Blood And Water

Well, last week we talked about the True picture and all the culture’s static that seems to get in the way these days. We talked about the Resurrection, how it has been assaulted throughout history and what it means to you personally. I wish I could say that evangelism was an easy thing, but it’s not.

The world has such a strong counter-evangelist movement going. It always has, but many of us feel it pretty strongly these days.
Today, I’m going to take up a bit of a different angle in looking at the faith – a more theological one.

Last week’s sermon was mainly for people who are sitting on the fence about their faith or who are not Christians because Easter typically brings people to church who may not normally attend, so it was important for last week’s sermon to reach them. But those of you who come back the Sunday after Easter are the die-hards, aren’t you?

Well, today, we’re going to get into some good theology.
John’s a real good author to study to get into the deep stuff. When he writes, he seems to have this gift for expressing profound concepts with very simple words. We see that today. In the epistle lesson he writes, John says this about Jesus, “This is one who came by water and blood – Jesus Christ.

He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is truth.” Simple words, but very profound. Maybe you don’t even know how much, but let’s unpack what John says.
There are two important elements John brings up in this short paragraph. Can you see what they are?

You could say Spirit, you could say truth, but if you see the words mentioned the most, two stand out – water and blood. Those are actually pretty common elements seen throughout the scriptures. But what if I asked you what these elements had in common? What if I asked you for three concepts these two elements have in common. What would you say?

Well, you could probably come up with more than three, but the three I have chosen are: cleansing, death and salvation. Blood and water are connected through those three themes often in the Scripture. So, let’s take them in order.

First, the cleansing. Now, I know what you all are going to say right off the bat, but let’s go back to the Old Testament first. In the Old Testament, the application of water brought about a spiritual washing that cleansed you of a disease or made you fit to serve God. A good example is when Namaan, who was not a Jew, was told by the prophet Elijah to go and wash seven times in the river to remove his leprosy. Well, Namaan did and he was cleansed. His leprosy, a result of sin’s effects upon creation, was healed.

In Jewish circles, Aaron and the priests would also have to wash themselves in water before they approached God’s Tent of meeting or before they approached the altar. If they came into God’s presence “unbaptized” we could say, they would die. God actually states that in Exodus 30:19. So, it was the combination of the water and the word of God that directed them to this washing which granted them the status to stand in His presence.
Well, the New Testament parallel to Baptism is unmistakable.

Now, baptism doesn’t remove original sin, but it does cleanse us from sin. That is, it gives us a clean identity before God so that we also can stand in His presence. It’s not Holy Water that does this, but it is the combination of the water and the word of God, which promises that the act of baptism will do certain things.

Now, the blood provides cleansing as well. In the Old Testament, the Priests would have to cover certain parts of themselves in blood when they offered sacrifices for the people. They would also have to cover certain portions of the altar in blood. This actually provided a cleansing for the altar. Many of you are familiar with the Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur. Well, those words mean “Day of Covering” or “Day of Atonement.” Once a year, the High priest would enter the presence of God and cover certain parts of the Ark of the Covenant with blood.

This action would provide atonement for the people’s uncleanness. Of course today, we talk about Jesus as the Lamb whose blood cleanses us from all our sins. We are covered by the shedding of His blood because on the cross, He makes atonement for us. The difference is His cleansing is good for all time, not just for one year.

Well, it’s pretty easy to see that the shedding of blood calls for the second element in our blood water theme – death. In a sacrifice, the animal’s life was substituted for yours. You know, the animal is sacrificed on behalf of the worshipper.

In the Old Testament, if you went to the Temple, I’m sure everything was stained red because they did sacrifices there all the time. Animal rights people today would just have a heart attack. The scale of animals sacrificed is nearly unimaginable. But the Israelites were sinners who broke God’s Law. Death was required for Lawbreakers, but God permitted animals to be substitutes.

Now, in baptism there’s death too. You may not have realized that, but think about it. John 3 talks about Baptism as being born again.

The water is like that in a woman’s womb and when you come out of it, you’re born a second time. Well, to be born a second time, that means you had to die the first time, right? That’s exactly what happened. In baptism, you’re born again, but you first die. Romans 6 illustrates this very well and what a coincidence, we read it today for our catechesis. In that verse, we talk about being buried with Christ into death. So, the water in baptism is not just the womb, it’s also the grave – kind of like a watery tomb.

In baptism you die with Christ and you’re raised with Christ to new life. See, this is death and Resurrection language. And when we talk about death and Resurrection language, we must talk about our third common theme between water and blood: salvation. You can’t die with Christ and be raised with Him and not be saved by Him, can you? That wouldn’t make much sense. Can you imagine Jesus saying, “Well, you died with me and you were raised with me, thanks for the memories, good-bye.” Doesn’t make sense. But what does make sense is when we read 1 Peter 3:20, which says, “Baptism now saves you.” Well, it doesn’t get much clearer than that. Baptism and salvation go together because in baptism, you are joined to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. You are connected to those events of His work. And those events are all about salvation.
This is why in some churches you see the Baptismal font right inside the entrance to the church instead of up here by the altar. When it’s near the entrance, you’re reminded that you came into the Church, spiritually speaking, through baptism.
Now, it’s easy to see how the blood relates to salvation. The blood of Christ is shed when He dies. He’s sacrificed for our sins and His death is like the animal’s that took the place of the OT worshipper except this Lamb of God actually saves and is an eternal substitute for all the sins you’ve done and hope I never find out about. In the Lord’s Supper, we drink that blood and it cleanses us internally.
So, water and blood are connected through cleansing, through death and through salvation. John talks about them today to show you that Jesus came by both water and blood. Even more interesting, remember what came out of Jesus when the soldier pierced His body with the spear as He hung on the cross? Well, John (again John) tells us that water and blood flowed from His side. John is actually the only Gospel writer that mentions that.
So, it should really be no surprise that the two elements the Lutheran Church which emphasize the cleansing, death and salvation offered through Christ are water and blood, more commonly known to you as Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. These are very physical ways that you encounter God today. You don’t just meet God when you read your Bibles or when you pray, you encounter Him in very physical ways through means that He has left His church with for all time. Water and blood, cleansing, death and salvation equal baptism and the Lord’s Supper. And in closing, we can say along with John it is the Spirit who testifies because the Spirit is truth. Amen.