#jesusstuff
Q: Why did blood and water come from Jesus' side on the cross?
A: When someone was crucified, we tend to assume they died from the terrors and trauma of the crucifixion itself. However, that is a misnomer. Death by crucifixion was actually torture that consummated in asphyxiation....death by the inability to breathe. The victim was required to pull himself up in order to take a breath. When his strength was gone, he would no longer be able to pull himself into a position to inhale, therefore, cutting off his air supply and killing him.
If the Romans wanted to expedite or assure death, they would break the legs, making it impossible for the victim to push up and gain breath. Then death was either proven or quickly facilitated. In Jesus case, however, the legs were not broken for some strange, unexplained reason. Instead, a spear was forced into his side to provide proof of death. This accomplished two things: 1. It unknowingly fulfilled prophecy that "no bone of his body would be broken". 2. It revealed something about the cause of death. The heart is surrounded by a sack called the pericardium. During great physical stress, like would be experienced during a crucifixion, the pericardium would begin to fill with fluid. When the spear was thrust into Jesus side, the pericardium was pierced. Therefore, water flowed from the wound. However, scripture states that blood and water flowed from his side. The explanation for that is one of two things. Either the spear pierced the pericardium and the actual heart itself, or the heart had actually burst and the blood filling the heart was mixed with the water of the pericardium and both flowed out together. If the latter were the case, the cause of death for Jesus would have been a heart that had literally burst. I guess another way of saying it would be that he died of a "broken heart", literally and figuratively.
A: When someone was crucified, we tend to assume they died from the terrors and trauma of the crucifixion itself. However, that is a misnomer. Death by crucifixion was actually torture that consummated in asphyxiation....death by the inability to breathe. The victim was required to pull himself up in order to take a breath. When his strength was gone, he would no longer be able to pull himself into a position to inhale, therefore, cutting off his air supply and killing him.
If the Romans wanted to expedite or assure death, they would break the legs, making it impossible for the victim to push up and gain breath. Then death was either proven or quickly facilitated. In Jesus case, however, the legs were not broken for some strange, unexplained reason. Instead, a spear was forced into his side to provide proof of death. This accomplished two things: 1. It unknowingly fulfilled prophecy that "no bone of his body would be broken". 2. It revealed something about the cause of death. The heart is surrounded by a sack called the pericardium. During great physical stress, like would be experienced during a crucifixion, the pericardium would begin to fill with fluid. When the spear was thrust into Jesus side, the pericardium was pierced. Therefore, water flowed from the wound. However, scripture states that blood and water flowed from his side. The explanation for that is one of two things. Either the spear pierced the pericardium and the actual heart itself, or the heart had actually burst and the blood filling the heart was mixed with the water of the pericardium and both flowed out together. If the latter were the case, the cause of death for Jesus would have been a heart that had literally burst. I guess another way of saying it would be that he died of a "broken heart", literally and figuratively.
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