No Bone Broken

"...and all my bones are out of joint..." Psalm 22:14

When Jesus was crucified, not one bone in His body was broken. This fulfills the prophecy that was written in Psalm 34:20: "He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken."

The Gospel of John gives us an account of how this prophecy was fulfilled during Jesus' crucifixion.

"The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for the sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs" John 20: 31-33

Breaking the legs of the person being crucified sped up their death. When the legs were broken, the person could no longer push the weight of their body up, against the nail in their feet, to fill their lungs with air. The two criminals that were crucified on either side of Jesus had their legs broken by the Roman soldiers. Jesus had already given up His spirit at this point, so His legs were not broken.

I think it is important to also focus on how Psalm 22:14 describes Jesus' bones at the crucifixion. Verse 14 does not mention anything about broken bones. Instead, it mentions bones that are out of joint. The bones being pulled out of joint relates directly to Jesus' crucifixion as well. When a person was crucified, the weight of their entire body hung by the nails in their wrist/hand area. The weight of the body would ultimately cause the shoulders and elbows to be pulled out of joint. I read an article written by a doctor that describes the occurrence of Jesus' experiencing dislocation stating, "When the cross was erected upright, there was tremendous strain put on the wrists, arms and shoulders, resulting in a dislocation of the shoulder and elbow joints" (Terasaka, 2010).

You may be thinking this is pretty graphic. And you know what? It is! Understanding the suffering Jesus did for you and me should make us even more thankful for what He did for us. We have become so desensitized to the image of Christ on the cross. It should break our heart, and cause us to rejoice at the same time to know that we have a Savior who loves us that much to give His life for ours.

And don't get lost in the fact that Jesus died to save the world. Jesus would have still gone to the cross and endured every moment of suffering if you or I were the only person in the world. That is how much He loves us!