Jesus' Body Is Prepared and Buried

  Furthermore, Friday afternoon is called Preparaton because people prepare meals and complete any other tasks that cannot wait intil after the Sabbath.  At sunset, a double, or "great,"  Sabbath will begin.  (John 19:31) This is so because Nisan 15 will be the first day of the seven-day Festival of Unleavened Bread, the first day of which is always a Sabbath.  (Leviticus 23:5, 6) This time that first day concludes with the weekly Sabbath, the seventh day.

So the Jews ask Pilate to hasten the death of Jesus and the two robbers alongside him. How? By having their legs broken.  That will make it impossible for them to use their legss to raise their bodies so to breathe.  The soldiers come and break the legs of the two robbers. But Jesus appears to be dead, and they do not break his legs.  The fulfills Psalm 34:20: "He is guarding all his bones; not one of them has been broken." 

Next time: Jesus' Body Is Prepared and Buried

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