Does a church have to use unleavened bread for communion?

Answer

Unleavened bread is bread formed in flat cakes or wafers with no yeast or other substance used to produce fermentation in the dough. Often, this type of bread is utilized for the observance of communion, or the Lord’s Table. The bread Jesus broke and shared with His disciples at the Last Supper was unleavened, similar to the matzah that Jews still consume during the Passover Seder today.

The night before His death, Christ gathered with His disciples to commemorate the Passover Feast (Matthew 26:26-29;Mark 14:22-25;Luke 22:15-20;John 13:21-30). When God first established this annual festival, linked to the Feast of Unleavened Bread, He directed the Israelites to consume only unleavened bread for seven days to memorialize the nation’s Exodus from slavery in Egypt (see Deuteronomy 16:3;Exodus 12:8;Exodus 29:2;and Numbers 9:11). The command was so strict that anyone who ate leavened bread during the festival would “be cut off from the community of Israel” «Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. », (Exodus 12:15, NLT).

In the Bible, yeast or leaven is often symbolic of sin, corruption, and decay (Matthew 16:6,12;1 Corinthians 5:6-8;Galatians 5:9). The unleavened “bread of affliction” used during the Feast of Unleavened Bread (see Deuteronomy 16:3) reminded the peoPeople of Israel hurriedly departed from Egypt without waiting for bread to rise. The unleavened bread symbolized their hasty departure and served as a reminder of God’s warning against corrupting influences (Exodus 12:14-20). It also pointed them to the future arrival of the promised Messiah, known as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29).

Jesus, in strict compliance with the Law of Moses, would have observed the Passover. This observance included the later tradition, still observed today, of four cups of wine symbolizing sanctification, deliverance, redemption, and restoration, reflecting God’s four-fold promise to the Israelites while in Egyptian slavery (Exodus 6:6-7). These elements hold significance for Jewish Christians, representing deliverance from sin through the sacrifice of their Messiah (Romans 6:5-7; Galatians 5:1).

Christian churches are not bound by law regarding the use of leavened or unleavened bread for communion. While some believers may find deeper meaning in using unleavened bread to connect with their Old Testament heritage, New Testament followers of Christ understand that communion symbolizes Jesus’ body broken on the cross for them (Luke 22:19).

By partaking in communion, Christians commemorate Jesus’ sacrifice and express their unity with Him and one another.

In 1 Corinthians 11:17–34, the apostle Paul addressed confusion and concerns about the importance, meaning, and practices associated with communion, along with severe warnings about not taking the observance seriously. He explained that the purpose of communion is to “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (verse 26) and provide an opportunity for solemn self-examination for every believer and the church as the body of Christ (see verse 28). Each time we participate in communion, we proclaim the central tenets of our faith: that Jesus paid for our sins by offering His body in our place—shedding His blood and physically dying on the cross (Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 2:9; 1 Peter 1:18-19); that He rose from the dead (Acts 2:24; Acts 3:15; Colossians 2:12); that He now lives (Romans 6:3-5; Ephesians 2:4-6; Galatians 2:20); that He will come again (Matthew 24:30; John 14:3; Hebrews 9:28; James 5:7-8); and that we are to share this good news with the world until He returns (Matthew 28:19-20).

Despite the importance of communion as an ordinance, there are very few specific instructions in the Bible regarding it, including how often it should be observed and methods of conducting a communion service. For the bread, some Christian churches break matzah, naan, or some other unleavened bread into smaller pieces and then distribute them to everyone present. Other Christian churches use white processed wafers. Some churches bake

their own communion bread.

The Bible does not specify whether we should use leavened or unleavened communion bread, grape juice, or wine. It also does not specify how the elements should be distributed. These elements are simply symbols of spiritual truths, “not the realities themselves” «For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. », (Hebrews 10:1). Therefore, we are free to use any symbolic bread and juice, as long as we partake of them with reverence. As Christians, our focus is not on the ritual but on remembering Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice—His body and blood given for the forgiveness of sins. The Lamb of God loved us so much that He offered Himself once and for all so that we might be saved (Hebrews 9:26;John 3:16-17).