Monday, November 30, 2009

Why Did the Roman Soldier Stab Jesus with His Spear?

“Why did the Roman soldier stab Jesus with a spear when scripture clearly states he was aware that Jesus was already dead?”
The account of Jesus’ is being stabbed on the cross by a Roman Soldier is found only in the Gospel of John 19.31-34: “Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews 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. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.”
John’s report of Jesus being stabbed on the cross is apparently the earliest attempt to verify Jesus’ death. There is no Biblical record of the name of the soldier who stabbed Jesus however, he was called Longinus, and in other versions he is called Casca. But these are only traditional - there is no proof and supposedly he was blind (why they had a blind Roman soldier remains to be seen). He is said to have stabbed Jesus and the blood that flowed from the body down the shaft of the spear of destiny cured his blindness and made a believer out of him.
In all the gospel accounts we read of surprise by the Romans that Jesus died so quickly on the cross. It is not surprising, then, that Pilate found it difficult to believe that Jesus had died so soon (Mark 15:44, 45). Crucifixion was common form of execution in the ancient world, mainly by the Carthaginians, Persians, Seleucids, and of course the Romans who used it until the fourth century, when Emperor Constantine eradicated it.
The usual crucifixion began with the victim being flogged and severely beaten. He was then forced to carry or drag the crossbeam of the cross to the place of execution and then nailed to the crossbeam which was then raised up and attached to the post about 10 to 12 feet (3 or 4 meters) off the ground. The feet were then nailed to the post. The legs were then often broken with an iron bar.
According to medical historians, The death of the victim, depending upon age and physical condition, would usually be the result of heart failure, suffocation or exhaustion - but rarely soon. In some cases, it could take days. In any event, the death could be hastened along by breaking the victim’s legs which initiated death by asphyxiation, since the victim wouldn’t be able to use his legs to push him up to get a breath of air. But Jesus’ death took less than six hours, and that without breaking his legs. A peculiar phenomenon of the day, as seen by the Romans’ reactions. And such an exception gave rise to those who doubted the veracity of Jesus’ death.
So, John had a vested interest in demonstrating that Jesus had actually died and the stabbing served to show this.
According to his superiors orders, the soldier who heard Jesus “breathe his last” (Mark 15.37; Luke 23.46) thrust his spear which was to verify that the report was accurate. when “blood and water” flowed out and as the bleeding stopped, it was clear the death sentence had been carried out. Throughout the Bible, Jesus Christ is referred to as "The Lamb of God", which is a direct reference to the slaying of the Passover lamb that was always done by its shed blood, from someone actually killing it (Exodus 12:6-7). It was not to be strangled (i.e. suffocated, as happened to crucifixion victims after their legs were broken - hanging from the arms alone eventually causes suffocation from the person unable to inhale because the full body weight would then have to be drawn upward with the chest muscles). It is also very interesting to note that none of the lamb's bones were to be broken (Numbers 9:12), something that was not done to the Christ.
It took nearly 1,800 years before we would know why Jesus died in six hours, when the norm was 36. In 1805 Dr. Gruner wrote in A Commentary on the Death of Jesus that Jesus had died of a ruptured heart muscle. In 1847 Dr. Stroud of London corroborated Gruner’s assertions, when he released his own report based on numerous post mortem examinations that claimed Jesus had not died directly from the crucifixion, but from a “laceration or rupture of the heart.”
That a Roman soldier stabbed Jesus with a spear, whether to verify or to vilify and it became clear that Jesus had died. And somehow, it seems fitting to know that Jesus died not because he was exhausted and weakened, but because he was heart broken. He died with a ruptured heart on the Cross, but not because of it.

24 comments:

  1. pr checker seo resources backlink service generate backlinks

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am regular visitor, how are you everybody? This post posted at this
    site is genuinely fastidious.
    Feel free to visit my webpage - linkaufbau

    ReplyDelete
  3. Excellent way of explaining, and good post to take information regarding
    my presentation focus, which i am going to convey in university.



    My page :: how to buy a car
    Also see my web page: buying a car with bad credit,buy a car with bad credit,how to buy a car with bad credit,buying a car,buy a car,how to buy a car

    ReplyDelete
  4. Gгeetings I am so delighteԁ I founԁ уour webѕite, I
    rеally found yоu by erгor, whilе I ωаѕ
    looκing on Gοogle for sοmething еlse, Anyωayѕ I am here noω
    and would јust likе to ѕay thanκѕ а lot foг а maгvelous poѕt and а all гоund enjoyable blog (I alѕo loѵe thе theme/dеsign), I ԁоn't have time to look over it all at the moment but I have book-marked it and also added your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read a great deal more, Please do keep up the great work.

    Here is my webpage - auto loans for bad credit

    ReplyDelete
  5. I do not even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was good.

    I do not know who you are but definitely you're going to a famous blogger if you aren't already
    ;) Cheers!

    Look into my web blog buy a car with bad credit

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your own pοѕt hаѕ prοven useful to me.
    ӏt’s very helpful anԁ уou're simply clearly really well-informed in this area. You have opened our sight to be able to various thoughts about this particular topic using intriquing, notable and reliable articles.
    My web site : Xanax

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hello! I just would like to offer you a big thumbs up for your great info you've got right here on this post. I'll be returning to your blog for more soon.

    [url=http://onlinepokiesking4u.com]onlinepokiesking4u[/url]

    ReplyDelete
  8. If you are going for mοst excеllent contents like I ԁo, simplу paу a viѕit thiѕ
    web site еverydау as it provіdes feature contents, thankѕ

    My blog post - personal loans debt consolidation

    ReplyDelete
  9. Your articlе provides verified useful to me.
    It’s vеry іnformative and уou're simply certainly really knowledgeable in this area. You get opened up my face for you to varying views on this kind of subject matter together with intriguing and sound content.
    Here is my site ... ativan

    ReplyDelete
  10. It's a pity you don't have a donate button!

    I'd certainly donate to this fantastic blog! I suppose for now i'll settle
    for bookmarking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account.
    I look forward to brand new updates and will
    share this site with my Facebook group. Chat soon!

    debt relief programs

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks in favor of sharing such a fastidious opinion, article is good, thats
    why i have read it entirely

    Here is my web site - Chaussures De Football

    ReplyDelete
  12. Normally I do not learn article on blogs, however I wish to
    say that this write-up very forced me to check out and
    do so! Your writing taste has been amazed me. Thank you,
    quite nice post.

    My web-site; Air Jordan 2013

    ReplyDelete
  13. Outstanding story there. What occurred after? Good luck!


    Also visit my web page; Sac a main Guess

    ReplyDelete
  14. This is resplendent. I've researched this theory a while back though this is quite accurate. Kudos

    Feel free to visit my blog; seo in london

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hey! Would you mind if I share your blog with my myspace group?
    There's a lot of folks that I think would really enjoy your content. Please let me know. Many thanks

    Review my page :: payday loans no brokers

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hola! I've been following your site for a while now and finally got the courage to go ahead and give you a shout out from Porter Tx! Just wanted to say keep up the good job!

    Here is my website - Shower Head Filter

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hello, I enjoy reading through your article post. I wanted to write a little comment to support you.


    Take a look at my web-site ... 60minutepaydayreview.net; http://koreannewchurch.com/letter/312630,

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi there colleagues, how is everything, and what you wish
    for to say about this article, in my view its really amazing in favor of me.


    My website click the next web page (http://www.worldvisiontkd.com/?document_srl=44550)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Howdy! This article could not be written much better! Looking at this post reminds me of my previous roommate!
    He always kept preaching about this. I'll send this information to him.
    Fairly certain he will have a good read. Many thanks for sharing!


    My blog post - photography tricks

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hey There. I found your blog using msn. This is a very well written article.
    I'll be sure to bookmark it and come back to read more of
    your useful info. Thanks for the post. I will certainly comeback.



    Feel free to surf to my web site: Low T

    ReplyDelete
  21. Great article! This is the kind of information that are
    meant to be shared around the net. Disgrace on Google for not positioning
    this publish higher! Come on over and discuss with my
    web site . Thank you =)
    \

    Review my web blog: buscar camisetas baratas españa

    ReplyDelete
  22. It's a pity you don't have a donate button! I'd certainly donate
    to this brilliant blog! I suppose for now i'll settle
    for bookmarking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account.

    I look forward to new updates and will share this website with my Facebook group.
    Chat soon!

    Stop by my weblog - Navy Blue Toms

    ReplyDelete
  23. This is the perfect site for anyone who wants
    to understand this topic. You realize a whole lot its almost hard to argue with you (not that I really will need
    to…HaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a topic which has been written about
    for decades. Great stuff, just great!

    Check out my website :: garcinia cambogia extract yahoo answers

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hello, I enjoy reading through your post. I wanted to write a little comment to support you.



    Here is my website :: Minneapolis condos (http://jmortonmusings.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/i-hate-it-when-i-lose-my-contacts-so.html)

    ReplyDelete