Jn. 19:34. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.
Although they did not break the legs of Jesus, nevertheless, to please the Jews they pierced Him, and blood and water flowed out. And this is wondrous. They thought to mock even the dead body, but the mockery turns into a miracle for them. It is also worthy of wonder that blood flows from a dead body. However, someone among the skeptics will say that probably there was still some vital force remaining in the body. But when water also flowed out, the miracle is indisputable. This did not happen without reason, but because life in the Church begins and continues through these two things: by water we are born, and by the Blood and Body we are nourished. Therefore, when you approach the cup of communion of the Blood of Christ, dispose yourself as though you were drinking from the very side.
Note, if you will, how through the pierced rib the wound of the rib, that is, of Eve, is healed. There Adam, having fallen asleep, lost a rib; and here the Lord, having fallen asleep, gives His rib to the soldier. The soldier's spear is a figure of the sword that turned every way and drove us out of paradise (Gen. 3:24). And since everything that revolves does not stop in its movement until it strikes against something, the Lord, showing that He will stop that sword, presents His rib to the soldier's sword, so that it would be clear to us that just as the soldier's spear, having struck against the rib, came to a stop, so too the flaming sword will come to a stop and will no longer terrify with its turning or bar the entrance into paradise.
Let the Arians be put to shame, who in the sacrament of communion do not add water to the wine. For they, it seems, do not believe that water also flowed from the side, which is more wondrous, but believe that only blood flowed out, and thereby they diminish the greatness of the miracle. For the blood shows that the Crucified One is a man, while the water shows that He is above man, namely, God.
Jn. 19:35. And he who saw it has borne witness, and his witness is true; he knows that he speaks the truth, so that you may believe.
"Not from others," he says, "did I hear, but I myself was there and saw, and my testimony is true." He rightly remarks this. He is narrating about the mockery, and not about something great and honorable, so that you might suspect this account. "For this reason," he says, "I describe this in detail and do not conceal what is apparently dishonorable, so that you may believe that all this is undoubtedly true, and not composed in anyone's favor." For whoever speaks in someone's favor presents what is more glorious.
Jn. 19:36. For these things were done, that the Scripture should be fulfilled: A bone of Him shall not be broken.
And since they considered Moses more trustworthy than him, he brings him too as a witness. What Moses said about the lamb slain at Passover: "a bone shall not be broken" (Exod. 12:10, 46), according to the evangelist's explanation, was fulfilled in Christ. For that lamb was a type of Him, and there is much in common between it and the Truth.
So, "a bone shall not be broken" in Jesus; and His side pours forth for us the fountains of being and life. Water is the fountain of being, for through it we become Christians, and Blood is the fountain of life, for by it we are nourished. And the Word of God is the Lamb. Partaking of Him from head to feet (the head of the divinity, for it is the chief part, and the feet of the flesh, for it is the lowest part), and also His inward parts, that is, the secret and hidden things, receiving them with reverence as food, we do not break the bones, that is, the thoughts that are difficult to understand and lofty. For what we cannot understand, we do not break, that is, we do not attempt to understand wrongly and with distortion. So, when we understand soundly, then we do not break, for we preserve the divine things intact. But when we strain to understand and accept a heretical understanding, then we crush and break the firm and inaccessible thoughts. Such matters, that is, those hard to understand, must be burned with fire, that is, surrendered to the Spirit, and He will work upon and refine them, because He comprehends all things, "even the depths of God" (1 Cor. 2:10).
Jn. 19:37. And again another Scripture says: "They shall look on Him whom they pierced."
Another prophecy will also be fulfilled, which says: "They shall look on Him whom they pierced" (Zech. 12:10). For when He comes to judge, then they will see Him in a better and most godlike body, and those who pierced Him will recognize Him and weep. Moreover, this audacious deed of the enemies of Jesus will be a door of faith and proof for unbelievers, as, for example, for Thomas. For he was assured of the resurrection through touching the side.
Jn. 19:38. After this, Joseph of Arimathea – a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one out of fear of the Jews – asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. He went and took away the body of Jesus.
Why did none of the twelve come to Pilate, but Joseph dared to undertake such a deed—he who perhaps belonged to the number of the seventy? If someone says that the disciples (12) hid out of fear of the Jews, then he too was gripped by the same fear.
One could say that he (Joseph) was a very famous man and, by virtue of his fame, was known even to Pilate.
Jn. 19:39. There came also Nicodemus, – who at first had come to Jesus by night, – and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.
Having thought that the fury of the Jews had subsided now that the Jesus they hated was already crucified, Joseph comes without fear and together with Nicodemus performs a magnificent burial.
Jn. 19:40. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in linen cloths with spices, as is the custom of the Jews to bury.
Both of them held nothing Divine concerning Him, but were disposed toward Him only as toward a man, because they brought such spices as chiefly had the power to preserve the body for a long time and prevent it from quickly succumbing to decay. And this showed that they held nothing great concerning Him. Nevertheless, they displayed great love toward Him, because they buried Him not as a criminal, but magnificently, according to the Jewish custom.
Jn. 19:41. In the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been laid.
The "tomb" was "a new one, in which no one had yet been laid." This was arranged so that the resurrection could not be reinterpreted, as though someone else had risen and not Jesus. And in another sense: the new tomb figuratively showed that through the Lord's tomb there would be a renewal from death and corruption, and in it we shall all be renewed.
Jn. 19:42. There they laid Jesus on account of the Jewish Friday, because the tomb was nearby.
Time compelled them to hurry. For the death of Jesus occurred at the ninth hour. Then, while they went to Pilate and while they took down the body, evening had naturally already come, when it was impossible to prepare a tomb. Therefore they lay Him in the nearest tomb. For "in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb." It is arranged so that the tomb is nearby; therefore the disciples can come and be spectators and witnesses of what happened, soldiers can be posted to guard it, and talk of stealing the body will be out of place. None of this could have been possible if Jesus had been buried far away.
Notice, I ask you, how much the Lord became impoverished for our sake. During His life He had no home; in death He has no tomb, but is laid in another's; He is naked, and Joseph clothes Him. Jesus even now is dead whenever He is put to death by violent men or those greedy for gain; He also suffers from hunger; He is also naked, for whatever the poor man endures, all that Christ endures. And you now imitate Joseph, add good to good (for Joseph means "addition"), clothe the nakedness of Christ, that is, the poor man. And do this not just once, but lay it in the tomb of your soul and always remember, always reflect upon and care for such deeds. Mix in myrrh and aloes. For one must carry in mind the bitter and severe judgments of the age to come and that Voice which will call the merciless accursed and send them away into fire (Matt. 25:41). In my opinion, there is nothing more terrible than that Voice.