Breaking Bread - Acts 20:7

Breaking Bread Until He Comes

Introduction: Who This Message Is For

Today’s message is relevant only to those who believe in Christ Jesus as the Savior and Messiah. If that is not you, the most important thing you will hear today is the first thing I will say, so I urge you to listen now.

When God first created man, he was perfect and without blemish. God gave him authority over all created beings on earth, and he walked in perfect fellowship with God. But God gave him one rule, and one only—that he was not to eat of the fruit of the forbidden tree. To violate that rule would bring certain death (Genesis 2:16–17).

Despite having everything he needed and more, the man broke God’s law and ate of that tree (Genesis 3:6). From that moment, he and all of his descendants—that’s us—are children of the devil and slaves to sin (John 8:34; 1 John 3:8; Romans 5:12).

Some men and women, called by God, sought to reconcile their condition, and God gave them parameters. Regular blood sacrifices of spotless and perfect lambs, among other sacrifices, would atone temporarily for their sins (Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 10:1–4). But there was also a promise—the promise of a Messiah, a Savior anointed by God, who would come to finalize redemption and break the chains of slavery to sin (Isaiah 53; Jeremiah 31:31–34).

That promise was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who humbled Himself to become a man so that He could perfectly fulfill the requirements of the law and be the human form of the spotless and perfect lamb to be sacrificed as the final atonement for the sins of mankind (Philippians 2:6–8; Hebrews 9:12).

He did just that. And when He was beaten, nailed to a Roman cross, and His side was pierced with a spear, His blood was poured out for us (John 19:34). The sacrifice had been made.

But on the third day, He rose from the dead—not as a healed man, but as a resurrected one. He had died, but He defeated death and came back to tell us about it (Matthew 28:5–6; 1 Corinthians 15:3–4).

With that good news is the truth that all who trust in Him will also be resurrected to new life, and we will live forever with Him (John 11:25–26).

That is not a fairy tale or a myth. It is the greatest truth that has ever been true.

Trusting in our own righteousness will not get us one inch closer to eternal life, but repenting of our wickedness and trusting in Him is the only way (Ephesians 2:8–9; Philippians 3:8–9).

Because of His death and resurrection, the church has every reason to celebrate every time we can. But those who are outside of the church have no reason to celebrate, for eternal life is not yet theirs. Eternal punishment is all that awaits those who do not trust in Christ Jesus (John 3:18; Matthew 25:46).

Breaking Bread in the New Testament

There are eleven references to the “breaking of bread” in the New Testament.

Some of them refer to the same event—such as the Gospel accounts of the Last Supper. But all of them occur in the context of believers gathering together for this purpose.

Acts 2:42 says:

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” (Acts 2:42)

That description sounds strikingly similar to what Justin Martyr, writing in the early second century, said about Christian worship: Reading the Apostles and Prophets, preaching, breaking bread, offering common prayers, and fellowship.

It is rare—almost impossible—to read of an early Christian gathering where bread was not broken. That alone should indicate its importance.

What Is the Breaking of Bread?

There are two possibilities:

The observance of the Eucharist—also called Thanksgiving, Communion, or the Lord’s Supper

A common meal

My understanding comes from 1 Corinthians 11:17–23.

1 Corinthians 11:17–23 (KJV 1900) “Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse… For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:”

Paul addresses divisions in the Corinthian church and connects them directly to the Lord’s Supper. Some were feasting, some were going hungry, and some were even becoming “drunken.”

At that time, it was common for the Lord’s Supper to be the climax of an agape feast—a shared meal where the poor were fed, fellowship was practiced, and the Supper concluded the gathering.

The Corinthians’ error was not the meal itself. Their error was seeking preeminence—a problem Paul rebukes them for repeatedly. It appears the wealthy were separating themselves from the poor, distributing food according to status.

Paul rightly affirms that this defeated the purpose of the meal and undermined the celebration of Christ.

One Bread, One Body

The meal culminated in a single loaf broken and distributed.

Why is this important?

Because Jesus Himself took one loaf, broke it, and handed a piece to each disciple.

This signifies:

Our unity in Christ

“Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.” (1 Corinthians 10:17)

And it signifies:

That Jesus’ body was broken for us

“And when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’” (1 Corinthians 11:24)

Is It Wrong to Use Little Wafers?

In short—no. It is not wrong.

But what do we gain or lose by using manufactured, individual, paper-thin wafers?

We gain:

Cleanliness

Convenience

Continuity

We lose:

Connection

Charity

Closeness

To continue in the practice of Jesus—who carried on the tradition of His culture, historical practice, and example dating back 1,500 years—we would use fresh-baked unleavened bread, broken by the pastor and distributed by the servants of the church.

The Cup: Wine Distributed and Drunk

What is wine?

The words oinos (Greek) and yayin (Hebrew) meant fermented drink by default.

Grape juice was not shelf-stable, and Passover occurred six to eight months after harvest, meaning fermentation was inevitable.

As one scholar writes:

“Evidence strongly suggests that the wine used at the Lord’s Supper was a mixture of water and wine, probably three to one in agreement with the dictates of the Mishnah.” — Walter A. Elwell; Philip W. Comfort

Why Was Wine Used?

Because the Last Supper was a Passover meal.

All four Gospel accounts place it there (Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; cf. John 13).

In Second-Temple Jewish practice, Passover involved:

Unleavened bread

Wine

Jesus used what God had already instituted.

Wine was not chosen because it was alcoholic—it was chosen because it already symbolized covenant blood.

“This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” (Luke 22:20)

Ordinary Means, Sacred Truth

This is an important evangelical point.

Jesus uses:

Bread

Wine

Water

Oil

He does not avoid created things—He redeems their meaning.

Paul says:

“The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16)

The power is not in alcohol content. It is in Christ’s institution and promise.

What Should We Use Today?

The early church universally used wine—not because of alcohol, but because they believed the elements Christ chose mattered.

Virtually every Christian, beginning with the apostles at the Last Supper, used fermented—and likely diluted—wine until Thomas Welch invented pasteurized grape juice in 1869.

In other words, grape juice enters Christian worship not because of new biblical insight, but because new technology made it possible and new social concerns made it desirable.

The historical question is not whether grape juice is permissible—but whether wine was ever optional in the beginning.

The early sources say it wasn’t.

“To alter the ordinance to suit our scruples is to put ourselves in the place of Christ.” — C. H. Spurgeon

“The essence of the ordinance lies not in the chemical properties of the elements, but in obedience to Christ and the meaning conveyed.” — E. Y. Mullins

Even Baptist theologians who accepted grape juice admitted wine was the biblical element. The shift was pastoral, not exegetical.

Conscience and Charity

There will be some who can never accept using wine in communion.

This is a matter of conscience and conviction.

“Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God… It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.” (Romans 14:20–21)

If using wine would cause a brother or sister to stumble, it may be best to avoid it. But the “weaker” brother should also examine whether their stumbling is rooted in Scripture or experience.

How Often Should We Break Bread?

The Didache says:

“On the Lord’s own day gather yourselves together and break bread and give thanks…” (Didache 14)

Acts 2:42–47 shows this was regular—often daily—but especially on the Lord’s Day.

Jesus says:

“For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.” (1 Corinthians 11:26)

If we gather weekly to celebrate His resurrection, it would be good also to remember His death.

To eat the Supper as Jesus did—and as the church did for eighteen centuries—we would:

Bless unleavened bread

Break it

Share the cup

Do so weekly

To differ is to impose our own sensibilities and suggest the church practiced it imperfectly before us.

There are other considerations we need to make about this topic. Not the least of these is to address the passages in Scripture that seem to condemn wine, or the question, “who is permitted to break bread with the saints?” and perhaps equally important is “when and how do we deny the table to anyone?” Still yet there are questions as to how to administer the elements, whether before, during, or after the service. Or who distributes them. And the age-old debate over the presence of Christ in the elements and how that factors in to our treatment and practice of the sacrament. These are all questions and topics for another time, but they need to be answered. Perhaps that will be a Wednesday evening study topic.

But for now, we break bread until He comes.

And one day, we will eat with Him again.

Amen.