1 John 5:6-12 Testify
John shares the GREATEST evidence of who Jesus is; the testimony of the FULL Godhead. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are the proof. And the Holy Spirit’s work is the icing on the cake.
Jesus didn’t just pop up in Israel’s history and make claims of being the Messiah. His coming was foretold since the Garden of Eden. EVERY prophetic word ever spoken about Him was fulfilled in His life, death and resurrection. God had been testifying of Him all along.
The three things John mentions in our reading that point directly to Jesus are “the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree” (verse 8).
Father God, this passage is FULL of meaning and I pray right now that YOU take over and share that meaning with me/us. Do not let me say ANYTHING that is not from You!
So here we go. I was thinking about the blood and water. First thing that popped into my mind is that Jesus’ earthly bloodline lined up perfectly with the prophecies. He was from the line of David. His earthly mother AND father were both from that line. Mary had to be of the line of David as well as Joseph to give prophecy consistency. Because His earthly father didn’t contribute to His “bloodline” His mother had to establish it instead. But His legitimacy as being in the bloodline of David had to come through His father. Marrying between the tribes of Israel certainly happened in those days, as well as marrying outside the nation. The latter was against God’s commandment but I don’t know about the former. But God made this match work out perfectly for His plans.
Jesus TRUE bloodline came from the Father. God placed His Son in Mary’s womb through the Spirit. I wonder, does Jesus carry some of Mary’s DNA? Is that how He is both God and man? While in her womb, He went through the same developmental processes that we all did. And He did so surrounded in “water.” This is the protecting water we all develop within.
That accounted for the three elements John listed. They were present at His conception. But they didn’t end there. They continued with Him throughout His walk here on earth.
The next BIG event that included all three was Jesus’ baptism. Jesus was plunged under the water for forgiveness of sin. It also signified a death of the “old man” and a raising of a “new” one. It was a “rebirth.” All three elements came together on that day. The water of new life, the Spirit in the form of a dove, and His TRUE bloodline in the form of the Father’s testimony. All three testified that day of who He was.
Throughout Jesus’ ministry on earth the Holy Spirit bore witness of who He was. This witness came in the form of the miracles He did. It wasn’t through Jesus’ physical might that He did these miracles but through His Spiritual connection to the Father. Jesus didn’t wrestle the storm into submission but simply spoke the word, “peace, be still” to the wind and the waves and they obeyed. They obeyed because His Father made them do so. His access to the power of creation itself through His “bloodline.” “Truly, truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself, unless He sees the Father doing it. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does” (John 5:19).
We now come to the culminating events that testified as to who Jesus is. That is His death and resurrection. We know that Jesus’ blood was required for the sacrifice of atonement for our sins. But that blood wasn’t the only thing that flowed from the cross that day. When His heart was pierced by the spear blood AND water both flowed from Him. His blood covers AND washes away our sin. His exact mixture is cleansing and purifying. No stain remains when both are applied. Also the Spirit of God was in evidence that day. Just ask the sun and earth about it. The darkness that fell that day wasn’t due to a cloudy day. The sun hid its face. Science calls this an eclipse; I call it God giving evidence of His grief. Also the earth shook at the moment of His death and the veil in the temple tore in two. This reminds me of how the people of Israel express their grief; by tearing their clothes and uttering a loud cry. God cried out and tore HIS clothes. These were evidence of His Spirit in action at the moment of His greatest pain.
I think one of the problems Jesus’ disciples had with Him raising from the dead was that Jesus was the one who raised the dead and with Him gone who would raise Him? That’s where the blood, the water, and the Spirit stepped up again.
The “Blood Sacrifice” was returned to life as NO other sacrifice had been before. The penalty paid that day on our behalf was just but the One paying the penalty was innocent. Even Pilot saw the innocence of Jesus and tried to wash his hands of the guilt associated with His “punishment.”
I believe the water that day came in the form of tears. The tears of pain shed on the way to the tomb and the tears of joy when the reality was known. I have a feeling that even Jesus shed a few of the joy filled ones when He met up with His disciples again in that locked room.
And it was through the Spirit that Jesus rose from the dead. Spiritual warfare was complete and the grave could no longer hold Him. He burst forth in victory! The angles testified of His resurrection for those who were not there at that moment, but He would testify for Himself a little later.
God made CERTAIN to leave enough evidence to PROVE who Jesus was/is, to anyone who really wants to know. Those who refuse to believe are spitting in God’s face, or calling Him a liar. I’m SO grateful He provided so many other witnesses too. Their accounts are what we read about today. I don’t see how anyone could doubt after God’s own witness; and that of MANY others.
But the GREATEST witness He has given us today is His own Spirit. Those who ask Jesus to be their Lord and Savior have His Spirit living within them. This is the Comforter He promised to send to us. The Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts and bears witness to the truth. But we need to listen and obey. This includes listening when He confronts us on our sin, to His leading in our actions towards one another, to letting Him interpret the word, to going where He sends us to be the hands and feet of God. He never leaves us and never leads us astray. He ALWAYS leads us on the paths of God’s plan for our lives; even when we need an event like Balaam’s donkey to get us down the right road.
Father God, THANK YOU for Your witness! Thank You that You don’t leave me wondering if what the bible says is the truth. Thank You for providing SO much evidence of Your love.
Thank You Jesus for being the living embodiment of God’s love for me! Everything You went through You did it for me. I can NEVER thank You enough! But I pray my life will be an example of my gratitude.
Holy Spirit, thank You for being with me EVERY DAY! Thank You for the occasional “Balaam” experiences. Help me learn to listen better every time You speak. I want to know Your voice even better than my own. My husband has a distinctive voice. I pray I can pick Yours out even better than I can his. Thank You for giving me so many opportunities to hear it.
