The Message of the Cross (16) The Shedding of Jesus’ Blood and Water
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July 19, 2020 |
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 “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 blood and water came out” (John 19:33-34).
Knowledge of God’s providence in Jesus’ suffering will help each of us understand His great love and make us love Him all the more. Now let’s delve into the spiritual significance of Jesus’ legs not being broken and His shedding of all His blood and water.
1. The Reason Roman Soldiers Didn’t Break Jesus’ Legs
After suffering for hours on the cross, the cruelest means of punishment, Jesus finally breathed His last. His death on the cross took place on Friday and the following day was the Sabbath which was kept holy by the Jews. For this reason Jesus’ body could not remain hanging on the cross. This is why the Jews asked Pontius Pilate to have the bodies of the criminals hung on crosses be removed (John 19:31).
Roman soldiers broke the legs of criminals on either side of Jesus so they could remove the corpses. The breaking of the legs of a criminal hanging on a cross hastens his death because he will not be able to support his body weight with his legs. Yet, when the soldiers noticed and confirmed that Jesus was already dead, they did not break His legs.
In Psalm 34:19-20 we find, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones, not one of them is broken.” Although Jesus took upon himself the sins of all mankind and died on a tree, He was not a sinner. He was blameless, spotless, and righteous and God made certain that Jesus’ legs were not broken.
During the time of the Exodus, God told the Israelites in Numbers 9:12 and Exodus 12:46, “They shall eat lamb but not break any bone of it.” Throughout the Bible, “the lamb” symbolizes Jesus (John 1:29). Therefore, God commanded against the breaking the bone of a lamb, which signifies Jesus Himself, and precisely according to this word of prophecy, Jesus’ bones remained unbroken.
2. The Providence in Jesus’ Shedding His Blood and Water
As we read in John 19:34, “But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water,” a Roman soldier pierced the side of Jesus who had already passed away.
Jesus hanging on a cross with a crown of thorns, His body shredded from flogging, and blood streaming from His hands and feet where the nails pierced His body was a gruesome sight. From this scene, we know just how evil man really is as the Roman soldier, who confirmed that Jesus had breathed His last, nevertheless pierced His side with a spear.
What is the spiritual significance behind Jesus’ side being pierced by a spear and His shedding of blood and water?
1) It testifies that Jesus came to the world in the flesh of man.
John 1:14 tells us exactly who Jesus is. “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us…” In other words, Jesus, begotten of God who is spirit, donned flesh and came into this world. Jesus was not conceived through the combination of a man’s sperm and a woman’s egg, but by the Holy Spirit. Yet, because He was born in flesh and underwent a normal growth process just like any other human being, Jesus satisfies the qualifications to be the Savior of all mankind. According to the four qualifications to be satisfied in order to become the Savior of mankind, the Savior must first be a man, yet not be a descendant of Adam who had committed the sin of disobedience. He had to possess the power to overcome the enemy devil and He had to have love by which He could sacrifice His own life for others.
Therefore, Jesus came into this world with a body of bones and flesh, just like ours. He felt pain when He was flogged. He suffered from exhaustion, thirst, and hunger (Matthew 4:2; John 4:6). In order to validate the fact that Jesus came into this world in flesh, in the Bible it is recorded: “one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water.”
2) It attests that a man with flesh can partake in the divine nature.
In Matthew 5:48, Jesus tells us, “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect,” God Himself reminds us again in 1 Peter 1:16, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” Furthermore, in Philippians 2:5 we are urged to “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,” while 2 Peter 1:4 tells us, “For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”
While Jesus donned flesh like other men and women, He committed no sin and lived a sanctified life. He experienced a variety of emotions for He also had the nature of man, yet Jesus lived only by the truth. By the same token, like our Jesus, we can also become sanctified and perfect, and partake in the divine nature with the heart of Jesus Christ.
Anyone who believes in the Lord, prays fervently, and makes every effort can rid himself of all sin and evil. In doing so such a person will surely receive and experience God’s grace and strength as well as the help of the Holy Spirit. None of us will be able to give the excuse, “Jesus could live a sanctified life because He was the Son of God, but since I am a mere man, I could not do that.”
3) It proves that by Jesus’ blood and water, we gain true life and enjoy eternal life.
Truly precious is the blood of Jesus, who had no original sin within Him and who committed no personal sins. By this precious blood of our Jesus, we can, by faith, receive forgiveness of our sins and live forever. Moreover, water spiritually symbolizes “the Word”; as much as we hear God’s Word and live by it, we can rid ourselves of sin and evil and become much more righteous.
The blood and water Jesus shed are the blood and water of strength by which we can be transformed, and are the blood and water of life that deliver us from death. The fact that Jesus was pierced through His side with a spear and shed all His blood and water testifies to how we have received forgiveness because of Jesus. And we have received the strength by which we can live by God’s Word and gained true life.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus rejoiced and gave thanks in the midst of His suffering because He thought of how countless souls would receive salvation through His suffering. Keep in mind that Jesus suffered and shed all His water and blood in order to save us.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will quickly fathom this love of the Lord and keep it deep in your heart. Rid yourself of sin and evil and recover the image of God so you can enjoy eternal joy and blessing in the glorious heavenly kingdom.
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