John 19:31-37

The Jews therefore, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. The soldiers therefore came, and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other man who was crucified with Him; but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs; but one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water. And he who has seen has borne witness, and his witness is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. For these things came to pass, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, "NOT A BONE OF HIM SHALL BE BROKEN." And again another Scripture says, "THEY SHALL LOOK ON HIM WHOM THEY PIERCED."

 

So we’ve seen that Jesus deliberately fulfilled the Scriptures by the way that He lived and died. Yes, it’s kind of strange that anyone who wasn’t the Messiah would try to fulfill the Scriptures by dying like the Messiah. But setting that aside for a moment, what if Jesus was just a man trying to make it look like He was the fulfillment of prophecies? How can we know that He was really God’s Messiah if all the prophecies about Him were fulfilled while He was alive – while He was able to “manipulate” the prophecies (by asking for a drink, for instance)?

 

That’s just it, though. Some of the prophecies that Jesus fulfilled came about after He died. No man can make it look as though He is fulfilling prophecies when He is dead, when He has no way to influence the outcome of events. That’s why this passage is especially helpful in showing us that we can really believe in Jesus.

 

It’s pretty straightforward. It was the Jewish day of Preparation for the Sabbath, and this was an important Sabbath because of the Passover week. So the Jews didn’t really want to have the crucified men hanging there on their special day of worship. They asked Pilate to have the legs of the men broken (to speed up their deaths – it kept men from pushing themselves up on the cross and led to death by asphyxiation), and then to have the bodies taken down from the crosses when the crucified men were dead.

 

So the legs of the criminals who were crucified with Jesus were broken, because those men were still alive. But Jesus was already dead. So the soldiers didn’t break His legs. There was no point. But perhaps to make sure that Jesus was dead, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear.

 

So what? So what if Jesus’ legs weren’t broken? So what if a soldier pierced His side with a spear?

 

John thinks it’s a big deal. He emphasizes that the testimony is true. The witness (John himself, almost certainly) saw this, he says, and his testimony is true. And the witness knows that he is telling the truth so that you also will believe. To John, it is vital that we see that Jesus’ legs were not broken and that His side was pierced. Why?

 

Because the Scriptures said this would happen. Jesus was no longer alive. He was not manipulating these events with words, or by withholding words, or anything. He was dead. But even when Jesus was dead, the words God had spoken through the prophets actually happened! God said, “Not a bone of Him shall be broken” (Exodus 12:46 – about the Passover lamb; Numbers 9:12 – about the Passover lamb; Psalm 34:19-20 – about a “righteous man”). And God had also said, “They shall look on him whom they pierced” (Zech. 12:10 – God actually says, “They will look on me, the one they have pierced…”). Faith in Jesus is a natural extension of trusting in the God of the Old Testament!

 

See? Jesus was no mere man. Even when Jesus wasn’t deliberately seeking to fulfill the Scriptures as He did in John 19:28-30 and elsewhere, He fulfilled them. Even when Jesus was dead, He fulfilled them. God’s testimony is true (You either believe this or you don’t). And Jesus claimed that He was the one God sent. And Jesus’ life and death fulfilled God’s testimony. So Jesus’ claim was true. He really was the one God sent! If we trust God’s Old Testament words (let alone the New Testament), then we have every reason to trust in Jesus!

 

Father, there are so many good reasons to trust in Jesus. Many of us don’t believe in Jesus, though, because we doubt that we really have heard Your words. Through the Old Testament. Through the New Testament. Forgive us. Forgive us for not believing You. And keep speaking to us. Reassure us. Convince us. Help us to see that You are trustworthy, because we are weak and we need Your help. And for those of us who do believe in Jesus, help us to realize that we need to believe all of Your words. You were faithful and true in teaching us to trust Jesus. You are faithful and true in everything You say. Your words are so precious. Help us to listen carefully, and incline our hearts to respond with trust and obedience. Thank You for loving us enough to speak to us and show us the way to life.