Answer
During the Last Supper when Jesus and His disciples were eating a Passover meal the night of His betrayal, Jesus took bread, “and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me’” (1 Corinthians 11:24, NKJV). Jesus’ comparison of His body to bread is also recorded in the Synoptic Gospels:
“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body’” (Matthew 26:26, NKJV).
“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body’” (Mark 14:22, NKJV).
“And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’” (Luke 22:19, NKJV).
John’s Gospel includes a similar metaphor. In addressing the crowds seeking Him after being fed the previous day, Jesus said, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world” (John 6:51; see also verses 53–58).
Note that, of all the above passages, the only one that refers to Jesus saying, “This is My body which is broken for you” is 1 Corinthians 11:24. Further, most translations do not include the reference to Jesus’ body being “broken.” Only the KJV, NKJV, Majority Standard Bible, World English Bible, and a few others have that wording. Other translations of 1 Corinthians 11:24 have Jesus saying, “This is my body, which is for you” (NIV, NASB, CSB, NET) or “This is my body, which is given for you” (NLT, CEV). The difference hinges on which manuscripts were used in translation. The oldest ones do not contain the word translated “broken” in the KJV.
In 1 Corinthians 11:24, Jesus broke the bread. According to the oldest, and many say the most reliable, manuscripts, He did not say His body was broken. Most scholars today believe the wording “this is My body which is broken for you” is the work of a scribe who inserted the word broken to match the breaking of the bread.
Of course, there is a sense in which Jesus’ body was “broken”: in the violence of His death, His body was wounded and bruised, and His flesh and skin were torn. Yet Scripture is careful to say that none of Jesus’ bones were broken (John 19:33–36). As the true Passover lamb, His bones had to remain unbroken (see Exodus 12:46 and Numbers 9:12).
Jesus identified Himself as “the living bread that came down from heaven” (John 6:51). As physical bread must be “broken” or torn apart to be shared with others, so Jesus’ body had to be “broken” or wounded on the cross to benefit the world. As physical bread serves to maintain bodily health, so Jesus’ body provides spiritual health for the believer.
Jesus’ statement, “This is my body” is taken literally in Roman Catholicism, resulting in their doctrine of transubstantiation (the bread becomes the actual body of Christ). We believe that doctrine to be in error. One reason is, when Jesus called the bread His body, He was physically present with His disciples, His body unbroken. How could He literally offer His broken body to His disciples the night before He died?
Additionally, the context of the Passover meal is thoroughly symbolic. Almost every element of the meal stood for something else. Jesus took two of those elements and infused them with a new symbolic meaning as He was the fulfillment of everything that Passover stood for. From then on, whenever Jewish believers observed a Passover meal, they would think of the new meaning that Jesus had given to the bread and the final cup. And Gentile believers, who had never been partakers of a Passover meal, would observe the “Lord’s Supper.”
Further evidence that Jesus was speaking symbolically is found in John 6:53–58. There, Jesus says to a multitude, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
When Jesus spoke of eating His flesh in John 6, He had already given the crowd an indication that He was has speaking figuratively. Earlier, in verses 32–33, Jesus had called Himself bread, comparing Himself with the manna in the wilderness. When the people asked to be given that bread, Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35). As if to clear up any misunderstanding, Jesus then distinguishes the physical from the spiritual: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63, ESV).
Whether or not Jesus spoke of His “broken” body at the Last Supper, the bread symbolized His body soon to be sacrificed on the cross. According to John 6:35, one can “eat” Jesus’ broken body by “coming” to Him, and “drink” His blood by believing in Him. Jesus also emphasizes faith (which the eating symbolizes) in John 6:36, 40, and 47.
Again, the whole context of the Last Supper is symbolic. We do not partake of Jesus by physically eating His body. “The flesh counts for nothing” (John 6:63). Rather, we partake of Jesus by coming to Him in faith, trusting that His broken body (and shed blood) is the only acceptable sacrifice for our sins. The bread commemorates His body given for us, and when we partake of it, we affirm our faith and fellowship in Christ.
