Jesus Foretold: No Bones Broken (MP 66)

Blood and water flowed from the Savior’s side,
Pierced by a spear to make sure He was dead;
Else His legs be broken so that He died—
One or the other would be done instead!
No broken bones, had David prophesied,
So the spearman the prophecy fulfilled;
A vital role had the Roman guard plied,
In proving Jesus did God’s Kingdom build!
The blood of Jesus blots out all men’s sin,
And redeems from hell any that believe;
Eternal life that precious flow gives men,
And into the gates of heaven receive!
That spearman did more than broken legs saved—
The pathway to enter heaven he paved!

Scripture Quoted (NIV) [Brackets added]
Prophecy Made: Psalm 22:17—“I [Jesus] can count all my bones; …” Also, Psalm 34:20—“he [God] protects all his [Jesus’] bones, not one of them is broken.” (Written in the 10th century B.C.)

Prophecy Fulfilled: John 19:31-37—“Now it was the day of Preparation [the day before the Sabbath, when Jesus was crucified], and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken [to bring sudden death] and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. … These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: ‘Not one of his bones would be broken.” (Written in the 1st century A.D.)

Commentary On: “Jesus Foretold: No Bones Broken”
It was no accident that Jesus died late in the afternoon of Preparation day, the evening before the Jewish Passover. Maby things about the life of Jesus was prophesied or pointed to in the Mosaic Law. Passover was a memorial celebration observed annually to commemorate the “passing over” the homes of Israelites by the death angel in Egypt, when the firstborn son of every Egyptian family was slain. It was the tenth and final plague God brought upon Egypt because of the hardness of Pharaoh’s heart in freeing Israel from slavery. Every Israelite family was told by God to kill a lamb on the day before the angel was to pass over the land. They were to put a mark of the lamb’s blood on the door of each Israelite house and eat every bit of the meat of the lamb, being careful to break none its bones, For 1500 years they had followed this custom, killing and eating a Passover lamb, and breaking none of its bones. Jesus was Israel’s Passover lamb in 32 A.D., slain on Preparation day; His blood is shed to atone for the sins of all mankind, redeeming men and women who believe in Him as being sent by God.

Don’t think the Jewish high priest, Pharisees. and elders were unaware of the significance of Jesus’ death on the cross that day and the fact of no bones being broken, knowing that His followers would put Him forward as God’s Passover Lamb. They had hounded and pressured the Roman governor until he had given in to His execution early that same morning. The Jews were back before noon, asking permission to break the legs of all three crucified men, so that they would die suddenly, and be removed and buried before 6 p.m., which was the time the Sabbath began. A person nailed to a cross has difficulty breathing. His entire weight is pressing down on his lungs, therefore, to inhale air, he must push himself upward on his pinioned ankles, causing horrific pain. A crucified man usually required about three hours to die of suffocation, when he can lift himself no more and cannot breathe. If his legs are broken, he cannot draw only a single breath, because he has no means of pushing himself upwards.

Pilate gave his permission; the two thieves had their legs broken, but not Jesus, for He was already dead. A Roman spear pierced His side, and a large amount of His blood gushed out. Yes, Jesus was God’s sacrificial Lamb; He complied to every requirement of the Law, and He had no bones broken.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)