ON THE CROSS AFTER DEATH – Charles Spurgeon
ON THE CROSS AFTER DEATH
“The Jews therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath day was a high day), besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that He was dead already, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. And he who has seen has testified, and his record is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, ‘Not one of His bones of Him shall be broken.’ And again another Scripture says, ‘They shall look on Him whom they pierced.’” John 19:31-37.
The Treatment of the Crucified Body
Criminals who were crucified by the Romans were allowed to rot upon the cross. That cruel nation can hardly be so severely condemned as our own people who, up to a late period, allowed the bodies of those condemned to die to hang in chains upon gallows in conspicuous places. The horrible practice is now abandoned, but it was retained to a time almost, if not quite, within living memory. I wonder whether any aged person here remembers such a horrible spectacle. Among the Romans, it was usual, for there are classical allusions to this horror showing the bodies of persons crucified were usually left to be devoured by ravenous birds. Probably out of deference to the customs of the Jews, the authorities in Palestine would, sooner or later, allow of the interment of the crucified, but they would by no means hasten it, since they would not feel such a disgust at the sight as an Israelite would. The Mosaic Law, which you will find in the Book of Deuteronomy, runs as follows—“If you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day” (21:22, 23). This alone would lead the Jews to desire the burial of the executed, but there was a further reason. Lest the land should be defiled upon the holy Sabbath of the Passover, the chief priests were importunate that the bodies of the crucified should be buried and, therefore, that their deaths should be hastened by the breaking of their legs. Their consciences were not wounded by the murder of Jesus, but they were greatly moved by the fear of ceremonial pollution! Religious scruples may live in a dead conscience. Alas, this is not the only proof of that fact—we could find many in our own day! The Jews hurried to Pilate and sought, as a blessing, the merciless act of having the legs of the crucified dashed to pieces with an iron bar. That act was sometimes performed upon the condemned as an additional punishment—but in this instance it was meant to be a finishing stroke—hastening death by the terrible pain which it would cause and the shock to the system which it would occasion. Ferocious hate of our Lord made His enemies forgetful of everything like humanity—doubtless the more of pain and shame which they could cause to Him, the better would they be pleased. Not, however, out of cruelty, but out of regard to the ceremonials of their religion, they, “besought Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away.” I have already told you that this breaking of the bones of the crucified was a Roman custom. We have evidence of this, since there is a Latin word, crucifragium, to express this barbarous act. Pilate had no hesitation in granting the desire of the Jews—what would he care about the dead body since he had already delivered up the living Man? Soldiers go at once to perform the hideous operation and they commence with the two malefactors. It is a striking fact that the penitent thief, although he was to be in Paradise with his Lord that day, was not, therefore, delivered from the excruciating agony occasioned by the breaking of his legs. We are saved from eternal misery, not from temporary pain!
Suffering and the Christian Life
Our Savior, by our salvation, gives no pledge to us that we shall be screened from suffering in this life. It is true, as the Proverb has it, “All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked; to the clean and to the unclean.” Accidents and diseases afflict the godly as well as the ungodly. Penitent or impenitent, we share the common lot of men and are born to troubles as the sparks fly upward. You must not expect, because you are pardoned, even if you have the assurance of it from Christ’s own lips, that, therefore, you shall escape tribulation! No, but from His gracious mouth you have the forewarning assurance that trial shall befall you, for Jesus said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation.” Suffering is not averted, but it is turned into a blessing! The penitent thief entered Paradise that very day, but it was not without suffering. Say, rather, that the terrible stroke was the actual means of the prompt fulfillment of his Lord’s promise to him! By that blow, he died that day, otherwise, he might have lingered long. How much we may, any of us, receive by the way of suffering it were hard to guess—perhaps the promise that we shall be with our Lord in Paradise will be fulfilled that way.
Jesus’ Death on the Cross
At this point, it seemed more than probable that our blessed Lord must undergo the breaking of His bones, but “He was dead already.” It had pleased Him, in the infinite willingness with which He went to His Sacrifice, to yield up His life and His spirit had, therefore, departed. Yet one might have feared that the coarse soldiers would have performed their orders to the letter. Look, they do not! Had they conceived a dread of One around whom such prodigies had gathered? Were they, like their centurion, impressed with awe of this remarkable Person? At any rate, perceiving that He was dead already, they did not use their hammer. Happy are we to see them cease from such loathsome brutality. But we may not be too glad, for another outrage will take its place! To make sure that He was dead, one of the four soldiers pierced His side with a spear, probably thrusting His lance quite through the heart. Here we see how our gracious God ordained, in His Providence, that there should be sure evidence that Jesus was dead and that, therefore, the Sacrifice was slain. Paul declares this to be the Gospel, that the Lord Jesus died according to the Scriptures. Strange to say, there have been heretics who have ventured to assert that Jesus did not actually die. They stand refuted by this spear-thrust. If our Lord did not die, then no Sacrifice has been presented, the Resurrection is not a fact and there is no foundation of hope for men! Our Lord assuredly died and was buried—the Roman soldiers were keen judges in such matters and they saw that, “he was dead already” and, moreover, their spears were not used in vain when they meant to make death a certainty. When the side of Christ was pierced, there flowed from it blood and water—upon which a great deal has been said by those who think it proper to dilate upon such tender themes.
The Fulfillment of Scripture
It was supposed by some that by death the blood was divided, the clots parting from the water in which they float and that in a perfectly natural way. But it is not true that blood would flow from a dead body if it were pierced. Only under certain very special conditions would blood gush forth. The flowing of this blood from the side of our Lord cannot be considered as a common occurrence—it was a fact entirely by itself! We cannot argue from any known fact in this case, for we are here in a new region. Granted, that blood would not flow from an ordinary dead body, yet remember that our Lord’s body was unique, since it saw no corruption. Whatever change might come over a body liable to decay, we may not ascribe any such change to His frame and, therefore, there is no arguing from facts about common bodies so as to conclude from them anything concerning our blessed Lord’s body. Whether, in His case, blood and water flowed naturally from His holy and incorruptible body, or whether it was a miracle, it was evidently a most notable and remarkable thing and John, as an eyewitness, was evidently astonished at it—so astonished at it that he recorded a solemn affirmation in order that we might not doubt his testimony. He was certain of what he saw and he took care to report it with a special note in order that we might believe—as if he felt that if this fact was truly believed, there was a certain convincing power which would induce many to believe on our Lord Jesus as the appointed Savior!
The Fulfillment of Prophecies and Types
I could enter into many details, but I prefer to cast a veil over this tender mystery. It is scarcely reverent to be discoursing anatomy when the body of our adorable Lord is before us. Let us close our eyes in worship rather than open them with irreverent curiosity. The great task before me this morning is to draw truth out of this well of wonders. I shall ask you to look at the events before us in three lights—first, let us see, here, the fulfillment of Scripture. Secondly, the identification of our Lord as the Messiah. And thirdly, the instruction which He intends.
The Fulfillment of Scripture
Two things are predicted—not a bone of Him must be broken and He must be pierced. These were the Scriptures which now remained to be accomplished. Last Lord’s-Day morning we were, all of us, delighted as we saw the fulfillment of Scripture [#1955—Jesus Declining the Legions] in the capture of our Lord and His refusal to deliver Himself from His enemies. The theme of the fulfillment of Scripture is worth pursuing yet further in an age when Holy Scripture is treated with so much slight and is spoken of as having no Inspiration in it, or, at least, no Divine Authority by which its Infallibility is secured. You and I favor no such error! On the contrary, we conceive it to be to the last degree, mischievous. “If the foundations are removed, what can the righteous do?” We are pleased to notice how the Lord Jesus Christ and those who wrote concerning Him treated the Holy Scriptures with an intensely reverent regard. The prophecies that went before of Christ must be fulfilled—and holy souls found great delight in dwelling upon the fact that they were so! I want you to notice, concerning this case, that it was amazingly complicated. It was negative and positive—the Savior’s bones must not be broken and, He must be pierced. In the type of the Passover lamb, it was expressly enacted that not a bone of it should be broken—therefore not a bone of Jesus must be broken. At the same time, according to Zechariah 12:10, the Lord must be pierced. He must not only be pierced with the nails and so fulfill the prophecy, “They pierced My hands and My feet,” but He must be conspicuously pierced so that He can be emphatically regarded as a Pierced One. How were these prophecies and a multitude more, to be accomplished? Only God, Himself, could have brought to pass the fulfillment of prophecies which were of all kinds and appeared to be confusing—and even in contradiction to each other! It would be an impossible task for the human intellect to construct so many prophecies, types, foreshadowing and then to imagine a person in whom they should all be embodied! But what would be impossible to men has been literally carried out in the case of our Lord! There are prophecies about Him and about everything connected with Him—from His hair to His garments, from His birth to His tomb—and yet they have all been carried out to the letter!
The Crucifixion and the Identity of the Messiah
That which lies immediately before us was a complicated case, for if reverence to the Savior would spare His bones, would it not also spare His flesh? If a coarse brutality pierced His side, why did it not break His legs? How can men be kept from one act of violence—and that an act authorized by the authority—and yet perpetrate another violence which had not been suggested to them? But, let the case be as complicated as it were possible for it to have been, Infinite Wisdom knew how to work it out in all points—and He did so! The Christ is the exact substance of the foreshadowing of the Messianic prophecies!
The Safety of the Saints
Next, I must briefly point out the safety of the saints. It is marvelous how full of eyes the things of Jesus are, for His unbroken bones look backward to the Paschal lamb, but they also look forward throughout all the history of the Church to that day when He shall gather all His saints in one body and none shall be missing. Not a bone of His mystical body shall be broken! There shall be no lame, maimed Christ, no half-worked redemption! The purpose for which He came to accomplish shall be perfectly achieved to the glory of His name!
The Salvation of Sinners
Lastly, we see in this passage the salvation of sinners. Jesus Christ’s side is pierced to give to sinners the double cure of sin—the taking away of its guilt and power and, better than this—sinners are to have their hearts broken by a sight of the Crucified. By this means they are also to obtain faith. “They shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him.” Beloved, our Lord Jesus came not only to save sinners, but to seek them! His death not only saves those who have faith, but it creates faith in those who have it not! The Cross produces the faith and repentance which it demands. If you cannot come to Christ with faith and repentance, come to Christ for faith and repentance, for He can give them to you! He is pierced on purpose that you may be pricked to the heart. His blood, which freely flows, is shed for many for the remission of sins. What you have to do is just look and, as you look, those blessed feelings which are the marks of conversion and regeneration shall be worked in you by a sight of Him! Oh, blessed lesson! Put it into practice this morning! Oh, that in this great house many may now have done with self and look to the crucified Savior and find eternal life in Him! For this is the main end of John’s writing this record. And this is the chief design of our preaching upon it—we long that you may believe! Come, you guilty! Come and trust the Son of God who died for you! Come, you foul and polluted! Come and wash in this sacred stream poured out for you! There is life in a look at the Crucified One! There is life at this moment for every one of you who will look to Him! God grant you may look and live, for Jesus Christ’s sake! Amen.