The One Who was Pierced for Us

Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe. For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced” (John 19: 31-37).

Crucifixion was one of the most horrible forms of capital punishment ever invented. It was meant to punish the offender by prolonging the agony of encroaching death. To die by crucifixion was actually to die by suffocation. As the person hung, he could breathe in but it became increasingly difficult to breathe out. In order to do so, he would have to push himself upward on his feet that had been pierced. That effort would also scrape his back, already raw from his beating. If a person was surviving too long on the cross, breaking his legs took away his ability to support himself in order to breathe and hastened his death. This action was necessary because this was the day of preparation and tomorrow was a high Sabbath. The bodies of Jesus and the thieves could not remain in the public view because Jews that looked at them would be considered unclean and could not participate in worship. When they came to break Jesus’ legs a soldier pierced His side and blood and water was spilled confirming His death and identifying Him as the One who was pierced for us.

Christ’s piercing confirmed His death. To confirm that Jesus was dead a spear was shoved into His side, likely under His ribs that ruptured the pericardial sack, resulting in a flow of both blood and water. Crucifixion typically resulted in death through one of two ways. The first way was hypovolemic shock. The prolonged rapid heartbeat resulting from hypovolemic shock can cause fluid to gather in the area around the heart. This is called pericardial effusion. The second way of death by crucifixion was by asphyxiation, which can also result in the buildup of fluid around the heart. Thus, the flow of blood and water from Jesus’ pierced side confirmed that He was fully dead, and the price for sin was fully paid on the cross… “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit” (1 Peter 3:18).

Christ’s piercing confirmed His divinity. The Spirit inspired Moses to include careful instructions about the Passover Lamb that was an illustration of the Messiah that would be the ultimate sacrifice for sin… “They shall leave none of it until the morning, nor break any of its bones; according to all the statute for the Passover they shall keep it” (Numbers 9:12). The Father protected the Son’s bones at Calvary that He might be recognized as the final Passover Lamb… “Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7).

Christ’s piercing confirmed our deliverance. The Roman soldier had his temporal reasons for stabbing the criminal on this cross, but God had a much more important reason for allowing a mere mortal to pierce the flesh of His only Son… “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). It was God’s will, throughout every moment of Christ’s crucifixion, to provide through His Son, atonement for our sin, that we might live beyond physical death… “Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand” (Isaiah 53:10).

As we grow up into Christ we are compelled to love, serve, and tell others about Jesus Christ…

The One Who was Pierced for Us.