The first theological truth it points
to is the sinlessness of the Lord. Because he was sinless, his body did not
suffer corruption. That means it did not decay. Blood coagulating after death
could be seen as an early manifestation of decay. Orthodox hymns of Great
Friday mention this fact, and this was the teaching of the early Church from
the beginning. When the tomb of Lazarus was opened, there was a stench because
he had begun to decay. But this was not the case for the Lord, and that too was
fulfillment of prophecy. As St. Peter preached to the people in Jerusalem on
the Day of Pentecost, he pointed to the tomb of David, located not far from the
Upper Room where the Church had received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. He
noted that David had died and was still buried in the tomb. But David had
prophesied that his descendant, the Messiah, “was not abandoned to Hades, nor
did his flesh see corruption” (Acts 2:29-32; quoting Ps. 16:10/15:10 LXX). (Eugenia
Scarvelis Constantinou, The Crucifixion of the King of Glory: The Amazing
History and Sublime Mystery of the Passion [Chesterton, Ind.: Ancient Faith
Publishing, 2021], 313-14)
