How Was Christ Broken For Us?

Posted on August 5, 2018 by

“How could the Lord say that His body was broken for us if other verses say that none of His bones were broken?”

Speaking of the bread that the Lord broke at the last supper (1 Cor. 11:23), Paul said,

“…He brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is My body, which is broken for you…” (1 Cor. 11:24).

As the Lord broke the loaf of bread for the apostles to share, He used the broken bread to illustrate how His body would be broken for them on the cross. But speaking of the soldiers who crucified Him, John said:

“…they brake not His legs…that the Scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of Him shall not be broken” (John 19:33,36).

John was quoting Psalm 34:20. We also know that the cross was a type of the Passover (1 Cor. 5:7), and speaking of the Passover lamb, God told Moses, “neither shall ye break a bone thereof” (Ex. 12:46 cf. Num. 9:12). So how could the Lord say His body was broken for us?

Well, a body can be broken without breaking any bones. None of Job’s bones were broken, but he spoke of how God “breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds” (Job 9:17 cf. 16:14), a breaking which included the breaking of his skin (Job 7:5). Other verses speak of the breaking of a body’s teeth (Psa. 3:7; Pr. 25:19; Lam. 3:16; Psa. 58:6), its heart (Eccl. 12:6) and other parts (Lev. 21:20). The “blood and water” that flowed from the Lord’s pierced side indicate His heart was broken, for the heart rests in a saline sac. So there is no contradiction between John 19:36 and 1 Corinthians 11:24. source

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