April 15, 2022
1 John 5:6-8 – The Son of God is Jesus Christ, who came by water and by blood. He didn’t come with water only, but with water and blood. The spirit is the one who verifies this, because the spirit is the truth. There are three witnesses: the Spirit, the water and the blood. These three witnesses agree.
So emphasis. When something is repeated it’s for emphasis. John did a lot of that here. Jesus came by water and by blood. He was baptised by water and this was witnessed by the Holy Spirit. He died, his blood was shed and this was also witnessed.
John 19:34 – However, one of the soldiers stabbed Jesus’ side with his spear, and blood and water immediately came out.
When Jesus was hung on the cross, was his blood shed before this point? It’s interesting that this is only mentioned in one of the gospels. (Hmmmm, probably because John was the one who stood at the foot of the cross while he died). It was not enough for Jesus Christ to just come, live and be baptised. Technically anyone could do that. But a covenant is sealed by blood and someone had to seal the covenant. If Jesus hadn’t come by water and by blood we would not have been saved.
There were two times that the Father showed publicly that this was his son.
At his Baptism: Dove, beloved Son in whom he was pleased.
At His Death: The earth shook and the temple curtain was split.
One was peaceful, the other violent. One Jesus accepted without a word. The other Jesus accepted but cried aloud.
Thank you for accepting the penalty for my sins and for shedding your blood to save me. Whether or not your side was pierced, does not change the fact that you died to save me. Thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for your gift. Nothing I can do would make up to your sacrifice. So I am thankful that you gave it as a gift. Thank you for your love. Help me to understand you more and more each day. You are my Father, you are my God. Thank you for all that you are and all that you’ve done and continue to do for me. Thank you. I love you.
Prove Your Love
You know I was listening to some music while washing the car. The song came on, “I’ll do anything to prove my love.” I love that song, but as I’m sitting here, I realise that nothing we do can prove our love. Jesus was the one who proved his love for us, by dying for us. For us to prove our love would amount to us working to prove when he asks us to accept. We obey Yahweh because we love him, not to prove we love him. Then it becomes a show put on for others, instead of a sacrifice of praise that we are returning to the one who is worthy to be praised.
I guess it comes down to the “why” we do anything. Yahweh, help my motive to be born in truth. Help me to live for you. Thank you for your peace and for saving us.
[…] Why did I not remember this? I knew (or thought I knew) this story and did not remember this. So three times Yahweh publicly acknowledged Jesus as his son. There may be others that I have forgotten too (shame face). […]