Diligent study of the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of Jesus Christ raises questions about the timing of certain events, particularly the moment a Roman soldier pierced His side with a spear. According to some ancient manuscripts, as recorded in the last part of Matthew 27:49, another took a spear and thrust it into His side, and out came water and blood, just before Jesus yielded up His spirit. Additionally, John 19:34 states that one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out, after Jesus gave up His spirit. The discrepancy in timing arises from translation challenges, but both accounts hold truth regarding the piercing of His side during the crucifixion events.

As we reflect on the profound events surrounding the crucifixion during the Passover, our focus remains on our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Before being nailed to the cross at the third hour, which is 9:00 AM, the time of the morning sacrifice, He endured immense suffering. He was beaten, crowned with thorns, struck on the head, spat upon, slapped, punched, and scourged until His skin was torn from His bones, rendering Him almost unrecognizable as human. As He hung on the cross, they cast lots for His garments, mocked Him, shook their heads, and hurled abusive language at Him, all while He bore the sins of the world. Despite this horrific suffering, His focus remained on others. In the first three hours of light, from 9:00 AM to noon, He uttered His first three statements, revealing His perfect character of love. Under the greatest pressure, only love emerged from Him. Even after enduring six illegal trials, being beaten and mocked, and carrying His cross through a jeering crowd demanding His death, He did not lose faith in His Father. In His love for those He came to save, He forgot Himself and prayed for those who hurt Him, asking God to forgive them. From noon to 3:00 PM, a sudden and total darkness covered the land, silencing the mockery and leaving only horror and fear among the onlookers. During this darkness, Jesus continued to speak, fulfilling prophecies with His words and actions. As He neared the end, He was fully conscious, aware of completing the prophecies, and bore the sins of the world alone. When offered vinegar on a sponge via a hyssop stalk, He drank, symbolically taking the cup of wrath for all sinners as their representative and Mediator, enduring the pain and punishment of sin unto death. In His final moments, He declared, "It is finished," signifying that His redemptive work, entrusted by the Father, was completed and paid in full. He remained in control, giving up His life willingly as He had said no one could take it from Him. At the last, when a soldier pierced His side with a spear, blood and water flowed out, indicating His heart was still pumping and had ruptured, ensuring every drop of blood was spilled as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. This blood, poured onto the ground from which we are made, covers the sins of all who repent. With a loud cry, He said, "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit," and then He expired, bowing His head in death.