Bible Discussion Thread

Have studied the Bible for a long time. Why did they break the legs of the robbers?

crucifixion is a horrific way to be tortured to death...they nail you in a ' T ' POSITION... and stand you up, when the accused cant hold himself, up he sag's down and his arms are above his head.. this becomes the torture because the Ribs rub against the lungs building up fluid an slowly drowning the accused...and from the fear they can come down they break-the legs to hurry up the process causing the accused not to be able to rise up to catch a breath......

John 19:33

But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs:

John 19:32

Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him.

John 19:31

The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

>>When the Romans finally wanted their crucified victims to die, they broke the prisoner's legs so they could no longer push themselves up and all the body weight would be hanging by the arms.

Crucifixion may be defined as a method of execution by which a person is hanged, usually by their arms, from a cross or similar structure until dead. ... The postulated causes of death include cardiovascular, respiratory, metabolic, and psychological pathology.

The Crucifixion of Jesus guaranteed a horrific, slow, painful death. As the strength of the muscles of Jesus' lower limbs tired, the weight of His body had to be transferred to His wrists, His arms, and His shoulders. Within a few minutes of being placed on the Cross, Jesus' shoulders were dislocated.

Hello Jane. The legs of crucified criminals were often broken so as to speed up death. As you know, nails that were pierced into the feet plus a possible peg under the feet, helped to prop the body up. If this wasn't the case then the criminal wouldn't be able to breathe for very long - his lungs wouldn't expand. So their legs were broken which meant their lungs couldn't do their job.

However when the soldiers came to Jesus, they found that He had already died (Jesus consciously released His Spirit), so His legs were not broken. And this was in fulfilment of the Scripture, Psalm 34:20.