Messiah in the Matzah

Growing up Jewish we always celebrated Passover at my Grandparents’ house which included the long-time tradition of hiding the matzah in the afikomen. My Grandfather would pick a place to hide the covered matzah and tell me it was time to “find the afikomen” which meant I would then be able to sell it back to him for a price when I found it.

The greatest memory I have of finding the afikomen is the year that my grandfather gave me $50, which is unheard of even today. Most families give their children one or two dollars at the most! I can see the memory as if it were yesterday, my Grandfather sitting at the head of the table in front of the wine cabinet, me handing him the matzah in a white linen napkin and the joy on both of our faces.

The reason we eat matzah at Passover is that God commanded us to eat unleavened bread and to also remove all hametz (leaven) from our homes for 7 days. We remember how God destroyed Egypt with many plagues and with the final plague, he brought death upon the firstborn of every Egyptian household, from Pharoah’s palace to the handmaiden at the mill. He had the Jewish people take a lamb that was without blemish, slaughter it at twilight and put the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of our home so the avenger would know to pass over our house and we and our children would be safe.

God set us free from bondage to slavery and saved us from death by the blood of the lamb.

We were led by Moses to the promised land, given Torah, and learned how to follow God, trusting in Him to protect and provide. The Levitical priesthood was birthed and so was the sacrificial system which detailed the sacrifices for sins and fellowship with God. We built the Mishkan (tabernacle), and the Spirit of God was always with us; we were led in a cloud by day and a pillar by night till we got to the promised land and still, God dwelt with us in Israel as we ministered to Him daily with sacrifices and offerings.

The Mystery of The Matzah

So what does the matzah have to do with it?

When the Jewish people were wandering in the desert for 40 years, God miraculously rained down manna from Heaven for us to eat. He gave us His Torah which throughout the story of Israel is referred to as “bread” and also “living water” for it is the spiritual nourishment that our spirits need. In the Bible, leaven represents sin and matzah is unleavened bread. The unleavened Matzah represents the pure Word of God, the Bread of Life that we need to truly live.

God wants us to see that the Passover points to a greater Exodus; the salvation of mankind from slavery to sin which leads to eternal death. Just as we remove the hametz from our house during Passover, God wants to remove the sin from our hearts forever. As He provided a lamb for us to slay at Passover, He gave us the Messiah Yeshua, also called “The Lamb of God”; the One who would pay for the sins of mankind. He is the Word of God who became flesh and lived a sinless life before He gave up His life for our sins.

Amazingly, when we look closely we can see that God hid the message of the Messiah in the afikomen tradition; in this tradition, we take 3 pieces of matzah and wrap them in white linen. At one point in the seder, the middle matzah is removed, broken, wrapped in the napkin and hidden somewhere in the house. The youngest in the family will search for it and once found, sell it to the parents for a ransom. The revelation is that the matzah represents Yeshua!

• Yeshua is the Word of God (Bread) who became flesh. He lived a sinless life for us (unleavened) and so the Matzah represents Him; the pure Bread from Heaven that we need in order to live! (John 6:32-33).
• Yeshua died on Passover and resurrected 3 days later (the 3 Matzot) on Yom HaBikurim/First Fruits. He is considered a first fruits offering to God; the first of many who like Him, will resurrect on the last day (Leviticus 23:9-10)
• The white linen wrapped around the Matzah represents the white linens that Yeshua was wrapped in (John 19:40)
• The broken Matzah represents His body that was broken for us (Luke 22:19).
• Incredibly, the perforations in the Matzah represent the stripes that He took for us to be healed (Isaiah 53:5).
• The ransom we pay for the found Matzah represents the price that was paid to the man who betrayed him for 30 shekels! (Matthew 26:15)

Like the lamb’s blood on the doorposts, the Blood of Yeshua saves us from death by serving as the payment for our sins; one sacrifice for all mankind forever, past, present and future. We had to have faith to believe God would save our families from death when we put the blood on our doorposts in Egypt, today we need faith in Yeshua to be saved from sin and eternal death – Yeshua means “Salvation” or “God Saves” in Hebrew and this is what the Messiah came to do.

For sin’s payment is death, but God’s gracious gift is eternal life in Messiah Yeshua our Lord.

Romans 6:23 TLV

Sitting down to spend some quiet time with God today, I did a small seder with matzah and grape juice called communion. Whenever we drink of the vine (kiddush) and eat the matzah we are remembering and honoring what Yeshua did for us. As I held the matzah in my hand, God showed me the memory of the Passover with my Grandfather when he gave me $50 for the afikomen. He impressed upon my heart that He wrote that moment into the story of my life. Because of what He planned for my life, today I am a Jewish woman who believes that Yeshua (Jesus) is the promised Messiah of Israel and Savior of the world. God has given me the eyes to see that His birth, life, death and resurrection all fulfill the prophecies of the Messiah written about in Moses and the Prophets.

Like Israel was set free out of Egypt, I have been set free of a life of bondage to sin and restored back to the God of Israel. God wants every one of us to return to Him and He made a way through faith in the Messiah Yeshua, the One whom He sent to save us. You are loved beyond measure and God is calling you back to Him, will you answer the call?

“Yeshua said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty…For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

John 6:35;40 TLV