John 19:31-42

The Lance-thrust and the Burial. It has been said that these verses contain parts of two accounts of burial, by the Jews, and by Joseph. In reality the Jews only demand that the law of Deuteronomy 21:23, applicable to any day, should not be broken, especially considering the sanctity of the morrow, which was both a Sabbath and the great day of the Feast. The breaking of the legs was often allowed, as an act of mercy to the sufferers. In the Gospel of Peter the Jews object to it, in order that Jesus'suffering may not be shortened. As a means of ensuring death the lance-thrust is perfectly natural, and results which might easily be described by an actual witness in the terms of John 19:34 are not physiologically impossible (Exp., May 1916). Again it is easier to suppose that facts have caused the discovery of prophecy (cf. Exodus 12:46; Psalms 34:20, and Zechariah 12:10, Heb.), and not vice versa. Besides the significance of prophecy fulfilled, the author may have wished to show either that the death was real, against the Docetics, or as indicating what, at a later date, it came to signify to him, that the Lord came by water and blood (1 John 5:6), i.e. that the Passion as well as the Baptism was an essential note of His Messianic work. The account of the burial emphasizes its temporary character, which is also recognised in Mt. and Lk.