John 19:34

Blood and water. Various explanations have been offered for this phenomenon.

As early as 1847 Dr. W. Stroud (. Physical Cause of the Death of Christ) proposed that the blood and water was evidence that Jesus died of a physical rupture of the heart. This theory lacks verification. That Jesus died of a broken heart as a result of the awful pressure of the weight of the sins of the world is evident (see DA 772), but to attempt a precise physical diagnosis from the meager details of the gospel narrative is precarious. The flow of blood and water was indeed remarkable, inasmuch as blood does not normally flow from a corpse, at least not copiously. John calls especial attention to the flow and solemnly attests it (vs. 34, 35). It has been suggested that he notes the fact in order to set forth the true humanity of Jesus, thus to combat the Docetic heresy of his day which claimed that Jesus became incarnate in appearance only. The Church Fathers gave a highly allegorical interpretation to the passage.