John 19:32-37 - Not one of his bones will be broken

19:32,33

The Roman soldiers complied with this. They first broke the legs of the men either side of Jesus. However, when they came to Jesus they discovered He was already dead. As an aside, one of the “anti-resurrection” theories is that Jesus did not actually die on the cross, some saying He “swooned”. This is a frankly ridiculous suggestion. First, when He appeared to various disciples He was perfectly healthy. Even if He had not actually died, He would have been in the most terrible and weakened state. However, the Romans were experts at building roads and killing people. They knew how to make sure someone was dead. So, seeing that Jesus was dead they did not break His legs.

19:34-37

Just to make sure, one of the soldiers thrust a spear into Him and there was a sudden flow of water and blood. The “water” is probably fluid that had accumulated around the heart. John has two purposes in reporting this. One is to demonstrate that Jesus did actually die. The death and resurrection of Jesus is not a myth, but an historical event. The other reason is the fulfilment of Scripture. See how seemingly innocuous events worked together for the fulfilment of Scripture, in this case Exodus 12:46 and Zech 12:10. It was because the Jewish leaders wanted to avoid having dead bodies out in the open on the Sabbath that we have proof beyond doubt that Jesus did actually die, and that Jesus was pierced by the spear.