By COGwriter
The Days of Unleavened Bread are mentioned in the Hebrew scriptures, commonly called the Old Testament.
Were they done away or kept by early Christians?
What happened to Jesus during the Days of Unelavened Bread?
Did the Apostles observe the Days of Unleavened Bread.
Do the Days of Unleavened Bread have any Christian meaning?
Are there passages in the New Testament supporting not only keeping the Days of Unleavened Bread, but giving the meaning behind them?
This article intends to provide biblical and historical answers to those questions.
Here is a link to a related sermon: Unleavened Bread, Jesus, and the Apostles.
Unleavened bread is mentioned in Genesis 19:3, and alluded to in Genesis 18:6, which indicates that Lot and Abraham kept seemingly kept them. "And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3:29).
In the Old Testament, the Bible states:
5 On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the LORD's Passover. 6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. (Leviticus 23:5-6, NKJV throughout unless otherwise specified)
14 ... You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. 15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. (Exodus 12:14b-15)
Because the children of Israel were commanded to eat unleavened bread for seven days, these days are known as the Days of Unleavened Bread.
Notice, also, the following from the Old Testament:
14 Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year: 15 You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; none shall appear before Me empty); (Exodus 23:14-15)
13 ... the three appointed yearly feasts -- the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. (2 Chronicles 8:13)
The above passages make it clear that the Days of Unleavened Bread are to be kept annually. They are physical reminders of spiritual principles, including obedience to the word of God.
Another reason that the biblical Holy Days were given was to regularly assist us in the understanding of God's great plan of redemption.
What was the right attitude to keep the Days of Unleavened Bread?
21 So the children of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness; and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing to the Lord, accompanied by loud instruments. (2 Chronicles 30:21)
22 And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy; for the Lord made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel. (Ezra 6:22)
These days are to be kept in gladness and joy. This is what God wants--God made the people JOYFUL because they kept the seven days of unleavened bread (Ezra 6:22). They are not improperly burdensome.
Joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit Christians are to have (Galatians 5:22)--keeping the Days of Unleavened Bread should be joyous.
Jesus kept the Days of Unleavened Bread, which is sometimes called the Feast of the Passover (Luke 22:1).
Many are familiar with something Luke wrote related to Jesus' youth:
41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover.
42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.
43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.
44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.
45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.
46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.
47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.
48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.
49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?
50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.
51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. (Luke 2:41-52)
So at age twelve, Jesus taught and asnwered spiritual questions after, and likely during, the Days of Unleavened Bread.
While Jesus often kept those days in Jerusalem (cf. Luke 22:1,7), He also seemed to have kept the Days of Unleavened Bread in or near Galilee (Luke 6:1, Clarke's Commentary on the Bible)
Furthermore, notice something from Benson's Commentary on the Bible:
Luke 6:1-5 On the second sabbath after the first -- The original expression here, εν Σαββατω δευτεροπρωτω, says Dr. Whitby, “should have been rendered, In the first sabbath after the second day, namely, of unleavened bread..."
So,now ntoice somethings that happened during the Days of Unleavened Bread:
1 Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands. 2 And some of the Pharisees said to them, "Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?"
3 But Jesus answering them said, "Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?" 5 And He said to them, "The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath." (Luke 6:1-5)
During the Days of Unleavened Bread, Jesus taught He was Lord of the Sabbath!
Furthermore, during His ministry Jesus taught about spiritual leaven:
6 Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."
7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread."
8 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? 9 Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? 10 Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? 11 How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? -- but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
12 Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (Matthew 16:6-12)
The Pharisees and Sadducees were puffed up about their own knowledge and traditions and missed spiritual truths. That is also consistent with many religious leaders in the world today.
Consider also something else that Jesus taught:
13 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you shut up the kingdom of the heavens before men, for you do not go in, nor do you permit those going in to enter. 14 [[Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you eat up the houses of the widows, and for a pretense make long prayers, because of this you will receive more abundant judgment.]]
15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you go around the sea and the dry land to make one proselyte, and whenever it may happen—you make him a son of Gehenna twofold more than yourselves. (Matthew 23:13-15, Literal Standard Translation)
It is unrepentant sinners that will experience the second death with Gehenna fire (see also The Second Death). Leaven, in those passages, is being used by Jesus to represent the seriousness of sin.
Jesus further described the Pharisees by saying, "you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness" (Matthew 23:28).
Jesus thus tied leaven (the Pharisees' sinful teachings, Matthew 16:12) to false religion (being hypocrites) and sin (since "sin is lawlessness," 1 John 3:4).
Jesus also tied the Pharisees' problems in with pride (cf. Mark 7:5-23):
14 When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear Me, everyone, and understand: 15 There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. 16 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!"
17 When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. 18 So He said to them, "Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?" 20 And He said, "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a man." (Mark 7:14-23)
Pride puffs people up. The Apostle Paul specifically used the expression, "puffed up with pride" (1 Timothy 3:6) when he warned against a novice becoming an ordained church leader. He also warned that instead of mourning (repenting) the Corinthian Christians were wrongly puffed up (1 Corinthians 5:2).
Jesus also taught:
1 ..."Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. (Luke 12:1-2)
Hypocrites try to look like something they are not. Leaven makes bread look bigger than it is by putting in pockets of emptiness (air). The Pharisees looked religious to themselves and others, but were not acceptable to God. Furthermore, notice that hypocrisy and sin will be exposed. That is something that the Days of Unleavened Bread help teach us.
Here is some information from the old Worldwide Church of God as to what physical leaven is:
Just what is leaven? Which foods are to be avoided during the Days of Unleavened Bread?
God uses leaven to typify sin (I Cor. 5:1-8). Sin puffs up just as physical leaven puffs up (verse 2). Unleavened bread is a type of an unleavened life.
To understand exactly what is included in the leaven we are to avoid during the Days of Unleavened Bread, let's first notice some of the Hebrew words translated "leaven" in the Old Testament. Mechametz refers to leavening agents -- substances used to puff up or produce fermentation, causing dough to rise. Yeast, bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and baking powder are such substances.
Another Hebrew word rendered "leaven" is seh-ohd. This literally means "sourdough," a naturally fermenting yeasty batter that was the most common leaven of the Israelites, and which is still often used to cause baked goods to rise and become light in texture.
These leavening agents cause foods to become chametz. This Hebrew word is translated "that which is leavened" in Exodus 12:19. It is also translated "leavened bread" in a number of places. It refers to all foods that leaven has caused to rise, including bread, cake, some crackers, certain cookies, some prepared cereals and pies. A few candies and other foods also make use of leavening agents. If you are in doubt about any product, check the list of ingredients on the wrapper.
Instead of eating leavened bread, we have the positive command to eat unleavened bread (Ex. 13:6). We may also eat unleavened pies and cereals together with all the meats, drinks, fruits and vegetables we normally consume.
Most stores carry a variety of unleavened breads. Always check the ingredients on the label to be sure. Or, you may enjoy making your own. (Questions & Answers. Good News, March 1981)
A more complete list of what are and are not considered to be leavening agents is in the article: Should Christians Keep the Days of Unleavened Bread?
Notice that real love does not puff up:
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; (1 Corinthians 13:4)
Leaven puffs bread up. Pride puffs people up.
Jesus warned against that.
Notice something asked of Jesus:
30 Therefore they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" (John 6:30-31)
Mannah was the bread in the wilderness that came down from heaven and it was unleavened. Back to John 6:
32 Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
34 Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always."
35 And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."
41 The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven." 42 And they said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, 'I have come down from heaven'?"
43 Jesus therefore answered and said to them, "Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 51 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 6:32-51)
Notice Jesus taught He was the sustaining bread from heaven--which symbolically was unleavened. And the broken bread we take at Passover, He told His disciple was His body per Matthew 26:26.
52 The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?"
53 Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread which came down from heaven — not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever." (John 6:52-58)
So, Jesus basically said that He symbolically is the unleavened bread. at Passover. And while eating unleavened bread each day during the Days of Unleavened Bread is not the same as Passover, symbolically we may wish to consider that by obeying (Acts 5:32; Hebrews 5:9) we are putting Him in us (cf. 1 John 3:24).
As far as events around the Days of Unleavened Bread, the New Testament reveals that Jesus was buried just before the start of the first Day of Unleavened Bread:
31 Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. (John 19:31, NKJV)
31 Then the Jews, (because it was the parasceve, {sabbatical preparation day}) that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath day, (for that was a great sabbath day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. (John 19:31, Douay-Rheims)
31 It was the day of preparation, and the Jewish leaders didn’t want the bodies hanging there the next day, which was the Sabbath (and a very special Sabbath, because it was Passover week). So they asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by ordering that their legs be broken. Then their bodies could be taken down. (John 19:31 New Living Translation)... 42 So, because it was Sabbath preparation for the Jews and the tomb was convenient, they placed Jesus in it. (Jihn 19:4242, THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson.)
So, Jesus was put in a tomb just before the start of a great Sabbath, a high Holy Day.
Which day?
That would have been the first Day of Unleavened Bread!
Even Protestant and Roman Catholic commentators realize that:
Joh 19:31-42. Burial of Christ.
31-37. the preparation--sabbath eve.
that the bodies should not remain--over night, against the Mosaic law (De 21:22, 23).
on the sabbath day, for that sabbath day was an high day--or "great" day--the first day of unleavened bread, ... the most solemn season of the ecclesiastical year. Hence their peculiar jealousy lest the law should be infringed. (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary)
And (ver. 31.) the Jews, because it was the preparation, that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, for that was a great sabbath day, &c. ... the first and great day of the feast of Azyms (Haydock Catholic Bible Commentary)
'Azyms' means unleavened.
Notice happened three and a half days later Jesus was put in the tomb:
1 Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3 Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 5 Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7 saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'" (Luke 24:1-7)
Now, as John's Gospel points out "it was still dark" (John 20:1). So, this was not a resurrection after sunrise.
Anyway, since the Days of Unleavened Bread last seven days and Jesus was resurrected after three days and three nights (Matthew 12:40), Jesus was resurrected during the Days of Unleavened Bread.
So, we see New Testament events involving Jesus near and during the Days of Unleavened Bread.
Regarding Jesus, He came out of the tomb on a Saturday evening that would have been the start of wave sheaf Sunday.
A sheaf is a bundle of grain stalks laid lengthwise and tied together after reaping.
Here is more information about something that happened to Jesus during the Days of Unleavened Bread--specifically on wave sheaf Sunday--from the old Radio Church of God:
We read in John 20 that Mary Magdalene came to Jesus' tomb very early, before sunrise Sunday morning, "when it was yet dark" (verse 1). She was startled to find that the large stone covering the entrance to the grave had been rolled away. Filled with dismay, she reported this to the disciples; and Peter and John investigated. But they could not find Jesus' body (John 20:2-10). After the two disciples left — still early in the morning — Mary wept for sadness, thinking someone had stolen Jesus' body.
Seeing her misery, Jesus revealed Himself to her, in order to comfort her. But He told her, "Touch me not."
Why?
Jesus continued, "For I am not yet ascended to my Father..." (verse 17). Jesus had NOT YET risen to God's throne in heaven to be ACCEPTED by the Father as the firstfruits from the dead. Turn, now, to your Old Testament for the full explanation in the book of Leviticus.
"Speak unto the children of Israel," God told Moses, "and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then shall ye bring a sheaf of the FIRSTFRUITS of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, TO BE ACCEPTED for you: on the morrow AFTER the Sabbath the priest shall wave it" (Lev. 23:10-11).
This wave-sheaf offering was a TYPE of Jesus Christ. Notice!
"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the FIRSTFRUITS of them that slept" (I Cor. 15:20). "Christ the firstfruits" (verse 23). The firstfruits had to be ACCEPTED of the Father.
After His resurrection Christ had to ASCEND to the Father, to be accepted by Him. At this time He had not yet ascended.
That is why He would not permit Mary Magdalene to touch Him. Notice further what He told her "I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God" (John 20:17).
After Christ WAS accepted by the Father in heaven, He returned that very same day and revealed Himself to the disciples. Now it was all right for them to take hold of Him and worship Him. He revealed Himself to the two Marys even while they were on the way to see the other disciples, "And they came and held Him by the feet, and worshipped Him" (Mat. 28:9). After Christ had been accepted by the Father that morning as the FIRSTFRUITS from the dead, typified by the ancient wave-sheaf offering, He permitted the disciples to touch Him. (The Bible Answers Short Questions From Our Readers. Plain Truth, May 1965)
Again, this happened during the Days of Unleavened Bread. The wavesheaf day has also been the day to begin counting for Pentecost.
Jesus fulfilled the wave sheaf offering of Leviticus 23:12-14 during the light hours of the day when He went to the Father the day after the resurrection, Jesus was truly unleavened and His was an offering of sincerity and truth (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:8).
Again, all of these events involving Jesus occurred during the Days of Unleavened Bread.
More on the wave sheaf can be found in the article: Should Christians Keep the Days of Unleavened Bread?
Early Christians, even in Gentile regions, knew about the Days of Unleavened Bread.
Before quoting from it, consider that the Book of Acts was written by a Gentile named Luke and addressed to a Gentile named Theophilus.
The Book of Acts states:
3 ... Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread. (Acts 12:3)
If the Days of Unleavened Bread were done away by then, the Holy Spirit would not have inspired that statement to bave been recorded for Christians to see to this day--the Days of Unleavened Bread still exist for those willing to obey God.
The Book of Acts also states:
6 But we sailed away from Philippi after the Days of Unleavened Bread (Acts 20:6).
Remember that the Book of Acts was addressed to a Gentile. If Gentile Christians were not keeping the Days of Unleavened Bread, they would not need to have been recorded as still happening.
The Apostle Paul wrote to Gentiles in Corinth:
6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 8 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 5:6-8)
Notice the Paul stated that Christians were to keep the Feast.
What feast?
The Feast of the Days of Unleavened Bread.
Notice also that Paul improperly glorying in with "old leaven." This points to a tie between pride and leaven.
Paul wrote to the Galatians:
7 You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you.
9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. (Galatians 5:7-9)
The problem that the Corinthians had was that they were not unleavened spiritually. That is why Paul continued and told them to also spiritually be unleavened "with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."
And notice he warned the Galatains that it does not take much "leaven" to change things in the wrong direction.
This is what the Bible shows that the Apostle Paul was teaching.
Furthermore, in Romans 3:25 Paul wrote:
25 in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed.
Does this mean we are to continue is sin? Of course not! A few verses later Paul wrote:
31 On the contrary, we establish the law (Romans 3:31).
So while many understand that the Passover pictures a remembrance of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice (1 Corinthians 11:24-26), many seem to not understand that we are not to continue in sin.
Why?
Maybe one of the reasons is that most who profess Christianity do not observe the Days of Unleavened Bread or most of God's Holy Days (see also Should You Observe God’s Holy Days or Demonic Holidays?). (To know when the Holy Days occur on modern calendars, check out the article Holy Day Calendar.
Some may wonder if early Christians kept the Days of Unleavened Bread. Well, as shown before, Paul taught that they should.
Early Christians who knew people who knew people who knew the original apostles kept it. Furthermore, since they understood koine, New Testament, Greek better than modern scholars, understood also from the New Testament that they should keep it.
A very old document, that was probably altered in the 4th century (cf. Monroy MS. The Church of Smyrna: History and Theology of a Primitive Christian Community. Peter Lang edition, 2015, p. 31), titled The Life of Polycarp, specifically mentions the Passover, the Days of Unleavened Bread, and Pentecost. Notice that it shows that the Apostle Paul endorsed keeping them:
In the days of unleavened bread Paul, coming down from Galatia, arrived in Asia, considering the repose among the faithful in Smyrna to be a great refreshment in Christ Jesus after his severe toil, and intending afterwards to depart to Jerusalem. So in Smyrna he went to visit Strataeas, who had been his hearer in Pamphylia, being a son of Eunice the daughter of Lois. These are they of whom he makes mention when writing to Timothy, saying; Of the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and in thy mother Eunice; whence we find that Strataeas was a brother of Timothy. Paul then, entering his house and gathering together the faithful there, speaks to them concerning the Passover and the Pentecost, reminding them of the New Covenant of the offering of bread and the cup; how that they ought most assuredly to celebrate it during the days of unleavened bread, but to hold fast the new mystery of the Passion and Resurrection. For here the Apostle plainly teaches that we ought neither to keep it outside the season of unleavened bread, as the heretics do, especially the Phrygians ... but named the days of unleavened bread, the Passover, and the Pentecost, thus ratifying the Gospel (Pionius. Life of Polycarp, Chapter 2. Translated by J. B. Lightfoot, The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 3.2, 1889, pp.488-506).
Notice that the Apostle Paul was teaching Gentiles to keep these days. Strataeas (per Monroy, Mauricio Saavedra. The Church of Smyrna: History and Theology of a Primitive Christian Community. Peter Lang edition, 2015, p. 190) is the same as Thraseas. Thraseas is mentioned by Polycrates as another faithful leader who kept Passover on the 14th of Nisan.
Furthermore, Polycarp kept the Days of Unleavened Bread, various "Jewish holidays," and even went to Rome and told the bishop there to keep Passover on the correct day (this is documented in the article Polycarp of Smyrna: The Heretic Fighter). Polycarp is considered to be a saint by Catholics, Orthodox, many Protestants, and those in the Church of God. Yet of those groups, only the real Church of God continues his practices as far as the Holy Days are concerned.
Now let's further notice what the Greco-Roman Catholic writer Eusebius recorded that Polycrates of Ephesus, around 195 A.D. wrote the following to the Roman Bishop Victor who, as the previous writing showed, wanted all who professed Christ to change Passover from the 14th of Nisan to Sunday:
We observe the exact day; neither adding, nor taking away. For in Asia also great lights have fallen asleep, which shall rise again on the day of the Lord's coming, when he shall come with glory from heaven, and shall seek out all the saints. Among these are Philip, one of the twelve apostles, who fell asleep in Hierapolis; and his two aged virgin daughters, and another daughter, who lived in the Holy Spirit and now rests at Ephesus; and, moreover, John, who was both a witness and a teacher, who reclined upon the bosom of the Lord, and, being a priest, wore the sacerdotal plate. He fell asleep at Ephesus. And Polycarp in Smyrna, who was a bishop and martyr; and Thraseas, bishop and martyr from Eumenia, who fell asleep in Smyrna. Why need I mention the bishop and martyr Sagaris who fell asleep in Laodicea, or the blessed Papirius, or Melito, the Eunuch who lived altogether in the Holy Spirit, and who lies in Sardis, awaiting the episcopate from heaven, when he shall rise from the dead? All these observed the fourteenth day of the passover according to the Gospel, deviating in no respect, but following the rule of faith. And I also, Polycrates, the least of you all, do according to the tradition of my relatives, some of whom I have closely followed. For seven of my relatives were bishops; and I am the eighth. And my relatives always observed the day when the people put away the leaven. I, therefore, brethren, who have lived sixty-five years in the Lord, and have met with the brethren throughout the world, and have gone through every Holy Scripture, am not affrighted by terrifying words. For those greater than I have said ' We ought to obey God rather than man' (Eusebius. Church History, Book V, Chapter 24. Translated by Arthur Cushman McGiffert. Excerpted from Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series Two, Volume 1. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. American Edition, 1890. Online Edition Copyright © 2004 by K. Knight).
Notice that Polycrates said that he and the other early church leaders (like the Apostles Philip and John, and their successors like Polycarp, Thraseas, Eumenia, Sagaris, Papirius, Melito) would not deviate from the Bible, and that they knew the Bible taught them to keep the Passover on the correct date, and not on a Sunday. Also notice that they always observed the day when the people put away the leaven. Polycrates also reminded the Roman bishop that true followers of Christ "obey God rather than men."
The Apostle Jude wrote Christians "to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3). And faithful Church of God Christians were recorded as doing so.
Notice what a respected Protestant scholar reported about the second century:
the churches of Asia Minor ... The most important in this festival was the passover day, the 14th of Nisan … In it they ate unleavened bread, probably like the Jews, eight days through ... there is no trace of a yearly festival of the resurrection among them … the Christians of Asia Minor appealed in favor of their passover solemnity on the 14th Nisan to John (Gieseler, Johann Karl Ludwig. A Text-book of Church History. Translated by Samuel Davidson, John Winstanley Hull, Mary A. Robinson. Harper & brothers, 1857, Original from the University of Michigan, Digitized Feb 17, 2006, p. 166).
So, like the Apostle John (the last of the original apostles to die), the early faithful Christians in Asia Minor observed Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. As far as eating unleavened bread goes, all were commanded to eat unleavened bread for seven days (Leviticus 23:6), but because Passover also involved unleavened bread, that made eight (though eating some leavened bread on the morning after Passover was not prohibited, it was not emphasized).
More on early Christians keeping these days can be found in the article :Should Christians Keep the Days of Unleavened Bread?
In the 20th century, the late Herbert W. Armstrong wrote the following related to part of WHY the Days of Unleavened Bread should be observed:
The PASSOVER pictures the DEATH OF CHRIST for the remission of sins that are past. The accepting of His BLOOD does not forgive sins we SHALL commit — it does not give LICENSE to continue in sin — therefore WHEN we accept it, our sins are forgiven only up to that time — PAST SINS.
But shall we stop there? Past sins forgiven. But we are still flesh beings. We still shall suffer temptations. Sin has held us in its clutch — we have been SLAVES to sin, in its power. And we are powerless to deliver ourselves from it! We have been in BONDAGE to sin. Let us understand the picture — the meaning. Quitting sin utterly To what extent shall we put away sin? Not partially, but COMPLETELY! And, as leaven is also a type of sin — leaven puffs up, and so does sin — and, as SEVEN is God’s number symbolizing COMPLETENESS, we are to follow the Passover with the seven Days of Unleavened Bread! The picture — the meaning — the symbolism, is not complete with Passover alone. Passover pictures the acceptance of Christ’s blood for the REMISSION of past sins. It pictures the CRUCIFIED — the DEAD — Christ.
Shall we leave Christ hanging on the cross? The seven Days of UNLEAVENED BREAD, following Passover, picture to us the COMPLETE putting away of sin, the KEEPING of the Commandments — after past sins are forgiven. They picture the life and work of the RISEN CHRIST — who ascended to the throne of God where He is actively at work in our behalf as our HIGH PRIEST, cleansing us of sin — delivering us completely from its POWER! To observe Passover alone, and then fail to observe the seven Days of Unleavened Bread, means, in the symbolism, to accept Christ’s blood, and to continue on in sin — to say with the Sunday churches the LAW is done away, we are under grace, meaning license, to continue in sin! The seven Days of Unleavened Bread picture the keeping of the Commandments, which is another way of saying the putting away of sin.
And, as Rome’s followers have the MARK of the BEAST in their right hand and forehead, so God’s true Church is to have these feast days, the first of which is a MEMORIAL picturing deliverance from sin, in OUR right hand and forehead, as God’s SIGN, in order that we shall KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS. And since the forehead is the seat of the intellect and symbolizes ACCEPTANCE, and the right hand symbolizes WORK, we have this SIGN OF GOD thereby accepting this truth about the Holy Days and Days of Unleavened Bread, and by NOT WORKING on these Holy Days! Not only is the weekly Sabbath God’s SIGN (Exodus 31:12-17) but annual Sabbaths are SIGNS as well! (Armstrong HW. What You Should Know About the Passover and Festival of Unleavened Bread. Good News, March 1979)
While most who profess Christ these days realize His death was connected to Passover, they do not keep the biblical Passover, nor the Days of Unleavened Bread.
Because of that, they fail to understand many aspects of God's plan.
Now, let's look at more scriptures.
The Apostle Peter wrote:
17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, (1 Peter 4:17)
Then we can tie in a lot of what happens to us in this age.
The Apostle Peter wrote:
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. (1 Peter 5:8-9)
5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:5-11)
Be vigilant and diligently follow God's ways, including keeping the Days of Unleavened Bread.
The number 7 represents completion, and 7 days of unleavened bread helps symbolize that we are to strive to completely come out of sin.
We are not tolerate sin, but are to promote love.
Now, let's look at many passages from the Apostle James:
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. (James 1:2-3)
Yes, we as Christians will have problems. There's only one way out and that is through faith in Christ. Patience points to endurance and it is those that endure to the end that will be saved according to Jesus (Matthew 10:22).
Herbert Armstrong commented:
Are you depending on yourself to get out? You probably won't get out of it. But we who are in the Church are expected to rely on Christ to pull us out.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. (Psalm 34:29)
So says your Bible.
It is] through much tribulation [we must] enter into the kingdom of God. (Acts 14:22)
So, naturally, what is the way we get out of our trials, our troubles, persecutions, whatever, our temptations? It's living faith, and it's not your faith. It's not a faith you work up. It's not a faith you create and stimulate. It's the faith of Christ that God will put in you through the Holy Spirit. God gives you that faith. You don't have it. It's the faith of Christ, not your faith in Christ. It's HIS faith placed in you by a gift from God. Let's get that straight.
James further wrote:
4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (James 1:4-8)
We all need wisdom. We all should pray for wisdom. We are to eat unleavened bread for seven days and eat no leavened bread during those days as God commanded.
We are to truly put sin out of our lives and not be double-minded.
You have to believe God.
James continued with:
9 Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, 10 but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. 11 For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits. (James 1:9-11)
Physical things do not last. Human wealth does not deliver. Remember that when you die, contrary to how the ancient Egyptians may have viewed it, you do not take your financial wealth with you.
Back to James:
12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. (James 1:12-14)
Now God cannot be tempted. Of course the Bible says, of Jesus:
15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)
Although Jesus now is God, He had emptied Himself of His divinity to become human:
5 For let this mind be in you that [is] also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, thought [it] not something to be seized to be equal to God, 7 but emptied Himself, having taken the form of a servant, having been made in the likeness of men, 8 and having been found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself, having become obedient to death ... (Philippians 2:5-8, Literal Standard Version)
Back to James:
14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. (James 1:14-15)
You see, at first you just look at it a little bit, then you get a little more interested--that is also something that drug dealers and pornography pushers know.
Herbert Armstrong commented:
Anyway, if you put it out of your mind right away then you're rid of it. But as long as you let it just kind of hang on a little bit, it begins to get you. Now, James explains that here. It is one of the best explanations of how you get into sin that you can find anywhere.
Another way to minimize the desire to sin is to do good.
One way God's makes avoiding eating leavened bread easier for cultures that eat a lot of leavened products is because His word tells us to eat unleavened bread during that same period of time.
Eating unleavened bread then is a symbol of doing good and avoiding evil.
Related to verses 14 and 15, Herbert Armstrong commented:
I think of, oh, the last of the Ten Commandments - coveting - as coveting just material goods or money.
But this can be pleasure. Your lust there that will entice you can be pleasure. It can be going along with other people. It can be anything that other people are doing. Now, that is the world we live in, and that's where I want to stop and say a few things right there.
We are living in a world that is not living by the law of God. We are living in a world that is seeking its own pleasures. It's seeking what it can get in material goods. It wants to get and not to give. It wants to enjoy life, but it wants to enjoy it physically, materially. And we have it all around us - everywhere all around us. ...
Well, in the Church Paul tells us that we must all be of one mind, and we must all speak the same thing {1 Corinthians 1:10). And if we get God's truth, we will. But in the world they've got all the views in the world. ...
Back to James:
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. (James 1:16-17)
You can deceived by the leaders, the media, and academia. You won't find every good gift on the internet. You don't find it in the things on television or radio. You don't find it in the things of this world around, and we're living in this world. And they throw sex and covetousness at you.
But not God's good gifts.
Herbert Armstrong commented:
And they throw these entertainments at you, and they throw interests at you EVERYWHERE in the WORLD.
God is just steady, going right down the one line all the time, the right line. The line that leads to peace, the line that leads to real happiness and joy and a filled, full life that'll be filled with a lot more real peace and happiness and joy than you get on the kind of things you find tempting people in that newspaper, or that you find on television, or that you find in the world.
The people want all that they can get in this world. Someone will say, Well I had better get all that I can get now while I can get it because pretty soon I won't get it. Maybe I'll have to go into that Kingdom of God. Or, do you feel that way? Well, I hope you don't.
Back to James:
18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. James 1:18)
Herbert Armstrong commented:
That is, we're begotten. We're not born yet as God beings, but we're begotten to BECOME GOD BEINGS. We will become GOD PERSONAGES. I wonder if we really realize that. Do we? Do we really realize that? Has that ever really gotten through to us? And it comes through the word of truth right here (banging on his Bible). These words are never going to mislead you, they are the right way.
You see, judgment is first on the Church {1 Peter 4:17}. ...
You see, it's a chemical existence that came with Adam, but LIFE comes with Christ. And the only ones were the prophets of the Old Testament that were sort of begotten of God a little before the time, for the writing of the Old Testament. They were.
James further wrote:
19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. (James 1:19-20)
Need something to work on during the Days of Unleavened Bread? James 1:19-20 is something many need to work on.
Herbert Armstrong commented:
Are we like that? How do we do? This is telling us what some of the leaven is that we need to get out of our hearts and out of our lives. ...
Be slow to get emotions aroused and answering back real heatedly. Now, a lot of us can go to work on that point. That's another bit of leaven a lot of us can get out of our lives. A lot of them are mentioned right here in James.
Back to James 1:
21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. (James 1:21)
When we deleaven, we symbolically toss out filthiness. Furthermore, in the quest to search for leaven to remove, we often end up cleaning physical filthiness.
As far as souls go, contrary to pagan beliefs that many adopted, it is not immortal.
Ezekiel recorded:
4 Behold, all souls are Mine;
The soul of the father
As well as the soul of the son is Mine;
The soul who sins shall die (Ezekiel 18:4).
Notice that Ezekiel says that souls that sin shall die.
The "soul," nephesh in Hebrew, is a reference to the "life" or the "life essence"--that which makes us living beings. The same term is used of animals in the Bible--actally it is used for non-humans more than humans in the Old Testament (e.g. Genesis 1:20,21,24).
For more information, see also the article:Did Early Christians Believe that Humans Possessed Immortality?
That being said, as James wrote, God can save us.
Back to James:
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:22-25)
By keeping the Days of Unleavened Bread, we demonstrate that we are more than simply hearers of the word.
That being said, there are a lot of hearers among real Christians that are only partial doers. They won't "go all in" to cite an American expression.
Seven days of unleavened bread should help tell us that God wants us all in.
Although, we're all sinners, we don't need to go on in sin--either through committing sinful acts or by not doing what we should.
The law of liberty frees us from committing sins and helps us to be willing to do what we should. To, for many of us, to go outside our comfort zones. To commit truly seeking first the Kingdom of God and all His righteousness (Matthew 6:33).
James also wrote:
26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. (James 1:26)
Even back in James' time, there were those who valued giving their own opinions who thought they were truly religious. James said their religion was useless. Sadly, this problem is still with us to this day.
James concluded this chapter with:
27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. (James 1:27)
In the Continuing Church of God, we provide support to widows and orphans. But we all need to keep ourselves unspotted from the world. We do that symbolically when we avoid leaven, but eat unleaved bread during the Days of Unleavened Bread.
Here is something from our free online book The MYSTERY of GOD’s PLAN: Why Did God Create Anything? Why Did God Make You?:
Mystery of Sin
Many people seem to be confused about what sin is.
Many act like they can define it.
Yet, it is God, and not humans, who defines sin.
What is sin?
Here is how the Bible defines it:
4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. (1 John 3:4, NKJV)
4 Whosoever committeth sin commmitteth also iniquity; and sin is iniquity. (1 John 3:4, DRB)
4 Everyone who sins breaks the law and in fact, sin is lawlessness. (1 John 3:4, EOB New Testament)
4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. (1 John 3:4, KJV)
What law?
God’s law, which is in His word (cf. Psalm 119:11), and that includes the Ten Commandments (cf. 1 John 2:3-4; Psalm 119:172; see also the free book, available online at www.ccog.org, titled: The Ten Commandments: The Decalogue, Christianity, and the Beast).
Although no one has been forced to sin, the Bible teaches that all have sinned (Romans 3:23).
Why do humans sin?
Well, for the same reason that Eve and Adam sinned. They were deceived by Satan and/or their lusts.
Satan has deceived the whole world (Revelation 12:9). He has used every evil thought he could to influence and deceive all of humankind. Satan has broadcast his philosophy far and wide (cf. Ephesians 2:2) — appealing to vanity, lust and greed to influence us.
Notice the following from the late evangelist Leroy Neff:
Each of us has been tuned into this deceitful bombardment from an early age. Satan has used this method to insert wrong thoughts, and he uses the environment and circumstances to influence us to make wrong decisions just like Adam and Eve did.
When we were born, we had no hatred or animosity against God or His perfect way. We didn't even know that God existed, or that He had a right way for us to live. But in due time we, too, developed the same attitude as Satan, of selfishness, of greed and lust, and of wanting our own way.
When we were little children, we may have been like those that Christ spoke of (Matthew 18:3, 4). They were humble and teachable — not yet fully deceived by Satan and his society. …
All human woe, unhappiness, pain and misery have come as a direct result of sin — the violation of God's spiritual and physical laws. Happiness and a full abundant life are the automatic results of obedience to God's Law. (Neff L. All About Sin. Tomorrow's World Magazine. April 1972)
And while Jesus died for all our sins, sin has a cost. And the long-term cost is that it negatively impacts the sinner and one’s potential to do even more good. So, do not think that sinning now is good for you (or others), but hopefully all will learn lessons from their sins (cf. 2 Peter 2:18-20), confess them (1 John 1:9), and repent of them (cf. Act 2:37-38).
Because of improper teachings and traditions, many do not recognize sin in this age.
The Apostle Paul wrote:
7 For the mystery of lawlessness is working already; there is only the one at present restraining it, until he might be gone out of the midst. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will consume with the breath of His mouth and will annul by the appearing of His coming, 9 whose coming is according to the working of Satan, in every power, and in signs, and in wonders of falsehood, 10 and in every deception of wickedness unto those perishing, in return for which they did not receive the love of the truth in order for them to be saved. 11 And because of this, God will send to them a working of delusion, for them to believe what is false, 12 in order that all those not having believed the truth but having delighted in unrighteousness should be judged. (2 Thessalonians 2:7-12, Berean Literal Bible)
Part of the “mystery of lawlessness” (“mystery of iniquity” DRB) is that many have not been taught that truth about sin and/or have been taught to reason around God’s laws like the Pharisees of Jesus’ time and instead accept improper traditions (cf. Matthew 15:1-9). Those without sufficient love of the truth will be cruelly deceived as we get closer to the end of this age.
The Bible teaches, “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren” (James 1:16).
Yet, we humans tend to deceive ourselves (particularly with Satan’s influence) and not realize the extent of our tendencies to stray.
The Apostle James explained the following about temptation and sin:
12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. (James 1:12-15)
In order to resist temptation, to get a wrong thought out of your mind that enters it, fill your mind with good thoughts (Philippians 4:8) and turn to God.
What better thoughts are there than those about God and His Word? If you properly resist Satan, the Bible says he will flee (James 4:7).
Resisting makes you spiritually stronger, while indulging in sin makes you weaker.
Sin helps show, for those who are willing to believe, that we need God and His ways.
God understood about the influence of Satan’s deception, as well as human lusts, and developed a plan of salvation thattakes that into account (for more details on that, please check out the free online book: Universal OFFER of Salvation. Apokatastasis: Can God save the lost in an age to come? Hundreds of scriptures reveal God's plan of salvation).
Sin is a mystery to most in the world.
Keeping seven days of unleavened bread helps us look out for it in ways most others will not do.
The Old Testament tells us to observe the Days of Unleavened Bread.
Jesus observed it.
Jesus taught during the Days of Unleavened Bread, was resurrected during the Days of Unleavened Bread, became the fulfillment of the wave sheaf offering during the Days of Unleavened Bread, and taught about the leaven of hypocrical insincerity.
In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul tells Christians to still keep that festival..
The original apostles kept the Days of Unleavened Bread.
Early Christians did so.
The faitful follow the example of Jesus and the apostles and do so today.
Observing them now helps us focus on not sinning and putting sin out of our lives.
Spiritually, we need to be careful that the world's attitudes (which Satan broadcasts, cf. Ephesians 2:2), pleasures, temptations, and entertainment do not corrupt the purity God wants us to have.
Please pay attention and look out for these things during the Days of Unleavened Bread.
Each time you have some unleavened bread, think about being separate from the world.
Not that we are better, but that God expects us to be different.
And, of course, obey and do not consume leavened bread during these days.
As a reminder, the Apostle Paul wrote:
7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 8 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 5:7-8)
Strive to be completely free of sin. Strive to be unleavened spiritually. Be filled with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Here is a link to a related sermon: Unleavened Bread, Jesus, and the Apostles.
Thiel, B. COGwriter (c) 2022 Unleavened Bread and the New Testament? https://www.cogwriter.com/ulb-nt.htm 2022 0409