Jesus was only taken down off the cross after a Roman soldier ensured Jesus was dead by thrusting a spear into His heart.
It is crucial that Jesus was dead because without Him dead there could be no resurrection from death.
Without a ressurection the Christian system of belief is empty, as in fake. The Apostle Paul said that those of us who believe Jesus was raised from the dead if in fact He did not rise, we are the most pitiful of all people.
Why would he say that? Because our hope for eternal life would be in vain.
But take heart - the dicisples, the very ones who abandoned Jesus, were changed by something to the point they turned the world upsidedown with a message coming out of an event they witnessed. And most of them died telling what they saw.
Show notes at HopesHarbor.net