Promised Treasures: The Water and the Blood

Grace, mercy and peace be with you, from God, our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our message is, Promised Treasures: Water and Blood.

Have you ever been to a birthday party with a piñata? It’s hard on the outside, but hollow inside, and filled with candy. 

The children are blind folded, and then with a bat or a broom, they try to hit the piñata until it breaks and the candy spills out, and then the pinata hangs  there beaten and broken.

As Jesus hung on the cross, his body was like that, beaten and broken to pieces.

When He finally said His last words, and cried out, and bowed His head, and gave up His spirit, His body went limp, and hung there lifeless, unlike the two criminals on either side of Him, who were still alive.

To speed up their deaths, their legs were broken so that they couldn’t push themselves up to breathe out. 

But when the soldier got to Jesus, He didn’t move. 

So to make sure He was dead, and to fulfill Scripture, “They shall look on Him whom they have pierced”, the soldier speared Jesus through the side, up into His heart. 

And when he pulled the spear out, water and blood seeped out.

Some of the early church fathers saw the water from Jesus’ heart as signifying the waters of Baptism… 

… and the blood from His heart, signifying His true blood which we receive in the wine of Holy Communion… 

… and His ravaged, broken body, His body we receive in the bread of Holy Communion.

There was another time in Jesus’ passion, when His blood mixed with water and poured down to the ground.

It happened just the night before, on the Mount Olives, at the Garden spot called Gethsemane.

Jesus, fully aware of the agony of body, mind and soul, that He would soon go through, prayed to His Father if there might be a another way to redeem the world, a way that didn’t involve Him being tortured and crucified.

Luke tells us in chapter 22:44, And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became as great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 

Doctors have a name for that, when, due to extreme stress, perspiration becomes bloody, or tears become bloody; it’s called hematohydrosis, and it’s one of the many ways Jesus set aside His glory to suffer for our salvation. 

In Catechism class, we learned that Jesus’ life on earth consisted of His humiliation and exaltation. 

Jesus’ exaltation was when He would use His divine power, and reveal His glory. 

His state of humiliation was when He refrained from using His power, and hid His glory.

Nowhere was His state of humiliation more clear and obvious, than when He suffered and bled and breathed His last for us… and then when His body was speared, and water and blood poured out… and His lifeless body taken down, carried away, and buried. 

But not for long, He would rise exalted on the third day, having won life and forgiveness for the world.

Now, He follows through on the promise He made in the Upper Room, before water and blood would pour from His heart on the cross.

As Jesus celebrated the Passover meal with His disciples, His Last Supper, He gave them a promise and a command. 

Matthew says, 26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 

27 And he took a cup, (of wine) and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 

His command, “Take, eat…” and His promise, “This is my body…”.

Again His command, “Drink of it, all of you…”, and again His promise, “for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”  

Jesus was saying, “Through my perfect obedience, I kept the covenant for you; by my death in your place … I paid the price for your breaking of the covenant, your sin. I won your forgiveness, and I offer it to you in this holy meal. 

And another promise, I tell you, I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.”                                                                                         

I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine, because I’m about to die and rise and ascend…  but I will… drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.”                                                                                         

I promise, you will see me again, and together forever, we’ll rejoice and celebrate.

One more thing Jesus has commanded and promised us in this sacrament. 

Luke tells us that after promising forgiveness in His body broken for us, and His blood shed for us, Jesus said: This do in remembrance of me, of my suffering and dying for your forgiveness, and my rising and ascending for your salvation.

And so we do, but sometimes with mixed feelings. 

In our communion liturgy we say, with repentant joy… with repentance and joy, we receive our Lord’s Supper and the blessings He gives us through His sacred body and blood. 

At our Lord’s table we remember, especially on this holy Thursday evening, our Lord’s passion and death because of our sin. It was the only way for Him to win our forgiveness.

But we also rejoice that our sins truly are forgiven, and our Lord is truly risen. 

And so we will see our Savior in glory someday, and rejoice with Him like we’ve never rejoiced before.

In the water and the blood, we see our salvation, our forgiveness, and our future in Christ’s eternal kingdom of glory.

Earlier we talked about celebrating birthdays. In the waters of Baptism, the Holy Spirit gives us an eternal birthday, the day eternal salvation became the joy and the outcome of our lives.

In the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, we remember His death on the cross, His blood shed for our forgiveness, poured out from His pierced heart, and His body torn and broken for us.

And we remember and give thanks that He overcame death for us by His mighty resurrection, and so we will see Him again, along with our faithful departed loved ones… and together, we’ll drink of the fruit of the vine with Him… in other words, we’ll celebrate and rejoice with our Lord in His blessed Kingdom forever.  

May God give us sincere, repentant, believing hearts, truly sorry for our sin and the suffering it caused our Savior… and truly thankful for His great love and sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins, the healing our hearts, and the salvation of our souls.

And may His peace, which passes understanding, guard our hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus, our Lord, who in love, bled water and blood for us. Amen.