Flow of Blood and Water: Becoming One with God (Part 2)

“but one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water. 35 And he who has seen has borne witness, and his witness is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.” John 19:34-35


Both the piercing of Christ’s side and the subsequent flow of blood and water in John 19:34-35 are unique to John’s gospel and it is safe to say that the author percieves in them a great deal of importance.

• Three times he swears to the event. (1) "He who has seen has borne witness" (2) "and his witness is true" (3) "and he know that he is telling the truth…”
• This conclusion, “so that you also may believe,” foreshadows the very conclusion of John "But these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ and by beleiving you may have life in his name" (John 20:31).
• So striking is this testimony it has been called, “the most solemn protestation of accuracy to be found in the whole work.” No where else does John make such a passionate and personal claim.

What importance then does the author percieve in this flow? First, I would like to begin by saying that John does not entend us to believe that Jesus died of a broken heart. While this may indeed be what biological cause of the flow it is certainly not the significance that John intends. Two factors from John's gospel demand careful consideration.

• The flow is the consumation of an extensive water motif.
• The piercing is likewise the culmination of a continual use of marital images.

Over the next few posts I will argue that the flow is a capstone binding these two themes together to reveal in Christ side a powerful depiction of theosis (becoming one with God).