“Division Of Leaven”

Friday, March 08, 2013

Does the bread have to be broken after it is blessed and before the Lord’s Supper is taken?  I have seen a growing number of men break the bread in the plate after the prayer.  What's the biblical answer?

Sincerely,
Broken Up Over The Issue

Dear Broken Up Over The Issue,

We must break the bread like Jesus did, by sharing it with others who are also taking the Lord’s Supper. The term ‘break the bread’ can mean two things:

1. Physically separating a loaf of bread (Acts 27:35)

2. To have a meal, share food (Acts 2:46)

When we take the Lord’s Supper, we use Christ’s example as our guide. Christ took the bread first and then the juice (Matt 26:26-27) – so we do it in the same order. Jesus used grape juice, so we use grape juice (Matt 26:29). So if Jesus physically broke the bread as part of the Lord’s Supper, we should to. The example we see is that Jesus gave thanks for the bread and then broke the bread to share it with the disciples (Matt 26:26). So when we take the Lord’s Supper, we are to do the same thing… share the bread with the other Christians assembled. Without being too dogmatic on the point, the bread gets broken, by default, every time other Christians take some from the loaf. The emphasis isn’t on who breaks the bread – but on us all sharing the meal together (1 Cor 10:16-17).

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