Bible Strands
John 19:34
Instead, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator reports a Roman soldier piercing Jesus’ side with a spear at the moment Jesus is confirmed dead on the cross. This action directly follows the soldiers' decision not to break His legs because He was already dead.
The words — πλευρὰν (pleuran) means "side," and λόγχῃ (logchē) means "with a spear." These terms specify the exact location and instrument of the piercing.
The thread — The outflow of blood and water connects to 1 John 5:6, which identifies Jesus as the One who came by water and blood. It also echoes Zechariah 12:10 and Zechariah 13:1, where God promises to pour out a spirit of grace and open a fountain for cleansing.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that Jesus’ death was real and complete, not a swoon or deception. It calls the reader to accept the eyewitness account as factual truth to ground their belief.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.
Cross-references
- 1 John 5:6 This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ—not by water alone, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies to this, because the Spirit is the truth.
- Zechariah 13:1 “On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the people of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.
- Zechariah 12:10 Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
- 1 John 5:8 the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and these three are in agreement.
- Titus 3:5 He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
- Ezekiel 36:25 I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
- Revelation 7:14 “Sir,” I answered, “you know.” So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
- Ephesians 5:26 to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
- Revelation 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood,
- Psalms 51:7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.