. Gillespie
St. John Ev. Lutheran Church & School – Sherman Center
Random Lake, Wisconsin