THE BREAD IN THE PASSOVER MEAL BEFORE JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED
It is important to recognize that the bread Jesus and his disciples ate at the so-called “last Passover” or the “Lord’s Supper” was “artos” — not “azumos” — bread. In other words, Jesus was breaking the law regarding the Passover feast as described in Exodus 12:1-39 and in Deuteronomy 16:1-8. The bread they ate and the bread Jesus served was bread with yeast — not unleavened bread as prescribed by the law.

Our first thought about this fact is that something must be wrong with the translation or the original Greek. Since Jesus was a Jew, we would expect him to faithfully observe the all the rules of Jewish festivals. The truth is, however, that Jesus was a lawbreaker with respect to matters of the written laws and traditions that Jews observed.

So we naturally wonder how Jesus could serve leavened bread instead of the customary unleavened bread at such an important festival as Passover. The simple answer is that because Jesus’ inner life of the heart fulfilled the law, he was no longer compelled to fulfill Jewish religious laws. As the interpreter of the New Covenant, Jesus no longer needed to fulfill any of the rules and regulations of the written law in his flesh (i.e. through bodily actions) because the law was written on his heart as provided in the terms of the New Covenant.

STUDY TIP: See New Covenant for details.

Since Jesus was not required to do any of the works of the law, it is also true that other New Covenant disciples also are not required to perform any of the literal prescriptions (i.e. things that must be done) or proscriptions (i.e. things that must not be done) outlined in the Law of Moses. Believing that God always looks at the condition of a man’s heart, and not at what man does with his natural body (i.e. his mind and flesh), New Covenant disciples are not motivated at all to do anything religious. They walk by faith that cannot be seen — not by religion that can be seen.