Sermon: His Bones Were Not Broken

The Church is Bone of His Bone
#1757B
Ted E. Bowling
Given 20-Apr-24; 33 minutes 2024-04-20

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As has already been said today, tomorrow night we will be taking the Passover. And there is no doubt that we have been preparing for this solemn night (as Ronny just said), by examining ourselves as we are commanded to do. And we do want to take the Passover with the right attitude and a right heart.

But we must also remember that the focus of Passover is not on us, but it is on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the payment of our sins that we might be forgiven. And throughout the Old Testament, there are scriptures that bear out the fulfillment of this, that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, and He is the perfect antitype of the lamb that was slain at that first Passover back in Exodus 12. And as I said, there are many prophecies throughout the Scriptures that were fulfilled at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

But today, I want to focus on just one of those points because it has had some questions. That is, were the bones of Jesus broken? This fact, sometimes easily overlooked, is essential in the fulfillment of prophecies and a testament that Jesus Christ is our Messiah.

The practice of breaking the legs of the crucified was a brutal means to expedite death. Yet Jesus was spared that fate, aligning with the scriptures that said that His bones would not be broken. Now, I am sure that we have all heard the term, Christ's broken body. I have used it myself many, many times, because it is a term that we often relate to or hear during this Passover season. So where does this term come from? Well, if you turn to I Corinthians chapter 11, we will read verses 23 and 24.

I Corinthians 11:23-24 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; for this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me."

I am reading from the New King James version, and I would also say that many other of the newer versions say the same thing given the massive influence of the King James Bible on the English speaking world. This means that this phrase "broken for you" is a part of tradition in many churches. But the question is, is it accurate?

Now in the margin of my King James Bible here, there is a footnote saying, "omit broken," meaning if you go back to the original Greek text, you will not find that word there. The Bible manuscripts do not indicate that Christ's body was broken. The King James translators, not realizing the significance of Jesus' bones remaining unbroken, incorrectly embellished the Greek text. So what is the correct translation?

Well, according to biblical scholar, E. W. Bullinger, he agrees that the word broken should not be there. He translates verse 23, "Jesus took bread." But in verse 24 it says, "and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "This is My body for you. This do in remembrance of Me." This translation matches up perfectly with the accounts of the Passover meal recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

Please turn to Matthew chapter 26, verse 26. We will just look at these three different locations here.

Matthew 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to His disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."

Mark 14:22 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave to them and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."

Luke 22:19 And He took bread, and gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."

So you will see in the gospels, the word broke here is only used in reference to Jesus breaking the bread. The text never says that Jesus' body was broken. Now, Mark and Matthew's are identical, but Luke's account is slightly different, in which he includes the word "given," but it fits perfectly with the other gospels. So in I Corinthians 11, Paul is quoting from that Passover evening saying, "This is My body for you; do this in remembrance of Me."

Now, in the gospel of John, he does not give the account of the Passover service. But if you read in John 6, verse 51 here we see the words of Jesus that do parallel what was said at that Passover service.

John 6:51 "I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I give for the life of the world."

So on Passover evening, Jesus took that physical bread, He broke it, and shared it with the disciples. He was speaking of sharing His life, but His body was never broken—and it is an important distinction.

Please turn to John chapter 19. Now, this is John's account of the crucifixion where he stood by Mary, Christ's mother. I am going to begin in verse 28.

John 19:28-34 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, "I thirst!" Now a vessel of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. Therefore, because it was a Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.

As John watched the crucifixion, he realized and saw everything that Jesus was suffering, but he also saw that God spared His bones. That is why he goes on to say in verse 35.

John 19:35-37 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, "Not one of His bones shall be broken." And again another Scripture says, "They shall look on Him whom they pierced."

There are several reasons why it is significant that none of Jesus' bones were broken during the crucifixion. And that is what I want to go through today.

1. It is a fulfillment of prophecy.

David was inspired in the book of Psalms, chapter 34, verse 20 where it says, "He guards all his bones; not one of them is broken." And that is what John saw and realized at that moment that Scripture was being fulfilled.

2. Jesus is the fulfillment of a Passover lamb.

Jesus is the perfect antitype of the lamb that was slaughtered back there in Exodus. This was proclaimed at the beginning of the gospel of John. We see John the Baptist proclaiming the fact that Jesus was the Lamb of God.

John 1:29 The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him, and he said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

And then again, in verse 36 he repeats it.

John 1:36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!"

In this declaration, John the Baptist foretold and explained the role that Jesus would play as a sacramental lamb.

So let me turn back to the original, back into Exodus chapter 12. This is where we have the instructions of the Passover lamb. I am not going to go through every verse but just as the Passover lamb was chosen without blemish, without spot, just as Jesus Christ was innocent and pure.

Exodus 12:46 "In one house it shall be eaten; and you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones."

The instruction for the Passover lamb was specific. The bones of the Passover lamb were to remain intact. He does not mention the bones in any other sacrifice that were to be broken or be kept. It was never mentioned. But he specifically and carefully mentions the bones of the lamb here. And then we see this again in Numbers chapter 9, verse 12 where Moses is giving instruction on keeping the Passover.

Numbers 9:12 "They shall leave none of it until morning, nor break one of its bones. According to all the ordinances of the Passover, they shall keep it."

Again, this refers to the Passover lamb, emphasizing the importance of the bones to remain intact, just as Jesus Christ's bones remained intact as redemption and deliverance.

3. Here is another reason why his bones were not to be broken. Because He died just like that sacramental lamb. Jesus died of exsanguination. Jesus died by bleeding out, not by suffocation. Jesus died by bleeding out just like that first Passover lamb. In Exodus, we read about that first lamb again. This is in verse 7 of chapter 12.

Exodus 12:7 "And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it."

The lamb was to be slaughtered at twilight and his blood, again, applied to the doorframes of the house. The families would roast and eat the lamb, following specific instructions by God as they prepared to leave Egypt.

The slaughtering of the lamb was performed in a strictly prescribed manner which included slitting the throat of the animal to minimize the pain that it would go through. This was a procedure that was used by the priests that commonly made sacrifices and then they would catch the blood in the basin which they would use. So in this situation, this collective blood was then smeared on the lintels and the doorposts and Israel was saved from that 10th plague, the death of the firstborn. The blood of that lamb redeemed and bought back the firstborn of Israel, just as Jesus Christ bought back and redeemed us—each and every one of us—by the spilling of His blood.

So through these verses we see that Jesus was the perfect antitype of that lamb that was slain on the Passover. By the means of the blood being smeared, he bought them back. And this is a foreshadow of Jesus' blood redeeming us in our lives.

There is one big difference, though, between the death of that lamb and Jesus Christ. Where the lamb was slain with a minimal amount of pain, the Roman crucifixion was designed to be the most humiliating and painful death that they could bestow on a person. The Romans did everything in their power to maximize the pain that Jesus would go through.

First, He was scourged with a whip or a flog. The whip that they used had several braids in it. And in each one of these braids, embedded into them were iron balls or sharp pieces of sheep bone. And the Roman executioner beat Him. And one of the reasons they did this was to create shock and blood loss. This type of whip literally tore the flesh from His body, thus fulfilling another prophecy in Psalm 22 saying that, you were able to count My bones." He was so exposed that it is difficult to even imagine. We have never seen anything like this before, this type of torturing.

A more stunning scripture is found in Isaiah chapter 52.

Isaiah 52:14 His appearance was so disfigured [lost all human likeness, His appearance was so changed], beyond that of any human being and his form beyond human likeness.

And after being severely abused, and already in a weakened state, the executioners nailed Jesus, along with the other two other men, to a stake with His arms above His head and then nailed His feet slightly bent to the stake. This was to make them suffer the agony of putting all their weight upon the impaled feet. In another prophecy it says,

Psalm 22:14 I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint.

You see, in a crucifixion, after they nailed them down, they would raise the stake and then they would plunge that stake into the ground with a jarring jolt. This always makes me think of the movie Ben Hur. The one scene that is riveted in my mind is at the scene of the crucifixion which shows them from the rear, raising that stake and then you hear it drop with a loud, audible thump. And by this dropping into the hole is most likely where His shoulders were pulled out of joint. The victim, then, at that point had no choice but to bear his weight on his chest. He was immediately having trouble breathing as the weight causes His rib cage to lift and forced Him into almost a perpetual state of inhalation. He had to push up with His legs and then He could breathe easier, as long as He could endure that position. It is hard to imagine people willing to stand and watch such an event.

Now again, this could go on for more than days. That was possible. But to expedite death, the executioners would break the victim's legs so they can no longer push themselves up and death would shortly follow by suffocation. This breaking the legs is what happened to the men on both sides of Jesus. But the Jews, not wanting the crucifixion of Jesus to interfere with keeping their holy day, they requested the Romans to break their legs so they would not interfere with their keeping of a holy day. Such a hypocritical act.

When they came to Jesus, however though, He was already dead. They pierced His side instead, which is another fulfillment of prophecy. And in leaving Christ's legs unbroken, as I said earlier, it fulfilled another prophecy there in Psalm 34:20.

The point is, Jesus Christ did not suffocate to death like the two other men. But instead He died like that Passover lamb, for He bled to death, His blood spilled onto the earth and He expired an innocent and pure man. He had never sinned, just as that lamb was without spot or blemish as prophesied in Isaiah 53:7.

The unbroken bones of Jesus Christ are a testament to the perfection of His sacrifice, symbolizing defeat over sin and death for you and me.

There is one more point I would like to address and I think it is an important one for you and I. And that answer lies in the integrity of the Lord's body, the very people of God, of His bones. Please turn to Ephesians chapter 5. Scriptures here reveal that the saints of God are also represented by the bones of Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 5:25-30 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it. [Jesus as Lord does that for the church] For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.

You see, Paul is drawing a parallel between the relationship between husbands and wives with the relationship between Christ and the church. Paul is emphasizing the depth of love and commitment that there should be in a marriage, mirroring the love that Christ has for the church. Again, "for we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones."

We have heard this term so often, "bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh." You see here, Paul is quoting Adam. Turn back to Genesis, please, chapter 2. I will read start in reading in verse 21.

Genesis 2:21-24 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from the man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." Therefore a man should leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

You see, Paul realized that the church is that bride of Jesus Christ and that she is not separate from Him and is a central part of Him. We are intimately connected to Him and He loves us more than any other part of the creation.

Brethren, we are intricately connected to Jesus Christ. Just as our physical bodies have bones, flesh, and blood, spiritually, we are part of His body. His expression, bone of his bone, emphasizes the intimacy and the oneness that we share with Jesus Christ. Just as a husband and wife become one flesh in marriage, we are united with Christ in a profound and eternal bond. We are not distant or separate. We should be inseparable from Him.

Again, He does not want us to be broken, just as His bones were not broken. And that is why taking the Passover is so important. It is a renewing of our relationship and honoring our Savior when we take the bread and the wine. When it speaks of His flesh and of His bones, it really does underscore our identity as a part of His body. We are no longer followers, we are family, and we are intricately woven into His divine purpose.

Just as Jesus Christ's bones were not broken, the church of God is also intended to remain unbroken and not to be shattered into splinters. It is not God's will that the body of God, the body of Christ, the saints, be broken apart. It is His will that we be united in one, united in love, being of one mind with each other. Jesus Christ wants us to have that same oneness that He has with the Father.

Please turn to John 17, please, and I just want to read just a few verses here.

John 17:5 "And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was."

John 17:9-10 "I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them."

John 17:21 "that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me."

Brethren, Jesus is revealing this personal relationship that He had with the Father is the very same relationship that He has with you and me. As a church, we are preparing to be unified and made one as the bride of Christ and making ourselves ready for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. That is in Revelation 19:7.

Galatians 5:13 says, "For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." If you are only serving yourself, you will end up tearing everyone apart. But if we serve one another in love, we will build the church as He desired, unified and unbroken.

The basis of unity and oneness is a genuine care and deep concern for the complete well being of the brethren. Unity requires nothing less than putting ourselves on the line, putting our very lives on the line for each other's sake. Oneness demands a Christian love for his neighbor. He does not want us to be separated, He does not want us to be broken, just as He was unbroken.

Part of the Passover is the foot washing. You can read that in John 16. In Christ's final hours, He was not thinking of Himself; rather, His thoughts were upon His disciples, and you and me. Jesus divested Himself of His role as Lord and Master and became a servant. This is an act not only displaying humility and servanthood, but it really does carry a deeper spiritual significance for you and I.

Jesus washing the feet of His disciples is the demonstration of His love and leadership, serving as an example that we should be following. Christ's church is not a place. It is people who are willing to exhibit unity and love for each other. God commands all the brethren to be one, and unbroken.

So tomorrow night when we take the Passover, let us not be focused on ourselves, but on how Jesus died. How He died in our place that we would not be separated from Him for the rest of our lives, for eternity. Just as the lamb died and became that Passover meal, tomorrow night we will be taking the wine representing His blood that was shed just as that lamb. And we will take the bread that represents His body, His flesh.

Christ's body was not broken. It was the bread that was broken that we might share in a symbol of His living flesh rather than death. Because the bread, His bread, His life, is a symbol of life that He gave by living a sinless and perfect life. Because He did die for each and every one of us, actually, all mankind; again, that we may have oneness with Him and our heavenly Father.

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