A soldier puts a spear into Jesus
31 It was the day when the Jews prepare everything for their day of rest. The next day was the day for the Passover meal, so it was a very important day. The Jews did not want the men's bodies to stay on the crosses during that day of rest. So they asked Pilate to tell the soldiers to break the legs of those men. Then they could take the dead bodies down from the crosses.
19:31The Jewish rules said that a dead body must not remain ‘on the tree’ all night.
19:31A person who was dying on a cross would use his legs to push his body up. This helped him to breathe, so that he could live for a longer time. If the soldiers broke the person's legs, he would die more quickly.
32 So the soldiers went there. They broke the legs of the two men who were on the crosses next to Jesus. 33 Then they went to Jesus. They saw that he was dead already. So they did not break his legs. 34 But one of the soldiers put a spear into Jesus' side. Immediately, blood and water came out of his body. 35 The man who saw these things has spoken about them. What he says is true. He knows that it really happened. He is telling you the truth so that you can believe. 36 The Bible already said how it would happen. It says:
‘Nobody will break any of his bones.’
37 In another place, the Bible says:
‘People will push a spear into that man's body,
and then they will look at him.’
And that is how it really happened.
