This was the day before the Passover and the day following the Passover would be the Sabbath, so the Hebrew leaders had already instructed Pilate to have the legs of the men broken, if they survived until sunset approached. They wanted their bodies taken away so they would not still be hanging on the crosses on the Sabbath. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first criminal and of the other one who had been nailed to crosses beside Jesus. But, when they came to Jesus, the soldiers saw that He was already dead -so they did not break His legs. As was the custom, one of the soldiers pushed a spear into His side -to make sure that He was dead. When the spear pierced His side, blood and water ran out of the wound. (The blood and water mixture that flowed from Jesus side is explained by the fact that because He had been beaten with a flagrum -a whip that had several knotted leather cords with sharp and heavy pieces of metal and bone attached to them. The flagrum would not only hurt the body as the cords impacted the skin, it would also cut and grip some sections of skin as it impacted the body. That gripping of the skin would then cause it to be ripped from the body as the soldier pulled the whip away and prepared for another blow. This method of torment caused heavy blood loss within the body and lead to hypovolemic shock. With all that Jesus had been through, His crucifixion caused His heart to beat very rapidly -trying to pump more blood in an effort to survive. Thus, this resulted in water being held in the areas around the heart and lungs. So, when the soldiers push the spear through His side, it probably punctures His lungs -and heart- allowing blood and water to flow from the wound. Again, the soldier did this to confirm His death. When a Roman soldier said you were dead, you were dead. This would dispel ANY notion that Jesus simply passed out on the cross and slept in the grave/cave for a few days.) These things happened as the Holy Scriptures said they would happen, “Not one of His bones will be broken” -from Psalm 34:20. And in another place the Holy Scriptures say, “They will look at Him Whose side they pierced” -from Zechariah 12:10. -John 19:31-37
Posted on: Thu, 24 Oct 2013 10:20:42 +0000
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