The Matzah Tash and the Trinity

April is Passover season.  Around the world, Jewish people will gather together to commemorate the deliverance that God provided them through the Exodus in c.1440 BC.

However, there is a deeper meaning to the Passover story than most people realize.  Passover does tell the story of the Exodus but it also serves as illustration of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.  Passover also begins to explain one of Scripture’s great mysteries – “The Trinity.”

In Matthew 26:26, we read where Jesus takes bread, breaks it and declares that it represents His body.  Now on the surface, this breaking of bread (or “matzah”) might not seem significant until one puts it into the context of the Passover meal.

First, we notice in v. 26 that it was while they were eating that the matzah was broken.  This is important because it pinpoints what matzah was being broken – the matzah taken from the middle compartment of the Matzah Tash.

The Matzah Tash is a single unit item with three compartments.¹ A matzah is placed into each compartment and before the actual meal is eaten, the matzah from the middle (or second) compartment is taken from the Matzah Tash, broken, wrapped in a clean cloth, hidden, and only brought back to the table after the meal is concluded.  This matzah is then broken into pieces and eaten by everyone at the Passover table.  It is this matzah to which Jesus called “His body.”

Therefore, the question which must be asked is, “Why did Jesus select the second matzah to represent Him and what does this prove?”  First, Jesus selected this matzah because it emblemizes the death (the breaking), the burial (the hiding), and the resurrection (the return to the table) that Jesus conquered for the sins of the world.  Second, the Matzah Tash is an illustration of the Trinity in that it is one self-contained item with three compartments (aspects).  Third, Jesus’ choice of the second matzah represents his “position” in the Trinity – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

I recognize that it is impossible to provide an adequate explanation of the uniqueness of the Matzah Tash and its connection to the Trinity in this article.  Please examine the issue more thoroughly so that you might be a Berean of the Word (Acts 17:11).  But most of all use this short illustration as an evangelistic tool with your Jewish friends and family.  Do not let another Passover come and go without talking with them about the Messianic (and Trinitarian) reality of the Matzah Tash.

¹Occasionally (and only rarely) a Matzah Tash is found that is not divided into compartments but even in this instance, three matzahs are placed into the Matzah Tash and the middle matzah is selected.