SCRIPTURES FULFILLED
John 19:33-37 NKJV
33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. 35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. 36 For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, "Not one of His bones shall be broken." 37 And again another Scripture says, "They shall look on Him whom they pierced."
Chapter 19 continues John's account of Jesus' last hours. Verse one starts with Jesus being scourged. Thankfully, John does not go into great detail, but scourging was incredibly brutal and gruesome. As John tells the story of Jesus and Pilate, and Jesus on the cross on four different occasions, he uses the phrase 'that the Scripture might be fulfilled.'
In our verses for today, I am struck by how difficult the cross was for Jesus and for those who loved Him. The Roman soldiers would break the legs of those crucified to speed up the death process. With broken legs, an individual could not raise himself up to get a breath and would asphyxiate. They did not break Jesus' legs because He was already dead. And this points back to Scripture. In Numbers 9:12, when the nation of Israel killed the Passover lamb, none of the bones were to be broken. Psalms 34:20 says that He guards all his bones, and not one of them is broken. When they did not break Jesus' legs, Scripture was fulfilled.
And again, John lists another instance where Scripture was fulfilled. To make sure Jesus was dead, a soldier pierced his side with a spear. Besides that being traumatic for the loved ones of Jesus, it also fulfilled Scripture. Zechariah 12:10 says they will look on me, who they pierced. Psalms 22:16-18 speaks of pierced hands and feet and how they divided garments and gambled for His clothing.
John was there when Jesus was crucified. John was a witness to all that Jesus experienced. John refers to his testimony as true and a reason for belief. But John does not stop with his eyewitness account. He refers to the things that happened to Jesus as being the fulfillment of Scripture. He does not depend on his personal witness but rather continues to point to Jesus the fulfillment of Scripture.
APPLICATION
There is good reason for John to point to Scripture as a basis of belief. In constantly referring to Scripture, John is encouraging a faith in God's Word.
Scripture is the foundation of our belief in God. Scripture is the basis of our belief in Jesus. Scripture is amazingly accurate and dependable. We saw the accuracy of Scripture with Jesus, and we can depend on the reliability of Scripture in our lives.
PRAYER
Thank You, Father, for Your infallible Word. I can trust Your Word and see Scripture fulfilled in my life.