This is the final act of injury to the Lord, and we should consider it. Have you ever wondered why the soldier pierced the side of Jesus? It was just as cruel as the first smack in the face.
There was a purpose for every moment of Good Friday, yet God didn’t plan all this for his son. He didn’t want him to be beaten and smacked around, with the last blow being a pierced side. It was however necessary for him to suffer and be crucified because of our sinfulness. He had to suffer to the death. The prophets of the Old Testament told about his sufferings, not planned them. Both the Father and the Son knew that Jesus would be in the hands of sinful men who would do whatsoever they wanted to him.
Piercing his side was unnecessary. He was already dead, and they knew it. Why did they do it? They didn’t antagonize the thieves this much. They wore no crown of thorns or were beaten as Jesus was. Jesus had done nothing wrong, so why did they do it? The thieves were not dead; their legs were broken so they would smother and die. When they came to Jesus they saw he was dead. They still wounded him; the one part of his body not lacerated was probably his side; the soldier took care of that. John bears record of it that we might believe.
John 19:31 “The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. 32 Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: 34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. 35 And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. 36 For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. 37 And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.”
This was unnecessary in a sense. These words of that old song are fitting. “Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord to the cross where thou hast died. Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord to thy precious bleeding side.” Even after his death, blood and water flowed. Peter said our Lord is precious. God’s purpose was for good; it was not for him but for those who afflicted him. This is a perfect example of grace.
Isaiah 53 tells us how Jesus would be treated. Jesus would not enjoy a full life. As God in the flesh he should have had everything, but cruelty followed him even from a baby. He was a poor Nazarene, the people who were made fun of and looked down on. However, in the midst of the ghetto of Israel was a virgin named Mary, a carpenter named Joseph and the Son of God. Before becoming a disciple Nathaniel even asked if any good thing could come from Nazareth. Long before the body of Jesus was torn he was tried, pushed, and pressed to the limits. He kept his face toward the cross so we could be saved.
Jesus couldn’t just fall over dead. He had to shed his blood; his body had to be broken; a sacrifice had to be made because without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. God came in human form knowing he would suffer in body. He would watch himself bleed out to bring our salvation. He paid the price in his body to cover all our actions, thoughts, and deeds of sin. By the time he died he was torn from head to toe. His head was crowned with thorns and his hands and feet were held to the cross by nails. All this was done due to the hatred, cruelty, and resistance to him. He was wounded in soul, spirit, and body. Sin was literally driven right into his body. In trade for sin came blood. His body was torn so we wouldn’t be. He paid the price we deserve to pay. Jesus took the full blow when he became our substitute. He got in the way of the hammer and the whip and took it all to save us. Psalm 22 says his visage would be so marred he wouldn’t look like a human.
Why did his side have to be wounded? The soldiers confirmed he was dead, but in one final act of cruelty they pierced his side. It couldn’t have hurt him. He wouldn’t feel the pain. He was already dead. They desecrated a corpse. Yet from that piercing came the final blood from his body. That blood keeps us alive today.
What does it show us? We see how bad we can be when sin reigns in our life. Don’t say “I’d never do that!” We are capable of anything when sin reigns. The act of piercing his side shows us just how much we need to repent. Sin is the spear that kills us. It breaks our fellowship with the Lord, and the only way to be reconciled is by his blood.
The Father allowed Jesus’ dead body to be pierced. Sin keeps us from his side. The blood came out so we can be there. What do we have? The wounds in his feet let us fall there in repentance. The touch of his nail-torn hands puts our hands in his. They bring us to his side, his riven side. By this He came to our side.
With his stripes we are healed. In other words, we are reconciled to him. Through his pierced side we have such close fellowship. So yes, “draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord to thy precious bleeding side.” That’s a good prayer for us to pray.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 