The words “This is my body, broken for you” were spoken by Jesus at the Last Supper, the night before his crucifixion. They are recorded in 1 Corinthians 11:24, when Jesus took bread, gave thanks, and broke it, saying, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” This powerful statement has been the subject of much reflection and debate over the centuries as Christians have sought to understand what Jesus meant. Here is an in-depth look at the meaning behind Jesus’ words “This is my body, broken for you.”
The Setting of the Last Supper
To properly understand these words, it is important to first consider the context. Jesus spoke them during the Passover meal that he shared with his disciples on the night before his death. Jesus and the disciples had come together to eat the traditional Passover meal, which was eaten in remembrance of God’s deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12:1-28). At this pivotal moment, Jesus transformed the meaning of the Passover celebration and made it point ahead to the deliverance he would soon accomplish through his death.
As part of the Passover meal, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, and broke it, which was the traditional way of handling the unleavened bread during the meal. But on this night, Jesus gave the bread an entirely new meaning. By saying “This is my body,” Jesus identified the broken bread with his own soon-to-be-broken body. Just as the bread was torn apart, so too would his body be torn apart in death by crucifixion. The bread foreshadowed the sacrifice he was about to make.
The Meaning of “Body Broken for You”
In calling the bread his “body broken for you,” Jesus highlighted the sacrificial nature of his coming death. His body would be violently torn apart on the cross, just as the bread was torn apart in the hands of Jesus and the disciples. And this breaking of his body was to be “for you.” Jesus was emphasizing that his death would be on behalf of others, for their salvation and deliverance from sin.
The preposition “for” indicates that Jesus’ death would serve as a substitute. He would die in the place of others, taking the penalty they deserved (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24). When Jesus told the disciples “This is my body, broken for you,” he was revealing that his death would be vicarious – he would die a sacrificial death on behalf of his people.
Jesus’ words also point to the violent, painful nature of the death he was about to undergo. Crucifixion was one of the cruelest forms of execution practiced in the Roman empire. As such, it aptly provided Jesus with an image capturing what he would soon endure: the breaking of his body. His bones would be pulled out of joint as his arms were stretched across the crossbeam. His back would be torn open by the brutal scourging he endured beforehand. And a spear would eventually be driven into his side, breaking open his chest cavity (John 19:34). Jesus’ body was indeed broken.
As he held the torn bread, Jesus used it as a symbol to make his disciples reflect on the trauma he was about to undergo in providing atonement for sin. The broken bread represented his physical sufferings that would soon occur.
The Purpose Behind Jesus’ Broken Body
Beyond highlighting the nature of Jesus’ death, the words “This is my body, broken for you” also communicated the purpose behind his sacrifice. Jesus was pointing to the atoning results of his coming crucifixion.
In stating that his body was “broken for you,” Jesus revealed that his death would have a redemptive effect. Though horrific, his suffering and death would accomplish something remarkable – providing cleansing from sin and reconciliation with God for all who place faith in him (Romans 3:25; Hebrews 9:15). His body was broken in order to bring spiritual life and restoration.
Jesus’ words indicate that his death would inaugurate a new covenant relationship between God and his people. Jesus spoke the words over bread, which itself represented the establishment of a covenant (Genesis 26:26-30; Exodus 24:8). Thus, as he gave the bread new meaning, he was indicating that his death would confirm a new covenant – which Jeremiah had prophesied centuries earlier (Jeremiah 31:31-34).
Through this covenant sealed by his broken body, Jesus would offer the forgiveness of sins and new life to all who come to God through him. No longer would atonement come through the regular sacrifice of animals. The ultimate sacrifice was here.
The Bread as a Metaphor for Jesus’ Death
By using the broken bread as a metaphor for his body given over to death, Jesus powerfully reinforced the message he was conveying. The bread, which began as one loaf, was broken into many pieces – just as Jesus’ life would be given over in death for the salvation of many. And just as bread is broken before it can satisfy physical hunger, so too Jesus’ body had to be broken in order to provide true spiritual sustenance.
The torn bread represents severance. When Jesus claimed the broken loaf as his body, he was indicating that he was about to be severed from earthly life. And when the disciples consumed the broken bread, they were symbolically participating in this separation of Jesus’ body and life.
Yet while the bread metaphor speaks of separation it also hints at continuity. After all, the bread remains nutrition even when broken. So too, Jesus’ separation in death did not nullify the sustaining power of his sacrifice. Even torn apart, the bread of his body would still provide spiritual nourishment, just as Jesus had promised earlier in John 6:51.
In this one potent symbol, Jesus captured both discontinuity and continuity. His body would soon undergo traumatic separation unto death on the cross. Yet the benefits of his sacrifice would continue on and provide eternal sustenance for his spiritual body, the church.
The Shocking Nature of Jesus’ Words
When Jesus first uttered these words about his body and blood, the disciples must have found them astonishing. For a Jewish audience, the notion of consuming human flesh and blood was incredibly offensive and shocking. Blood was sacred in the Jewish mind, and the Old Testament expressly prohibited consuming blood (Leviticus 7:26-27).
By boldly claiming the bread as his body and the cup as his blood, Jesus knew he was speaking in a way that would deeply trouble the religious sensibilities of the Jewish disciples. It was a startling wake-up call to remind them of the extreme sacrifice he was about to offer.
Today, Christians are very familiar with the language of the Lord’s Supper. But we should not lose sight of how startling and mysterious Jesus’ words must have first seemed. The shocking nature of the eating and drinking underscores the violence of the cross and highlights the radical nature of Jesus’ saving work.
The Necessity of Jesus’ Broken Body
In the Upper Room, Jesus made it clear that his grisly death was unavoidable. He said, “This is my body, broken for you.” Not “possibly broken for you” or “maybe broken for you.” It was a statement of certitude. His body would most definitely be broken.
Jesus had spoken on multiple occasions about the necessity of his coming death (Mark 8:31, 9:30-31; John 10:11, 15:13). He saw the giving over of his life as an essential part of his messianic mission. His body had to be broken in order to make provision for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:28). Without the shedding of his blood, there could be no forgiveness and redemption (Hebrews 9:22).
If any other solution could have sufficed for the problem of human sinfulness, then the Father would not have sent the Son to the cross. But Calvary was unavoidable. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), and so Jesus’ body had to be broken to pay that wage on behalf of his people. The just one died for the unjust, the righteous for the unrighteous (1 Peter 3:18). There was no other way.
The Act of Remembering Jesus’ Sacrifice
At the conclusion of the bread metaphor, Jesus commanded the disciples to “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). The broken bread was to become a symbol retelling the story of Jesus’ body broken for his people. Jesus instructed his followers to break and eat the bread as an act of memorial and proclamation (1 Corinthians 11:26).
When Christians come to the Lord’s Table, the breaking and eating of the bread vividly dramatize Jesus’ death. This act of remembrance through eating and drinking underscores key truths. It testifies that Jesus’ body was once broken to secure our salvation. It proclaims that we are united to him by faith. And it points to the glorious marriage supper of the Lamb still to come – when Christ’s people “will eat and drink at [his] table in [his] kingdom” (Luke 22:30).
Until that day, Christians gather around the Lord’s Table to proclaim their faith in the Savior whose body was torn apart on their behalf. By sharing the broken bread they bear witness to the body given and the blood poured out for the redemption of sinners.
The Meaning for All Believers
While Jesus’ words “This is my body, broken for you” were spoken to the disciples in the Upper Room, they hold essential meaning for all believers. When Jesus spoke of his broken body, the “you” in view was bigger than just the twelve. His sacrifice would effect salvation for all those who trust in him.
For this reason, Christians today can take great comfort from these words. Jesus underwent agony and death to secure our redemption. His body took our judgment, so that we could be spared. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24). Because of his body broken for us, we now have peace with God and will never face condemnation (Romans 8:1).
Jesus also endured the cross so that we could become active participants in the new covenant he established. Through his death that tore apart his body, Jesus pioneered a new and living way to God (Hebrews 10:20). He made purification and entry to God’s presence possible for all who draw near through him. Because of his sacrifice, we have an eternal High Priest who intercedes and provides mercy and grace for God’s people (Hebrews 7:25-27).
For believers today, the fundamentals remain the same as in the first Lord’s Supper – we still proclaim Christ’s death and remember his broken body whenever we partake of the bread and cup (1 Corinthians 11:26). The cross is central. And through commemorating Jesus’ sacrifice, Christians testify they have staked everything on the truth that Jesus’ body was given and his blood was shed to redeem.
The Hope of Resurrection
The broken bread not only represents Jesus’ death, but also hints at the future completion of his redemptive work. From the early church onward, many have seen the Lord’s Supper as pointing forward to the coming messianic banquet (Luke 22:16, 18). The meal is a foretaste of the great consummation still to come.
Though Jesus’ body was torn apart, he did not stay dead. On the third day he rose again, raised to new life (Luke 24:1-9). His resurrection body was restored and glorified, no longer subjectable to death (Revelation 1:18). And this resurrection of Jesus is the sure guarantee that his people too will one day be raised immortal (1 Corinthians 15:20-23). The breaking of Jesus’ earthly body could not thwart his redemptive purposes.
The saving work that began with Jesus’ body broken culminates in the redemption of our whole persons – body and soul. His death secured the resurrection hope. As Paul proclaimed, “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).
The broken bread, then, represents not just death – but death that leads to fullness of life. It points ahead to the restoration of all things, when the damage wrought by sin is fully undone. And so the Lord’s Supper is filled with eschatological hope. The meal looks beyond the cross to the coming kingdom.
One day, God’s people will feast with their Savior in glory. But until then, they proclaim his death through partaking of the bread broken – remembering the cost of their redemption and the hope of resurrection.
The words spoken by Jesus, “This is my body, broken for you,” hold rich theological and practical meaning for believers. From these simple words flows both a profound understanding of Christ’s cross-work and also perpetual motivation to share in his sufferings and to live for the One whose body was given for the life of the world (John 6:51). May the broken bread continually point Christians to the magnitude of Jesus’ sacrifice for them.