By R.B. Theime, Jr. – 1972 Edited by Stephen E. LaFleur, ThD - 2009.

by R.B. Theime, Jr. – 1972Edited by Stephen E. LaFleur, ThD - 2009

Aftermath of the Crucifixion

Reference John 19:30-37 to find several facts of utmost importance.

First in verse 30, while Jesus was still alive, He proclaimed the work of salvation was completed; He pushed His head forward and then, by an act of His own volition, He died physically.

Next, the soldiers, knowing that Christ was already dead, did not break his legs (verse 33). Verse 34 describes how Roman soldiers pierced His side with a spear, which provided the additional proof that he was not only dead but that he had NOT bled to death.

The Blood of Christ 1

Finally, in verses 36, 37, the faithfulness of God is demonstrated by the fulfillment of Exodus 12:46 and Zechariah 12:10.

“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head and gave up the ghost.” John 19:30

After Jesus died spiritually for our sins, He announced that the salvation part of His work was finished and THEN he pushed his head forward.


The Authorized Version states that “He bowed his head”. There is nothing accidental in anything Jesus did. Everything He did and everything He said while on the cross had a purpose and a reason.

It was essential that when Jesus died, His body should be leaning forward. It had to be in a certain position so that when the spear pierced His side, it would pierce above the solar plexus and diaphragm and enter into the heart. In this forward position, the blood would pour forth and establish the physical death of Christ, even from a distance.


Just as His birth was unique, so His death was unique. Jesus Christ is the only person who died physically by his own volition when it was not a case of suicide.

His work was accomplished, and He therefore dismissed his spirit. His body went into the grave (Luke 23:53); His soul went to Hades (Ps. 16:10; Luke 23:43; Acts 2:27; Eph 4:9).

His human spirit went to the father (Luke 23:46).


The Religious Jews

“The Jews, therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day, or the Sabbath day was a high day, besought Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away.” John 19:31

The Jews were very particular about observing the superficialities of life, which usually indicates religiosity and legalism. They were pompous and self-righteous in their strict observance of ritual, but inside they were vindictive, jealous, full of hatred and retaliation (Matt. 23)


They had destroyed their souls with mental attitude sins of hypocrisy. It is important to understand the mindset of that day. They were occupied with sanctimonious appearances, with formalism in worship, with ritualism and legalism, but at the same time reject the only true God.

God, knowing all of their hearts from the foundation of the world, provided certain promises to prove that He always keeps his word. These promises are in the form of prophecy and we will see them fulfilled later in this passage.


The Jews would make preparation for the observance of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which would begin at sundown, approximately 6:00 pm, Wednesday night and would continue for seven days.

This Wednesday was a special Sabbath, and as the scripture says, it was “an high day” or a super holy day, not just an ordinary Sabbath (Lev. 23:6,7). All feast days fell into this special category. The Passover memorial was held the night before and Wednesday, the Passover Day (representing Exodus) was the day on which Christ was crucified – not Friday as is assumed and practiced by many.


Remember, the Jews had just perpetrated the greatest judicial farce in history, and then, without any remorse, move right into their preparation for their religious observance.

This is why they sought Pilate to have his legs broken. It was the Roman custom to leave those crucified on the cross until they died and their bodies rotted. But Jewish law specified that the body of any criminal be put out of sight during a Sabbath or Holy Day in order to not pollute the land (Deut. 21:22,23). They did not want any bodies hanging on any cross during their “religious” services.


Breaking legs was a Roman custom, knows as “crurifragium”, which is Latin for “leg-breaking”, consisted of striking the legs with a heavy mallet in order to expedite death.

“Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and the other which was crucified with him” John 19:32

In order to take them off the cross by nightfall, the Roman soldiers went up to the two thieves and pounded their legs until the bones were crushed and they died from the pain. Of course, they expected the same at the cross in the center.


“But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was DEAD ALREADY, they brake not his legs.” John 19:33

This is simply a testimony to the fact that Christ was dead. The soldiers saw that we was physically dead - the Greek verb thnesko. There are other verbs which refer to spiritual death, such as apothnesko, but thnesko means physical death. Christ was already dead because He died as an act of his free will in fulfillment of John 10:17, 18 “. . . I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again . . . “


Blood Clots and Serum

“But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.” John 19:34

The soldiers knew that Christ was already dead, but one of the picked up a spear and pierced his side, fulfilling Zechariah 12:10. The word “side” is the Greek word “pleura” which means “side of the chest cavity.”

The spear penetrated up through the rib cage into the chest cavity without breaking any bones, resulting in the laceration of a ventricle in the heart. With the body leaning forward, blood clots and serum immediately flowed out.


As the KJV states, “came there out blood and water.” However, the Greek word for water “hudor” is used in a medical sense for “fluid”. After 30 to 60 minutes from the time of death, the serum, which separated from the clots, or coagulated blood, appeared from a distance to be a clear fluid. So this is more accurately rendered, “blood clots and serum”.

What kept all of this blood from going into the abdominal cavity? The diaphragm, which separated the chest cavity form the abdominal cavity, would prevent the blood from flowing down the pelvic region. Blood clots and serum would appear externally through the chest wall opening made by a spear.


Only the body of a person who has NOT bled to death contains this tremendous accumulation of blood clots and serum. Christ did not bleed to death. The literal, physical blood of Christ does not bring on salvation.

The blood of Christ represents SPIRITUAL DEATH. We are saved by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31). He made it possible for Him to be our Savior because He “bore our sins in his own body on the tree” I Peter 2:24. BUT He did not bleed to death.


Another view, somewhat technical, but if Jesus had slowly hemorrhaged internally, the clots in His body cavity would have dissolved by the time the stab wound was made and no clear serum would have been observed.

Unless there is tremendous trauma, such as in decapitation, the only absolute proof of physical death is to see blood clots and serum, as John did. Seeing the blood clots and serum established physical death and made it clear that he had not bled to death.


Neither external nor internal hemorrhage had occurred. Christ died by dismissing His Spirit. Nothing that took place at Calvary was by accident.

Every detail was planned by a sovereign God, before the foundation of the world to establish, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the two deaths of Christ and Him becoming our propitiation.

The fact that Christ actually died twice on the cross is borne out by the use of the Greek and Hebrew words in several passages.


For example, in Colossians 1:22, “death” is in the singular, one death. The Greek noun is thanatos and refers to His spiritual death.

When it comes to His physical death, the Greek word is nekros. Often when the resurrection of Christ is mentioned, it is from nekros, not from thanatos. The only time nekros is used for spiritual death as well is when it is found in the plural as the object of the preposition “ek”, as in Colossians 2:12 “ . . .God, having raised him out from the DEATHS . . . “


End of Part Four


By R.B. Theime, Jr. – 1972 Edited by Stephen E. LaFleur, ThD - 2009.

Documents

Transcript of By R.B. Theime, Jr. – 1972 Edited by Stephen E. LaFleur, ThD - 2009.