Do you ever follow the footnotes as your read the Bible?

The footnotes are not, of course, inspired. But a good reference Bible can help you to understand Scripture more fully, especially when they track citations of other Scriptures or similar ideas.

A good example is John 19:36. When the Romans would crucify criminals, they would break their legs to bring about a more rapid death. Remember, the cause of death in crucifixion is asphyxiation – the weight of your body rests on your chest and lungs, so that you cannot breathe. The only way to draw a breath would be to “stand up” on the cross. It wasn’t easy, and it was intensely painful. But it became absolutely impossible with broken legs; so that’s why the Romans would break the legs to hasten death.

In Jesus’ case, however, He was found to be already dead, so it wasn’t necessary for His legs to be broken. Of course, there is a second reason His legs weren’t broken – in order to fulfill prophecy:

John 19:36

36 For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” (ESV)

So this is where the footnotes come in. Where is it written that Christ’s bones would not be broken? Certainly in Psalm 34:

Psalm 34:19-20

19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20 He keeps all his bones;
not one of them is broken. (ESV)

But it also appears in yet another passage – the institution of the Passover. Christ is, of course, the perfect Passover Lamb, offered up for us. But even this small detail of His intact bones did not escape God’s prophetic revelation:

Exodus 12:43-46

43 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, 44 but every slave that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. 45 No foreigner or hired servant may eat of it. 46 It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. (ESV)

“You shall not break any of its bones.” Indeed, His bones are intact. He bears the wounds of the cross, but His physical Body is still whole in heaven, not decaying in a tomb. God is faithful to His promises.