What did the unleavened bread of the Passover symbolize to the Israelites?

Answer 1

Unleavened Bread symbolizes "Jesus Christ" -- the Pure Unembellished WORD... Truth... of God. The WORD which "proceedeth out of the mouth of God" whereby "A MAN MIGHT LIVE FOREVER."

"...It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on EVERY WORD that comes from the mouth of God.'" (Matt.4:4 & Deut.8:3 NIV)

"Jesus said to them, 'I tell you the Truth, it is not Moses who has given you the Bread from heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the True Bread from heaven... I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty." (John 6:32-35 NIV)

With Jesus' coming, the first time... He has "stripped away" the seals of "spiritual blindness" that prevailed over the scriptures... "opened" the "closed" meaning of God's Truth that has escaped man's understanding -- and has ILLUMINATED the Scriptures "to those who don't doubt"... and "believe" what The Bible says.

"...Go your way, Daniel, because the Words are closed upand sealed until THE TIME OF THE END... None of the wicked will understand, but THOSE WHO ARE WISE will Understand." (Dan.12:9-10 NIV)

"The FEAR OF THE LORD is the beginning of WISDOM[the foundation of becoming wise]..." (Prov.9:10). [Of course, the wicked won't understand God's Word -- His Unleavened Bread -- the wicked neither fear the Lord, nor "believe" in Him]

A man's faith and belief in the Unleavened Bread of God has the Word of God ILLUMINATED for him by God's "LIGHT."

"...I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the Light of Life.'" (John 8:12 NIV)

The Unleavened Bread of God's Word is the "spiritual counterpart" to the sustenance and Eternal Life of our spirit, as the physical bread we consume in our bodies that sustains our temporal, mortal bodies and lives.

The Unleavened Bread of God [the Bible; the inspired, spiritual, Life-giving Words of God] is SPIRITUAL NOURISHMENT FOR THE SPIRIT IN US. We "consume" it with our eyes, ears, heart and mind. We "chew on it" awhile; mull it over in our mind... and "digest" what it's saying to us -- which results in the Wisdom, Knowledge and Understanding of God imparted to us and becoming the Child of God into which we are developing.

And, like the physical bread we eat that BECOMES what we are, physically [for, "you are what you eat," as the truthful saying goes] -- the nourishing, spirit-sustaining Unleavened Bread of God BECOMES: the New Child of God within us that's growing and developing in Righteous, Godly Character, that shall inherit Eternal Life through Jesus Christ.

"The Spirit gives Life; the flesh counts for nothing. The Words I have spoken to you ARE SPIRIT and THEY ARE LIFE." (John 6:63 NIV)

The Unleavened Bread of God... is the Bible. The Words of the WORD of God, Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life.

"You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess Eternal Life. These are the Scriptures that TESTIFY ABOUT ME, yet you refuse to come to Me to have Life." (John 5:39-40 NIV)

The Unleavened Bread of God... is GOD's LOVE... living and working in a person.

"'I do not accept praise from men, but I know you. I know that you do not have the LOVE OF GOD in your hearts." (verses 41-42)

The Unleavened Bread of God represents... Jesus Christ, the Light of the world... Living in the hearts and minds of God's Children.

Without Jesus' Light in our hearts... there is no "end time revealing" of the understanding of God's Truth [of which, Daniel, in his day professed ignorance: "...I did not understand..." - Dan.12:8 NIV -- BECAUSE JESUS HAD NOT YET COME IN THE FLESH].

The Unleavened Bread of God represents the END TIME revealing of God's Truth to the hearts of those whom He is calling, as God's plan winds down... and the time of Jesus' return draws near:

"Then He opened their minds so they could Understand the Scriptures." (Luke 24:45 NIV)

Answer 2

The unleavened bread represents humility. I think Matzah, or unleavened bread, is taken from Exodus 12, where the Israelites left Egypt in such a hurry that their bread did not have time to rise. The yeast represents extra stuff, pride, or pretension--something that is not part of you. As yeast puffs up the dough, so there are things in our life that make us proud or not who we truly are or are meant to be.

Answer 3

When the Jews fled Egypt, there was no time for the bread to rise, so it was eaten flat.

Answer 4

It reminds us of when the Jews fled, they didn't have time for the bread to rise, so they ate it flat.