seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
John 19:28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
31 Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. 36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,”[c] 37 and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”[d
b. John 19:26 The Greek for Woman does not denote any disrespect.
c. John 19:36 Exodus 12:46; Num. 9:12; Psalm 34:20
d. John 19:37 Zech. 12:10
This is from Bible-studys.org.
The preparation was Friday, the day before the Sabbath. It was a high day because it was the Sabbath during the Passover week. The Jews did not mind putting an innocent man to death, even the Son of God, but they were very careful not to break the Sabbath.
The normal Roman practice was to leave crucified men and women on the cross until they died and this could take days, and then leave their rotting bodies hanging there to be devoured by vultures. The Mosaic Law insisted that anyone being impaled, usually after execution, should not remain there overnight (Deut. 21:22-23). Such a person was under God’s curse, and to leave him exposed would be to desecrate the land in their minds.
“Their legs might be broken”: In order to hasten death for certain reasons, soldiers would smash the legs of the victim with an iron mallet. Not only did this action induce shock and additional loss of blood, but it prevented the victim from pushing with his legs to keep breathing and thus the victim died due to asphyxiation.
It was very important that the legs of the Lamb of God not be broken. This Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread was also associated with the Passover celebration. For Jesus to be the Passover Lamb, He must be dead before 6 p.m. He was dead at 3 p.m. He hung on the cross six hours from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
He had to be entombed before 6 p.m. when Sabbath started. It was a very serious offense to work on Sabbath. This death at 3 p.m. gave time for them to go and ask His body and bury it in the cave.
Well.... this is a gruesome way to start a Monday morning. So... first... time.... The Passover Celebration is not just a one day event. It begins on the 15th and goes to the 21st. On their calendar... the month would be Nissan... which is April or May on our calendar. So... apparently.... Jesus was crucified on Friday. He had to be in the tomb by 6PM so that the descendants of Jacob [Israel] could get back home by 6PM for the Sabbath. Remember... no one could work on the Sabbath.... unless of course you were one of those who had to go around squealing on whoever did lift a finger or a "mat". The Sabbath went from 6PM on Friday to 6PM on Saturday. It was sundown to sundown... a full day.
In yesterday's Bible Study.... actually, in the commentary.... the Roman clock went from midnight to midnight.... while the Jewish clock would go from sundown to sundown..... a full day.... sun up to sun down.... a day..... or sun down to sun up... a night. Jesus was brought before Pilate on the 6th hour... which was confusing because it could be 6AM Roman time or Noon Jewish time.
In this study.... the commentary tells us that He was on the cross by 9AM and off the cross by 3PM. God is indeed merciful.... the torture was short. considering the agony the two other blokes had to continue through. Those two were not dead in six hours.... they had a ways to go... because the soldiers broke their legs so they couldn't straighten up and breath every now and then. On top of that... no one was in a rush to get them off the cross so they would stay there, stinky, drawing vultures for days.... a warning... don't mess with Rome.
The vinegar has always been confusing to me.... but John cleaned it up. It was a normal occurrence for the guards to offer the victims something for pain. Jesus didn't take that drink. He turned it down.... Jesus felt every second of the torture on the cross. That's probably why He called out to God.... because He was in agony.... that He had to endure.... to be the perfect sacrifice. The other two, took the pain killer, and as a result... the torture of the cross seemed to last longer for them... it took them longer to die.
Jesus did allow them to give Him a last drink... something to wet his whistle so He could make that final statement.... "It is done". He got on the cross before the Passover Sabbath.... and He was going in the Tomb on time. The plan was on track. All Jesus needed was a little something to wet His whistle so He could call it "done".
Now... a lot has been said about breaking the bones.... In order to speed things up.... in mid afternoon, apparently, the guards would stop the victims from being able to straighten enough to take a breath by breaking their legs. This would bring on the asphyxiation and death.
However.... Jesus wasn't supposed to have His legs broken.... it was a rule about the lamb.... the lamb that was sacrificed for the Passover had to be blemish free... a healthy lamb with no broken bones.
Ever since I read all the commentary, and footnotes, for this mornings study... I've been thinking of a broken chicken leg. I bought a bulk bag of chicken legs. They were frozen solid so I defrosted them overnight.... and the next day they all had to be cleaned and cooked for a stew I was making... It was five pounds of chicken legs.... a lot of legs... too many to mess with frying... and since they were once frozen... they had to be cooked that day. The veggies were all pre-roasted in the pot... and I was cleaning the legs. I reached into the cold water and pulled out a leg... and it was broken.... the bone was broken about 2/3 way down from the thigh joint.... and I wanted to gag. Odd.. right?
The cooking of chicken legs is a normal occurrence for us southern born humans..... cleaning the chicken before cooking is the right thing to do. I have friends who are really squeamish about touching their food during cooking... but not me. None of that was a problem... until I saw that broken leg... and then I was reminded that this was once a chicken... and that chicken had been broken.... and the pain that little chicken must have endured... well it made the whole killing part clear... and that made me sick. Odd... I didn't have a problem with cooking up an unblemished leg... but a broken one.... that would just be part of a stew anyway.... got to me.
Jesus was supposed to take the place of the lambs that were slaughtered back in Egypt so that the blood from those lambs could be smeared on the door posts. The blood on the door post was a sign to the angel of death... to skip that house. The lamb had to be perfect.... un blemished... and un broken. Jesus was supposed to take the place of the lamb... without blemish...and unbroken.
He was pierced.... they had to prove He was indeed dead. That question had to be quashed before He went to the tomb... because in order to say He conquered death and walked out... [as opposed to just walked out]... of the tomb... He had to be absolutely dead before He went in the tomb. When they shoved that sword in His gut.... water and blood came out.... He didn't even wince.... He was dead.... dead and unbroken.... a perfect sacrifice for those jealous Pharisees and Sadducees.
At 3PM Roman Time.... Jesus of Nazareth was dead.... unbroken.
