Bulletin Articles
My Body Which is Broken for You
“MY BODY, WHICH IS BROKEN FOR YOU”
Sometimes, arguments over words are very important in Scripture. For instance, in Galatians 3:16, Paul wrote, “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is Christ.” Clearly, the difference between “seed” and “seeds” was critical to Paul’s argument. But other times, arguments over words are nothing more than a misguided obsession with controversy: “If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words” (1Tm.6:3-4). It takes wisdom to know when to argue over words, and when not to!
One example of a misguided obsession with “disputes and arguments over words” revolves around 1 Corinthians 11:23-24. Notice: “ For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed 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.’” In some Greek manuscripts, the word “broken” is omitted, leaving the translation, “My body which is for you.” Due to this variation in the Greek, some folk get all riled up whenever anyone says that Jesus’ body was “broken.” They will quickly inform you that His body was NOT broken! And, as “proof,” they’ll cite John 19:36, which says, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.” To this preacher, such brethren are making “much ado about nothing.” In this article, I want to make a few comments about this “tempest in a teapot.”
First, those who say Jesus’ body was not broken need a lesson in anatomy! Specifically, they need to learn that there is much more to a “body” than its “bones.” There are muscles, skin, veins, internal organs, etc. One can say that Jesus’ body was broken, while still affirming that His bones were not! And this brings me to my next point...
Second, those who say Jesus’ body was not broken need a lesson in dictionary skills! The word “broken” can have several connotations, depending on context. For starters, one’s SKIN can be broken – like when they drove nails into Jesus’ hands and feet! In fact, right after the Bible says that not one of Jesus’ “bones” would be broken (Jn.18:36), it also says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced” (v.37). To “pierce” the flesh is to “break” the skin! Not only was His flesh (skin, body) broken by nails, but it was broken by the scourging that was inflicted upon Him (Mt.27:26), and the spear that was thrust into His side (Jn.19:34). Brethren, there is no need to deny that Jesus’ body was broken! Those who make such a “big deal” out of this make themselves look foolish and petty.
Third, those who say Jesus’ body was not broken need a lesson in figurative language! As noted above, “broken” can have several connotations, depending on context. For example, one can be “broken” in the sense that they are exhausted in health, strength, or capacity. David uses the word “broken” in this sense in Psalm 51:7-8. Note: “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice.” David’s bones were not literally broken; instead, He was a broken man. That is, he was exhausted in health, strength, or capacity. The same can be said of Jesus. After a cruel scourging, and being nailed to a cross, Jesus was a “broken” man. His body was so broken, that He died!
Finally, those who say Jesus’ body was not broken need a lesson in consistency! They will argue that, because the word “broken” does not appear in some Greek manuscripts of 1Cor.11:24, it should be purged from our Bibles. What about all those English-speaking brethren who lived before these other manuscripts were discovered? Before the late 19th and early 20th century, the predominate English translation was the KJV, which is based on manuscripts that do have the word “broken” in the Greek text. Were all of those brethren sinning when they said that Jesus body was broken? Further, will these brethren who want the word “broken” removed from our Bibles also insist that Mark 16:9-20 be removed from our Bibles, because those verses are not in some Greek texts? Will they castigate those who quote Mark.16:16? They MUST, if they want to be consistent; and yet consistency is a rare jewel!
Hopefully, I have provided enough information for you to see that the so-called “controversy” over saying that Jesus’ body was “broken” is built on a very flimsy foundation.
--Lanny Smith
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