Jesus had died 0n the cross but the two robbers on each side of Him had not. This was a problem for the religious Jews.

(NASB) John 19:31-33 “Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.”

The religious laws were to be scrupulously followed. The leaders asked Pilate”™s permission to make sure that the three executed men would die in order to take their bodies down from the crosses before sundown. This is the time which the Jews began their “˜day”™.

They had asked Pilate to break the legs of the men so that they would die quicker. With the legs broken, the men could not push themselves up to take deep breaths of air and they would die from lack of oxygen.

The law which the Jewish leaders were adhering to is found in:

(NASB) Deuteronomy 21:22-23 “If a man has committed a sin worthy of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,

23 his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance.”

God”™s laws are to be kept. Yet these same Jewish leaders had held illegal religious trials and had found Jesus guilty.

People, even today, may use any law for their own agendas and purposes. However, the Lord God was not surprised by these events leading to Jesus”™ death. People are not a problem for God. But many times, God is a problem for people.

When you want your own way, how do you “˜bend”™ the rules to meet your agenda?