8
And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; [and] with bitter [herbs] they shall eat it.
28 September 2026
Unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine
The Passover and the Lord’s supper stand at the heart of redemption. This study looks at what Scripture names on those two tables, what it says about leaven, and what words the Lord Jesus used for the cup. Every verse below is from this site’s KJV.
1. The Passover meal God commanded
Exodus 12:8
Numbers 9:11
11
The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, [and] eat it with unleavened bread and bitter [herbs].
Leviticus 23:5-6
5
In the fourteenth [day] of the first month at even [is] the LORD’S passover.
6
And on the fifteenth day of the same month [is] the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.
Deuteronomy 16:3
3
Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, [even] the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.
The meal God commanded was the lamb, unleavened bread and bitter herbs. No drink is named in the Passover commands of the Law.
2. Leaven put away, and what leaven pictures
Exodus 12:15
15
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 13:7
7
Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters.
1 Corinthians 5:6-8
6
Your glorying [is] not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
7
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
8
Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened [bread] of sincerity and truth.
Matthew 16:6
6
Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
Matthew 16:12
12
Then understood they how that he bade [them] not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
Luke 12:1
1
In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
Galatians 5:9
9
A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
In the Bible’s own words, leaven pictures malice and wickedness, false doctrine, and hypocrisy. Unleavened bread pictures sincerity and truth. Christ our passover is sacrificed for us, and so the believer is to keep the feast with nothing of the old leaven.
3. The Lord’s supper: the bread and the fruit of the vine
The Lord’s supper was instituted at the Passover, in the days of unleavened bread.
Luke 22:7
7
Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed.
Luke 22:15
15
And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:
Matthew 26:26-29
26
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed [it], and brake [it], and gave [it] to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
27
And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave [it] to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
28
For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
29
But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.
Mark 14:22-25
22
And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake [it], and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.
23
And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave [it] to them: and they all drank of it.
24
And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.
25
Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.
Luke 22:17-20
17
And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide [it] among yourselves:
18
For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.
19
And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake [it], and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
20
Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup [is] the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
23
For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the [same] night in which he was betrayed took bread:
24
And when he had given thanks, he brake [it], and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
25
After the same manner also [he took] the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink [it], in remembrance of me.
26
For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.
Notice what the Lord called the contents of the cup: “the fruit of the vine.” He said it in Matthew, in Mark and in Luke. The word “wine” is not used in any of these accounts of the Lord’s supper, nor in 1 Corinthians 11.
4. What the Hebrew and Greek show
The Hebrew and Greek behind the King James were checked word by word. They confirm the English:
- In the Hebrew of the Passover passages there is no word for wine (yayin), new wine (tirosh) or strong drink (shekar).
- In the Greek Textus Receptus of the supper accounts and 1 Corinthians 11, the word for wine (oinos) does not occur.
- What the Greek does say is the fruit of the vine — the produce of the vine.
- The Greek word for leaven is never used of wine in the New Testament, and the Hebrew word for leavened is never used of wine in the Old Testament.
The King James Bible has translated these passages faithfully. Nothing was lost.
5. What Scripture says about wine and strong drink
Proverbs 20:1
1
Wine [is] a mocker, strong drink [is] raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
Proverbs 23:31-32
31
Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, [when] it moveth itself aright.
32
At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
Ephesians 5:18
18
And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
Isaiah 65:8
8
Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and [one] saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing [is] in it: so will I do for my servants’ sakes, that I may not destroy them all.
6. Conclusion
What follows is teaching drawn from the verses above. It is not a quotation of any one verse.
When the LORD commanded the Passover, He named the lamb, the unleavened bread and the bitter herbs, and He commanded that all leaven be put away. When the Lord Jesus gave His disciples the bread and the cup, He did not call the cup wine. He called it the fruit of the vine.
Therefore we do not tie wine to the Passover or to the Lord’s supper. We tie them to what Scripture itself names: unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine. We hold that the fruit of the vine is pure grape juice, the blessing that is in the cluster. It is unleavened, like the bread. The unleavened bread shows forth the sinless body of our Lord. The pure fruit of the vine shows forth His precious blood.
Let us keep the feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, and as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.
Questions for reflection
- Why do you think the LORD commanded that no leaven should even be seen in Israel’s houses?
- What old leaven of malice, wickedness, false doctrine or hypocrisy might need to be purged out of your own life?
- Why is it significant that the Lord Jesus called the cup “the fruit of the vine”?
- How do the unleavened bread and the pure fruit of the vine together picture the sinless Christ, our passover?