Bible Text: John 18:1-19:42 | Preacher: Rev. Mark Buetow | Series: 2016
Did you know today is the Annunciation of our Lord? It’s the day the angel told Mary she would be the Mother of God. That the Spirit would overshadow her and the Son of God would be conceived in her womb. That’s right. March 25. Nine months before Christmas. And at that moment, the Lord was in the womb of Mary, floating in the water of her womb and sustained by the blood of the umbilical cord. Just like you when you were a baby. It’s funny but even in those early days of life, water and blood from someone else give you life and sustain you in life. Just so, the water and blood of Mary’s womb are a testimony that Jesus has truly become one of us. True God. True man. And He is, as John the Baptist first preached, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. This is the Word-made-flesh. Conceived in water and blood. Born to be the Savior. Born to be your Savior. Blood and water testify. They proclaim. God is here. In the flesh.
Now, on Good Friday, blood and water preach again. They testify. They bear witness. They proclaim. Blood and water. Flowing from Jesus’ side. They bear witness that He is dead. Did He really die? Yes. Pierce Him and you’ll see. Blood and water flow out. They testify that this Jesus is really dead, has really given up His last breath. John was there. He saw it. The witness of the water and blood are therefore an eyewitness testimony to the death of the Lamb of God. The blood and water testify that “It is finished.” Everything. All of it. The Law is fulfilled and kept. The wrath of God is quenched. The blood and water testify that the Lamb of God has taken away the sins of the world. The blood and water testify that every promise of God going all the way back to the garden of Eden has been fulfilled and kept. God keeps his Word. The blood and water testify that your salvation has been accomplished. The blood and water testify that God’s Son indeed did not come to condemn the world but to save it. The blood and water testify all of these things; they proclaim this good news through the eyewitness who saw it and wrote it down.
And now, that blood and water still testify. They still proclaim. The water proclaims that you have been washed, cleansed, that your sins that were like scarlet are now like snow. The water proclaims that your Old Adam has drowned and died with Jesus on His Cross. The water testifies that you have been given a new birth from above, raised to life with Christ just as He rose from the dead. The water that pours from the side of Christ and into the font testifies that you are marked as one redeemed by Christ the crucified. And the blood testifies. The blood testifies that your sins are forgiven. The blood testifies that the Lord will pass over you and not slay you as He did the firstborn of Egypt. The blood that pours from the side of Christ into the chalice testifies that He lives in you and you in Him and He will raise you up on the Last Day. Yes, the blood and water that flow from the side of Christ testify of His death for sinners and as they flow into cup and font, they testify directly to you, that your salvation is a done deal and that the Lamb’s death was for you. And now you, new birth, from the womb of the church, born in water and blood. They testify. They proclaim. It is finished. You are the Lord’s. The blood and water testify and proclaim and bear witness to a Happy Good Friday for you. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.