Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 20
February 6, 1969
NUMBER 39, PAGE 3b,5a

The Lord's Supper — What Kind Of Bread

John J. Pierce

This is a reply to the article written by Brother Robert H. Farish and published in The Gospel Guardian, for November 7, 1968, under the heading, "Is The First Day Of The Week Optional?" In his article, Brother Farish quotes quite extensively from my letter to him (3/3/68), concerning previous articles, published in The Gospel Guardian which were also written by Brother Farish. Please read all these articles again — NOW.

From the quotations from my letter in the article by Brother Farish (11/7/ 68) it is made quite clear that I do not consider it necessary for the Lord's supper to be observed and the contribution to the church to be made on the first day of the week. And of course, I do not consider it necessary to use unleavened bread for the supper as is the custom of the churches of Christ. In my letter (8/3/68) from which Brother Farish quoted, I stated what I considered were valid reasons for not considering it necessary for the observance of the supper and contribution to be on the first day of the week, and Brother Farish properly quoted these statements in his article.

However, since I assumed that Brother Farish accepted that leavened bread could be properly used for the supper, I did not furnish statements to support my position on this matter. But apparently he holds that unleavened bread must be used for the supper. In this connection it may be stated that "unleavened bread" is never used in the scriptures when referring to bread for the supper.

With reference to the kind of bread used for the Lord's supper, it may be stated that according to authorities on the original language of the New Testament, including W. E. Vine, and others, there are two words used for bread. One of these words is "artos" and has the general meaning of ordinary, plain bread; and this word "artos" is used in every place where bread is referred to for the supper. The word "azumos" denotes unleavened bread, and is so translated in many places, including Acts 20:6, but the word "azumos" is never used with reference to bread for the Lord's supper. In the Hastings Dictionary of the Bible, Revised Edition, Grant and Rowley (Scribners) 1963, page 274, we find the following quotation with reference to the institution of the Lord's supper: "The bread is presumably ordinary artos, not the unleavened bread (azyma) required at the Passover meal."

Where did Jesus get this "artos" for the supper? This is not for me to say, but on one occasion he turned water into wine (John 2:1-11) and after this had been done it says, "and his disciples believed in him." Do you believe in Jesus? If so, you believe that he had the authority to use "artos" when he instituted the supper, and had the power to obtain it. We should not place bounds and limitations on Jesus our Lord, for he possessed all power in heaven and on earth. (Matt. 28:16-20.)

Incidentally, the supper is never used to represent the resurrection of Christ. The apostle Paul said: "For as often as you eat this bread (artos) and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." (I Cor. 11:26.) Jesus was not crucified on the first day of the week. Baptism is a symbol of the death, burial, and the resurrection of Christ. (Rom. 6:1-4). Why not keep it that way in our teaching?

If the books of the New Testament were a part of "the law of the land" there is no prosecuting attorney who could obtain a conviction in a court of law against some church for observing the supper, and making contribution, on some day other than the first day of the week. We should be very happy, of course, that our worship and service to God are not under the Judicial System. But sometimes we can see the point a little more clearly from this point of view. There is no authorization nor binding obligation set forth in the scriptures for the Lord's supper to be observed, and the contribution to be made to the church, on the first day of the week.

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