From His Side

“But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.” John 19:34

In the shadow of Golgotha, our blessed Savior hung lifeless on the cross. In a seemingly insignificant act, and certainly unaware of what he was about to do, a soldier pierced His side. What he thought would hasten death, spoke of life instead. From that wound, astonishingly, flowed water and blood, separated. These elements are not to be overlooked, nor their separation. Because they speak volumes to the believer’s heart. 

The first element was water – a symbol of baptism, that holy rite that means cleansing and rebirth. It is a powerful emblem of the washing away of our sins through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.  

The second element is blood – the very essence of the Lord's Supper, representing the precious blood of Christ shed for the remission of our sins.  

In these two elements, water and blood, we find the twin sacraments by which the Church is both born and sustained, Baptism and the Lord's Supper. 

But are there not three elements? Isn’t bread also important to the church? Yes, it is. Think for a moment; from where did that blood and water flow? From His riven side, His blessed flesh. Water, blood, through flesh. Water, wine, and bread. All three elements are present at the birth of the Church.   

Just as Eve was fashioned from Adam's side, so too was the Church birthed from the pierced side of Christ. In a natural act, we're given a spiritual picture of the Church, formed from the very heart of Jesus, born in His death, and nourished by His life.  

This is the mystery Moses hinted at in Genesis, now fulfilled in the work of our Redeemer. As Adam slept, God took a rib from his side. He created Eve with it. In a much greater sense, after Christ's own death, from His side flowed the precious substances that would give life to the Church, the means of Grace.  

Dear one, in Christ we are both born and nourished. He is our sustenance, our life. As a mother feeds her child with her life-milk, Christ, with His own lifeblood, continually nourishes and sustains those whom He has brought to life. What a mystery! What a Savior! In His death, we find life; in His wounds, our healing; and in His blood, our “heavenly meat and drink" (Form for the Lord's Supper).