Moore Perspective: Communion Bread

Jesus instituted the sacred memorial of his atoning death in the setting of the Jewish Passover meal, where “unleavened bread” is specifically identified (Matt. 26:17; Mark 14:12). Leaven is metaphorically applicable in scripture to pervasive and corrupting influences (Matt. 16:6; 1 Cor. 5:6-8) and was prohibited in all grain offerings to God (Lev. 2:11; 6:14-17) and particularly the Passover bread (Deut. 16:3). Seeing that communion bread represents the Lord’s crucified body (Matt. 26:26; Mark 14:22), and Jesus lived his entire earthly life without sin (Heb. 4:15; 9:28), we can appreciate the significance of no leaven.

What is Leaven?

The English word “leaven” is translated from the Hebrew שְׂאֹ֖ר [seor] (Ex. 12:15, 19; 13:7; Lev. 2:11; Deut. 16:4) and its NT Greek equivalent ζύμη [zúmē] (Matt. 13:33; 16:6, 11, 12; Mark 8:15; Luke 12:1; 13:21; 1 Cor. 5:6-8; Gal. 5:9). Leaven is a substance that lightens and softens dough by converting its natural sugars into carbon dioxide, producing gas bubbles causing the dough to rise. The most common leavening agent is yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), the same species that causes alcohol fermentation. Other leaving agents include sourdough, barm (unpasteurized foam that forms on top of fermenting liquid), and modern-day baking powder. While all fruits and grains contain wild yeasts that produce natural fermentation when starches are exposed to water, biblically it is the intentional adding of leavening agents to Passover (and by implication communion) bread that is prohibited.

The Historical Environment of Passover Bread

Leavened bread can be traced back to the Egyptians.¹ In ancient Egypt various grain crops were produced, including barley, einkorn wheat, emmer wheat, and spelt.² In Exodus 9:31-32 the Hebrew כֻּסֶּמֶת [kussemeth] (cf. Isa. 28:25) refers to “spelt” [triticum spelta] and is distinct from other grains (Ezek. 4:9),³ even though English renderings have included “emmer” (ESV), “emmer wheat” (NLT), and “rye” (Geneva, KJV). Egyptian bread varied in size and shape and was usually coarse and dense, made with flour from raw grain and at times with germinated cereal grain or malt.⁴

The Jewish Passover bread was first made in Egypt (Ex. 12:8, 12). The Hebrew מַצָּה [matstsah], “unleavened bread” or “unfermented cake(s)” (Ex. 12:8, 15-20, 39; 23:15; etc.), is otherwise a generic term that does not specify particular ingredients or type of grain. In the Ancient Near East, including Israel, barley and wheat were cultivated (Deut. 8:8; Ruth 2:23; 2 Sam. 17:28; 2 Chron. 2:10, 15; 27:5), along with other grains such as spelt (Isa. 28:25) and millet (Ezek. 27:17). While Israelite bread was typically made from barley or wheat flour, mixed grains and other ingredients were also used (Ezek. 4:9). The only occasion a particular grain is legislated in the Mosaic Law is for the sacrificial bread in the priesthood consecration ceremony (Ex. 29:2).

The Making of Communion Bread

The Bible emphasizes what is to be left out of the bread but does not detail specific ingredients for making the bread. We can read about flour and oil (Lev. 2:4, 5; 6:21; 24:5; 1 Kings 17:8-16), the kneading and baking of the dough (1 Sam. 28:24; 2 Sam. 13:8), and even salt was used in sacrificial offerings (Lev. 2:13; Ezek. 43:24). The bottom line is, whatever ingredients are necessary to make bread, as long as it is void of leavening agents, biblical guidelines are observed.

For those who are gluten intolerant, the presence of wheat or any other gluten-enriched grain is not mandated in scripture. As noted above, the Bible does not legislate the specific ingredients for making the bread, only what is to be left out of it. Low gluten grains like spelt (Isa. 28:25) or gluten free grains like millet (Ezek. 27:17) can be used for breadmaking. Nowadays there are companies that produce gluten free communion wafers.

Conclusion

Commitment to the Lord and his revealed will means avoiding the extremes of binding what the word of God does not enjoin and dismissing what it clearly teaches. We have not been granted the liberty of making unauthorized additions or changes, including substituting ingredients for the stipulated elements of the Lord’s Supper. For the divinely prescribed symbol that represents Christ’s crucified body, if it is “bread” and is “unleavened,” it meets biblical criteria.

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

¹ Britannica, the Editors, rev. Kara Rogers, "bread," Encyclopedia Britannica (19 Nov. 2021), <Link>. This does not mean, however, that the Egyptians were the first leavened bread-makers of antiquity. See Andreas G. Heiss, "Bread," Archaeology of Food: An Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, eds. K. B. Metheny and M. C. Beaudry (New York; London: Rowan & Littlefield, 2015): 71, <Link>.

² Jules Janick, “Ancient Egyptian Agriculture and the Origins of Horticulture,” Acta Horticulturae 583 (June 2002): 23-39.

³ Francis Brown, The New Brown–Driver–Briggs–Gesenius Hebrew and English Lexicon (LaFayette, IN: Associated Publishers and Authors, 1980): 493.

⁴ Delwen Samuel, “Investigation of Ancient Egyptian Baking and Brewing Methods by Correlative Microscopy,” Science 273:5274 (26 July 1996): 488-490.

*Thanks to Amber Roberts for bringing the gluten issue to my attention.

Related articles:

Image credit: https://stjosephricelake.org/matzoh-bread-unleavened-bread/