John 19:31 - Meaning and Application

This account of the piercing of Christ’s side after his death is recorded only by John, the evangelist. Notice, first, the superstitious concern of the Jews that led to it (John 19:31). Because it was the day of preparation for the sabbath, and that sabbath was a “high day,” since it fell in the Passover week, they wanted the bodies removed from the crosses before sundown. They asked Pilate for the legs to be broken, which would surely end the victims’ lives, and then for the bodies to be buried out of sight.

Think about the respect they wanted others to think they had for the coming sabbath. It was one of the days of unleavened bread, and some think it was also the day for offering the firstfruits. Every sabbath is holy and good, but this one was a “great day.” Passover sabbaths are high days, and so are sacrament days, supper days, and communion days. These call for special preparation so they may truly be high days for us, like the days of heaven.

Also notice the shame they thought it would bring if the bodies stayed on the crosses. Dead bodies were not to remain exposed at any time (Deuteronomy 21:23). Yet the Jews would have let the Roman custom stand if this had not been such a special day. Since many visitors from all over were in Jerusalem, they feared it would offend them. They could also hardly bear the sight of Christ’s crucified body, for once their rage cooled, their consciences might trouble them.

Their request to Pilate was that the men, now as good as dead, might be put out of their misery. But this was not a merciful end, like a quick death. Breaking the legs would prolong the pain and make death far more agonizing. The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. The false holiness of hypocrites is hateful. These Jews wanted to seem very careful about the sabbath, yet they showed no concern for justice or righteousness. They had no conscience about bringing an innocent and excellent man to the cross, but they were bothered by a dead body hanging there.

Next comes the death of the two thieves who were crucified with him (John 19:32). Pilate was still trying to please the Jews, so he gave the order they wanted. The soldiers came, hardened against pity, and broke the legs of the two thieves. That would have forced terrible cries from them and made them die in great agony. One of those thieves was repentant and had already received Christ’s promise that he would soon be with him in paradise, yet he died in the same pain as the other thief. All things happen alike to all. Many believers go to heaven with bands in their death and die in deep sorrow. But the hardest dying pains do not block the comfort God gives holy souls on the other side of death.

Christ died and went to paradise, but he also appointed a guard to carry him there. That is the order of going to heaven, Christ first as the firstfruits and forerunner, then those who belong to Christ.

Then the truth of Christ’s death is tested and made certain. They assumed he was dead, so they did not break his legs (John 19:33). Jesus died in less time than crucified men usually did. Perhaps his body, being especially fine and tender, broke under the pain sooner. More likely, this showed that he gave up his life on his own and could die when he chose, even though his hands were nailed. Though he submitted to death, he was never conquered by it.

His enemies were sure he was really dead. The Jews were watching to make sure the execution was carried out, and they would not have missed this cruelty if they had thought he was still alive. Whatever plans people make, the Lord’s purpose will stand. They had meant to break his legs, but God had a different plan, and that plan prevented it.

To make absolutely certain he was dead, one soldier pierced his side with a spear, aiming at his heart, and blood and water came out at once (John 19:34). The soldier meant to settle the question of death and to replace the shameful way they treated the other two with this final wound. Tradition says this soldier was named Longinus and that he was healed of an eye disease when Christ’s blood fell on him. That story may be meaningful, but we have no solid authority for it.

God had a further purpose here. First, this gave clear proof that Christ truly died, which supports the proof of his resurrection. If he had only been in a trance or faint, his resurrection would have been false. But this spear reached the very sources of life, and by all the rules of nature, no human body could survive such a wound to the vital organs and the loss of blood and water that followed.

Second, it gave meaning to the purpose of his death. There was deep mystery in it, and the solemn witness to it (John 19:35) suggests something remarkable. The blood and water came out separately from the same wound, and that was surely significant. John later refers to this as an important matter (1 John 5:6, 1 John 5:8). The opening of Christ’s side was especially meaningful. When we want to prove our sincerity, we sometimes wish others could see into our hearts. In Christ’s opened side, we are given a view into his heart, and there we see love burning, love strong as death, and our names written there.

Some see here a reference to Adam’s side being opened in innocence. When Christ, the second Adam, fell into a deep sleep on the cross, his side was opened, and from it his church was taken and joined to him in marriage. See Ephesians 5:30, Ephesians 5:32. Mr. George Herbert, in his poem called The Bag, beautifully imagines our Saviour speaking to his disciples when his side was pierced: If you have anything to send or write, I have no bag, but here is room. Into my Father’s hands and sight, believe me, it will safely come. Whatever I receive from you will be close to my heart. If any of my friends later want to use me this way, the door will still be open. What he sends I will present, and even more, without hurting him. Sighs will carry anything to me.

Do not be discouraged by despair. The blood and water that flowed from Christ’s side were full of meaning. They point to the two great blessings all believers receive through Christ, justification and sanctification. Justification means being counted right with God, and sanctification means being made holy. The blood stands for forgiveness and atonement, while the water stands for cleansing and new birth.

Blood and water were used often under the law. Guilt had to be covered by blood, and uncleanness had to be washed away with water of purification. These two blessings always belong together. You are sanctified and you are justified, as Scripture says (1 Corinthians 6:11). Christ has joined them together, and we must not separate them. Both flowed from the pierced side of our Redeemer.

From Christ crucified we receive both the merit for our justification and the Spirit and grace for our sanctification. We need the second as much as the first (1 Corinthians 1:30). The two great ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, also point to these blessings. Through them, these gifts are shown, sealed, and applied to believers. Both ordinances owe their meaning and power to Christ.

It is not the water in the baptismal font that washes away sin, but the water that came from Christ’s side. It is not the wine at the table that calms the conscience and refreshes the soul, but the blood that came from Christ’s side. Now the rock was struck (1 Corinthians 10:4), now the fountain was opened (Zechariah 13:1), now the wells of salvation were dug (Isaiah 12:3). Here is the river whose streams make glad the city of our God.

The evangelist himself bears witness to the truth of this (John 19:35). Notice how fit he was to give such testimony. He reported what he saw, not what he had merely heard from others. He was an eyewitness, as he says elsewhere, of what he had seen and handled (1 John 1:1; 2 Peter 1:16), and he knew it with full understanding (Luke 1:3).

He also testified faithfully. Like a trustworthy witness, he told the truth, and he told the whole truth. He did not only speak it, he wrote it down, so it could remain as a lasting memorial. His record is certainly true, because he wrote from both his own observation and the guidance of the Spirit of truth, who leads into all truth. He was fully convinced himself of what he wrote, and he says, in effect, that he knows he is speaking truth.

He gave this testimony so that we might believe. He did not write only for his own comfort or for a few friends. He made it public for the world, not to satisfy curiosity, but to lead people to believe the gospel and find eternal good. This also helps strengthen weak Christians. Christ truly died, because his life’s blood was poured out. And the blood and water from his side show the benefits that flow from his death, both to justify and sanctify us. If anyone asks how we can be sure, the answer is plain, the one who saw it has testified.

All this also fulfilled Scripture, so that the Old Testament would be honored and the New Testament confirmed (John 19:36). First, his legs were not broken, and so the Scripture was fulfilled: not one of his bones would be broken. This was promised in a special way to Christ the righteous (Psalm 34:20). It was also pictured in the Passover lamb, whose bones were not to be broken (Exodus 12:46; Numbers 9:12). Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed for us (1 Corinthians 5:7). He is the Lamb of God (John 1:29), and as the true Passover, his bones remained unbroken.

There was meaning in this too. The strength of the body is in the bones. So the fact that none of Christ’s bones were broken shows that though he was crucified in weakness, his power to save was not weakened at all. Sin can break our bones, as it did David’s (Psalm 51:8), but it did not break Christ’s bones. He stood firm under the burden, fully able to save.

Second, Scripture was fulfilled in the piercing of his side (John 19:37): “They will look on me whom they have pierced” (Zechariah 12:10). The same Lord who pours out the Spirit of grace, and who can only be the God of the holy prophets, speaks there of himself. Here it is applied to Christ, “They will look on him.” This shows that the Messiah would be pierced, and here that promise found a fuller fulfillment than even in the piercing of his hands and feet.

It is also promised that when the Spirit is poured out, they will look on him and mourn. This was partly fulfilled when many who had betrayed and killed him were cut to the heart and came to believe in him. It will be fulfilled more fully, in mercy, when all Israel is saved. It will also be fulfilled in judgment, when those who stayed in unbelief will see him whom they pierced and mourn because of him (Revelation 1:7). But it applies to all of us. We have all been guilty of piercing the Lord Jesus, and we should all look to him with fitting grief and faith.