Question: Preacher, I occasionally hear people refer to "the broken body of our Lord." Is this correct?

Answer: This idea comes from the King James Version’s rendering of 1 Corinthians 11:24: "And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me." The oldest and most reliable manuscripts do not contain the word "broken" in this passage. It may be that referring to the body of the Lord as "broken" does not contradict fact or faith. The prophecy stipulated that no bone of his be broken (John 19:36). Yet, as we speak of injuries that "break" the skin, Jesus’ body (i.e., flesh) was indeed "broken." Perhaps the rationale for the scribal addition was the truth that the benefits of the Lord’s crucified body, like the broken bread, are received by all believers individually (cf. John 6:51). Regardless of these speculations, however, "broken for you" is clearly not what Paul wrote (or what Jesus said). The simple truth is that the Scripture does not explicitly refer to the body of Christ as "broken," so neither should we.