June 27 - 1 John 5:6-12. Life.

June 27 - 1 John 5:6-12. Life.

This is the 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 the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

First of all … what does John mean by ‘water and blood’?  Some scholars have interpreted this as John’s affirmations of the sacraments of baptism and communion.  Well, maybe … but, that actually doesn’t make a lot of sense, since nowhere else in scripture are those two things linked as sacraments in the church.  That didn’t really happen until the time of Luther.

Others point to John 19:34, when water and blood both flowed out with the spear thrust at the crucifixion.  But, in John 19, he wasn’t trying to point out something sacramental … he was really just trying to show that there had been a point where Jesus’ death was proved beyond a doubt.

What if this mention of water and blood actually encompasses the entirety of Jesus’ ministry?  The water signifies his baptism and the blood signifies his crucifixion.  It isn’t about the sacraments that link us to Jesus … it’s not about us.  It is about Jesus Christ.  He came to earth and his time spent with us began with a water baptism and ended with his crucifixion.

Stephen Smalley in the Word Biblical Commentary says that Jesus came into his power and authority by the water of his baptism – he was declared to be God’s Son.  He came into his power and authority in an even more ultimate sense by the blood of his cross.

When you think about it – that is pretty amazing isn’t it.   Think about what John is saying to us!

Water and blood … those things which make us alive … those things that were the terminus points for Jesus ministry … God gave us eternal life, in his Son.

This passage is filled with imagery about life and about life in Jesus Christ.

Life is vibrant, active, energetic (and a multitude of other adjectives).

Whoever has the Son has life.