March 22, 2023 – Wednesday
John 19:35-37 NIV
35 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe.
36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,”
37 and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”
Comments
In this chapter Jesus was sentenced to death by crucifixion. Then He was crucified and died on the cross. After His death, 31 Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. It was a common practice to break the legs of those crucified to hasten their death. Because Jesus was already dead, they did not need to break His legs. Instead, a Roman soldier pierced His side to confirm His death.
It is believed John is writing about what he personally witnessed so that everyone may believe Jesus indeed did die on the cross without His legs being broken and with His side being pierced, 35 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. The details were important as 36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,”37 and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”
What scripture was being fulfilled while Jesus was on the cross? First consider Psalm 34:20, 20 He protects all his bones, not one of them is broken. Then Exodus 12:46b tells the requirement for the lamb in the Passover meal, Do not break any of the bones. And then again in Numbers 9:12a about the Passover meal, 12 They must not leave any of it till morning or break any of its bones. This is truly odd when you think about the fact the Roman soldier was ordered to break the legs of those crucified.
Also consider the prophecy of Zechariah 12:10, 10 … . They will look on me, the one they have pierced, … . The idea of God being pierced sets the stage for the fatal wounding of Jesus, the Messiah and the Son of God. His head was pierced by the crown of thorns, His hands and feet with nails, and His side by a spear. The piercing by a spear follows the Hebrew and not the Septuagint as the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary points out as there is a remarkable nicety in the choice of the words employed both by the prophet and the Evangelist for “piercing.” The word in Zechariah means to thrust through with spear, javelin, sword, or any such weapon.
Bottom Line: Even in His death Jesus continued to fulfill prophecies giving us more reasons to believe in Him as the Christ.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, How terrible Your Son had to fulfill so many prophecies in His death because of Your love, mercy, and grace for all of us. – In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
RileyD, nwJ
Riley D. Driver – Pastor
Calvary Chapel of Dayton
in Beavercreek