Troublesome Topic: ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE UNIVERSE Part 2

Let’s look at a couple passages from the New Testament that tie together what I discussed in part one of Anatomy and Physiology of the Universe.

John 19:34

Translation

However, one of the soldiers pierced His rib

with a spear, and as a direct result

[there] came forth

blood and water. (See comment below)

Paraphrase

However, one of the soldiers wanted to confirm that Jesus was dead, so he pierced him between the ribs with a spear; the result was obvious evidence which agreed with the Law of the Former Covenant and proved that Jesus had provided for man’s spiritual cleansing as well as for the atonement for his sins.

BLOOD AND WATER WERE KEY ASPECTS OF THE LAW

Water cleanses; blood atones. Something needs to be cleansed before it can be atoned for. This verse shows that Jesus provided for both needs at the same time. The need for cleansing from impurity is not absent from the New Testament, but it is hidden under so many layers of Jewish thought that we non-Jews often miss it. This statement shows that Jesus kept in place the Old Testament standard that atonement cannot stand alone, it must be accompanied by cleansing. Jesus provided for both by the same act – His willful death.

John 19:35

Translation

And the one who saw has testified, and his testimony is true, and he knows that he is speaking truth so that you also may believe. (See comment below.)

Paraphrase

What’s more, the one who saw this happen is the same one writing this testimony about it, me, and I know that what I’m saying is true and important; I am telling you so that you too will understand what Jesus did and believe in Him.

THE STATEMENT ABOUT THE BLOOD AND WATER MUST HAVE BEEN VERY IMPORTANT

At this point John pauses to lay special attention on the fact that people should believe what he just wrote because he was there, and he saw it with his own eyes. He was closer than the other disciples, and that may be one of the reasons this is not mentioned in any other Gospel. Whether or not the emphasis is intended for the entire passage about the death of Jesus, or about this detail about the blood and water flowing out can be argued either way. I think it relates primarily to the blood and water because it is a detail that no other Gospel mentioned and the next two verses continue to talk about how prophecy was fulfilled when no bones were broken but He was pierced instead.

Why were the water and blood important?

Thank you for asking. The Law of the Former Covenant was built on the primary pillars of cleansing and atonement. Water cleanses, blood atones. These were both necessary, and both of them appear in the crucifixion narrative provided by John, the disciple who was closest to cross on which Jesus was crucified. In this Way Jesus upheld the principle that cleansing must come first, then atonement can follow.

We are cleansed when we repent and confess; our sin is atoned for when we grasp by faith the blood that Jesus shed, i.e. the life He gave.

1 John 5:6

Translation

This is the one who has come

by water and blood, JESUS CHRIST, not by water only, but by water and by blood. And the Spirit is the one who is testifying because the Spirit is the truth.

Paraphrase

He, THE SAVIOR and THE ANOINTED MESSIAH, is the one who has come from the source of cleansing and atonement which makes Him a source of cleansing and atonement for us. The Holy Spirit is the one who helps us understand the evidence pointing to who Jesus is and the Holy Spirit always tells the truth.

WHAT’S UP WITH THE WATER AND THE BLOOD?

Ever since John wrote these words, there has been much debate about what was being referred to. It is obvious that he intended water and blood, or what they represent, to be witnesses and evidences that prove who Jesus is. Of this there can be no doubt. Honestly, I struggled to understand this passage as well until I read something by Rich Oka, a messianic Jew who writes the blogsite found at https://messianic-revolution.com. He helped me understand this passage through the eyes of the Torah.

Water and blood are primary pillars of the Law. Water cleanses; blood atones. Both are necessary and they can only be achieved in that order, cleansing first, atonement second.

If Jesus originated from, and was sent by, the source of cleansing and atonement, it means He became the source of cleansing and atonement for us. The washing and sacrifices of the Torah were not the true sources of cleansing and atonement; they were simply pictures painted every day for man’s benefit, to help him learn what was involved in cleansing and in atonement.

Here Jesus demonstrates again, as He did a few other times, that the emphasis of the Torah on cleansing is still part of the life of a God-follower, just like it was in under the Former Covenant. We need to teach about cleansing, not just about atonement.

We are cleansed when we repent and confess; our sins are atoned for when, by faith, we grasp the blood of Jesus, i.e. the giving of His life.

1 John 5:7

Translation

For there are three which bear witness:

Paraphrase

For there are three witnesses which stand as proof that Jesus is God.

1 John 5:8

Translation

The Spirit and the water and the blood – and these three are one and the same.

Paraphrase

The way the Holy Spirit communicates with our own spirits, cleansing, which in the physical realm is accomplished with water, and atonement, which is always accomplished through a blood sacrifice i.e. the giving of a life; these three witnesses testify in perfect agreement.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS ADDED TO THE WATER AND THE BLOOD

I have already said that water was necessary for cleansing and the blood was necessary for atonement. Cleansing and atonement are tied closely to the major building blocks of the Jewish understanding of the universe which were the conditions of common and clean, uncommon (holy) and clean, common and unclean. Cleansing and atonement provided mobility from a less desirable state (common and unclean) to the most desirable state (clean and holy).

But here the Holy Spirit, and His connection to our own spirits, is added into the mix. This introduced another huge building block of the Jewish understanding of the universe, i.e. that everything is made up of a body (a physical reality), a soul and/or a spirit, or some combination of those three. Humans have all three aspects, a body, a soul and a spirit, and, ideally, all three of these should function in full agreement with each other. But for many people, even many believers, there is no agreement between their three major building blocks; the body is emphasized over the soul, and the spirit is suppressed rather than developed.

The verse above is part of a set of proofs that Jesus is God in the flesh, and the long-awaited Messiah. Jesus is shown to be God by embodying in Himself all the major themes of the Torah. God was the giver of the Torah, so only God can fulfill the Torah perfectly. Jesus has provided for our cleansing and atonement, which provide movement from common and unclean to clean and holy, and He has facilitated unity between the body, soul and spirit.

Footnotes

1: "rib"

This word can mean either “side or rib,” but the equivalent Hebrew word more commonly means “rib.”

2

This word is usually rendered “immediately”. We usually think that “immediately” means something will follow in a very short time, however, there are times that this word is used (e.g. in the gospels) when the one thing does not follow the other quickly. I think the intent of this adverb is to indicate a direct connection, or a direct line, between the one and the other. The line is not always measured in time. In this case there is a direct line between the soldier piercing Jesus’ side and the blood and water coming out. In this case it also happened “immediately” as we understand the word. But the intent here is not so much about timing but about cause and result. If the soldier had not pierced Jesus’ side, the blood and water would not have come out, and the impactful connection to the Old Testament Law would not have been offered to the Jews observing the event, like John who saw it with his own eyes.

3

This word means “come out, come forth, go forth.” However, there is another layer that I want to expose here. The idea of a liquid coming forth would bring to mind the concept of a “flow or a stream.” Those thoughts in turn would cause a good Jew to think of the Torah, for Torah means “direction.” It is the direction an arrow flies or the direction a stream flows. The concept of “direction” also lends itself to the idea of “instruction or teaching”, which was the purpose of the Law. If the word meaning “came forth” did not make every Jew think of the Law, the next three words would definitely have done so.

4

The King James Version, and a few others that follow it, have more to this verse. However, it appears that the shorter version is the older, more authentic one and that the longer version of this verse is not to be trusted, but had a part added long after it was written. The part that was added is only found in nine manuscripts, four of which include it in the margin, meaning the copier was in doubt about its authenticity. The oldest manuscript to include it in the text is from the 14^th Century, and the rest are from the 16^th Century. This means it was added very late. However, it found its way into the set of manuscripts relied on by the translators of the King James Version and that has popularized the longer version of this verse.

5

The Greek says “are in one.”