Strong’s Greek 4125 points to the human flank or “side,” the vulnerable place just beneath the arm. While it can denote the rib-region in medical Greek, the New Testament employs the word with theological and narrative purpose rather than clinical precision.

Occurrences in the New Testament

1. Matthew 27:49 – an early textual strand records that a bystander “pierced His side,” anticipating John’s later eyewitness detail.
2. John 19:34 – a soldier “pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.”
3. John 20:20 – the risen Jesus “showed them His hands and His side.”
4. John 20:25 – Thomas demands to “put my hand into His side.”
5. John 20:27 – Jesus invites Thomas, “Reach out your hand and put it into My side.”
6. Acts 12:7 – an angel “struck Peter on the side” to rouse him from certain death.

Christological Significance

The Gospel of John anchors the bodily reality of Jesus’ death and resurrection in His πλευρά. Blood and water issuing from the pierced side (John 19:34) certify that He truly died; the invitation to touch that very wound (John 20:27) certifies that He truly rose. Thus the word undergirds both atonement and resurrection—core pillars of the gospel.

Evidential Function in Johannine Narratives

John explicitly links his testimony to legal proof: “He who saw it has testified, so that you also may believe” (John 19:35). The side becomes the locus of empirical evidence. Doubting Thomas represents every later disciple who has not seen; by recording the tangible side, John supplies grounds for faith that are historically rooted yet spiritually accessible (John 20:29).

Old-Testament Echoes

The Septuagint uses πλευρά in Genesis 2:21-22 for Adam’s “side” from which Eve is fashioned. Early Christian teachers therefore saw in the open side of the second Adam the birth of the church. Water (baptism) and blood (atonement) flow from Christ as Eve once came from Adam, symbolizing the creation of a redeemed people.

Matthew’s Variant and Synoptic Silence

Though most modern critical texts omit the Matthew 27:49 piercing, its presence in certain manuscripts highlights a developing early tradition that sought harmony between Matthew and John. Even without the variant, the Synoptics corroborate John’s portrait of a crucified Messiah whose physical sufferings were unmistakably real.

Angel’s Touch in Acts 12:7

In Acts the same word surfaces in a very different scene: Peter’s side is struck, not pierced, to awaken him for divine deliverance. The gentle blow contrasts with the violent spear thrust into Jesus, yet both acts on the πλευρά herald liberation—Peter from prison, believers from sin and death.

Pastoral and Ministry Applications

• Assurance of Salvation: The permanently scarred side reassures believers that Christ’s sacrifice was completed in history and remains effectual in eternity.
• Apologetics: The term aids a reasoned defense of bodily resurrection, countering docetic or purely spiritualized readings of Easter.
• Sacramental Reflection: Water and blood evoke baptism and the Lord’s Supper, inviting worshipers to receive life from the wounded Savior.
• Suffering and Deliverance: Peter’s midnight rescue shows that the Lord who once bled from His side now touches the sides of His servants to summon them into freedom and service.

Conclusion

Whenever πλευρά appears in the New Testament, it marks a decisive intervention of God—whether in the crucifixion, resurrection, or an apostle’s jailbreak. The “side” of Scripture stands as both the place of greatest vulnerability and the point from which the Lord displays His unmatched power to save.