Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath,
 they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.

The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other.
But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.
Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.

 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true.
 He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe.
 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled:  “Not one of his bones will be broken,”
 and, as another scripture says,  “They will look on the one they have pierced.”