Did a Roman soldier shed Jesus' blood? Let's find out
Answer:
John 19:34 claims that "one of the soldiers pierced his [Jesus'] side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water." According to John 19:33, the Roman soldiers did not break Jesus' legs because he was already dead. Chronologically, John 19:33 established the time of the inflicting of the wound in Jesus' side (John 19:34) as subsequent to his death. John's sequence of events is contradicted in some manuscript versions of Matthew 27:49 which state, "And another took a spear and pierced his side, and there came out water and blood." This addition to the verse places the time of the inflicting of the wound as prior to Jesus' death. However, it is an interpolation unsupported by the best of the ancient New Testament manuscripts. Blood oozing from a wound inflicted after death does not qualify as the shedding of blood required of an atonement offering. The piercing of Jesus' body by a spear did not cause his death. Jesus did not die as a result of blood loss (Matthew 27:46-50, Mark 15:34-37, Luke 23:46, John 19:28-30). Jesus' blood was not shed by a Roman soldier's spear, thrust into his side.