Joh
19:34 NKJV But one of the
soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came
out.
_ In this one action, our Lord’s
body was broken and His blood was shed.
1Co
11:24 KJV And
when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body,
which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
Luk
22:20 KJV
Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new
testament in my blood, which is shed for you.
_ With the broken loaf, we are remembering a
particular aspect of Jesus’ death for us. The breaking of His body. With the cup, we are remembering another
aspect, the shed blood.
_ Both aspects, the breaking and the shedding,
were accomplished by one action, the soldier’s spear piercing His side.
Joh
3:14-16 NKJV
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the
Son of Man be lifted up, (15) that whoever believes in Him should not
perish but have eternal life. (16) For God so loved the world that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life.
Num
21:9 NKJV So
Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent
had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
_ The serpent was on a pole, not a cross. So what is the connection? And why is it
important?
Impalement on a pole was the cruel form of
execution practiced in the ancient world before the even crueler Roman
innovation of crucifixion. Crucifixion kills by causing the lungs to fill with
fluid gradually cutting off the supply of oxygen to the body. The suffering is akin to that of slow
strangulation or of water boarding.
_ A second witness to a similarity between
impalement and crucifixion, in addition to John 3.14, is the Greek language
which uses the same word for both.
_ The details of both methods of execution,
like most information of ancient technology, have been sparsely preserved so we
must use conjecture to some extent. But two aspects should be considered. The action of hastening death for reasons of
mercy and / or expediency, and the action of demonstrating to witnesses that
death has assuredly occurred.
_ In the modern execution by firing squad, both
aspects are accomplished by the “coup de grace”. Following rifle shots through the chest by
the squad, an officer delivers a pistol shot through the head. In case the rifle shots were not immediately
mortal, this shot terminates life. It also accomplishes the other aspect, the
wound is witnessed by onlookers as obviously mortal.
_ Both aspects are also accomplished by one
action in the ancient method of execution by impalement. The body is pulled down on the sharpened pole
until diaphragm and heart are pierced and the pole protrudes from the shoulder.
_ The improved cruelty of crucifixion is
matched by the cruelty of the action taken to hasten the end of suffering and of
life. The legs are boken so that they may no longer be used to support the body
and lessen the suffering while extending the length of suffering.
_ The action taken to assuredly prove death is
separate in crucifixion. It is also more necessary than in other methods of
execution because the associated wounds, preliminary whipping and the piercing
of hands and feet are not at all mortal, but quite treatable.
_ A spear thrust though the side, piercing the
diaphragm and heart, gives ample evidence that death is certain by the sheer quantity
of blood that is shed.
_ It is this spear thrust that explains the
likeness of crucifixion to impalement. A
likeness that goes beyond mere lifting up and that has two witnesses, John
3.14-16 and the Greek language.
Rom
6:6 NKJV
knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of
sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
_ Those begotten again in Christ Jesus have
spiritually participated in His death.
Baptism signifies this. The body of the Savior was physically disabled
by the spear. The body of the old man is
spiritually disabled through his spiritual participation in the Savior’s
death. The bondage of the body to sin is
broken by the spear thrust through the heart and the loss of blood. Sin remains in the members of the believer’s
body as we find later in Romans 6; but the heart and soul are no longer under
sin’s dominion.
_ The spiritually broken body of the believer
is sustained and grows spiritually in new and eternal life by feeding
spiritually on the broken body of the Savior.
_ The spiritually thirsty soul of the believer
is refreshed and grows spiritually by drinking spiritually from the cup of the
Savior’s shed blood.
I2C A 141128ag A Joh19v34 bodies bloods gg |
I2C | 141128 2126 | A Joh19v34 bodies bloods
