31 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath, (for that sabbath was a great day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and [that] they might be taken away.
31
Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. 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.