An object of the Passion
The Spear
The spear was the Roman soldier's weapon that pierced Jesus' side after He had died, and out came blood and water. Thrust in to confirm death, it instead confirmed something greater. From that wound flowed the sign of a real death and, many have seen, a picture of the life that His death releases.
“But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.”John 19:34
The object
A Roman soldier carried a spear or lance as a standard weapon, and at an execution it served a practical purpose. To hasten death, soldiers would break the legs of the crucified so they could no longer push up to breathe, and death came quickly. When they came to Jesus and found Him already dead, they did not break His legs, but one soldier thrust his spear into His side to make certain. The blade opened the chest cavity, and out came a flow of blood and water. To the soldier this was routine verification, the standard way to be sure a condemned man was truly gone, so the body could be released or left. It was a professional's cold confirmation, nothing more to him.
Its part in the Passion
The spear comes at the very end, after Jesus had already cried out and given up His spirit. Because it was the day of preparation before the Sabbath, the bodies could not remain on the crosses, so the authorities asked that the legs be broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers broke the legs of the two crucified with Him, but coming to Jesus they saw He was dead and left His legs whole, piercing His side instead. John, who says he saw it and testifies so that we may believe, records two fulfillments in that single act: not a bone of Him was broken, as was said of the Passover lamb, and they shall look on Him whom they pierced, as the prophet Zechariah foretold.
What it shows us of Christ
Two ancient words meet in this wound. The Passover lamb was to have no bone broken, and the sinless Lamb of God, though crucified with two others whose bones were shattered, was kept whole, marked out as the true Passover. And Zechariah had said they would look on the One they had pierced and mourn, which the spear literally accomplished. The flow of blood and water proves He truly died, no swoon or illusion, and many have long seen in it a rich sign: blood for forgiveness and cleansing, water for the new life of the Spirit, the twin gifts that pour from His opened side. The wound that certified death became a fountain of life.
Questions people ask
why did the soldier pierce Jesus' side with a spear
The soldiers were confirming death. Normally they broke a victim's legs to hasten the end, but finding Jesus already dead, one soldier thrust a spear into His side to be certain rather than breaking His legs. The flow of blood and water confirmed genuine death, and John records the act as fulfilling prophecy: they shall look on Him whom they pierced.
what is the meaning of the blood and water from Jesus' side
Medically, the flow of blood and water is strong evidence that Jesus truly died. Beyond that, Christians have long seen it as a sign of what His death releases: blood for the forgiveness and cleansing of sin, water for the new life given by the Spirit. From the Savior's opened side pour the very gifts of salvation.