the proceeding, sealing, life-giving Spirit
CORE QUESTION: Why can the Spirit be poured?
CORE IDEA: The Spirit is for believers what the Spirit is for Jesus and is pictured as such with water in John’s gospel
John 1:29-34
Interestingly, we only have John’s testimony of Jesus’ baptism but it sets up the motif of water and spirit for the rest of the gospel.
Nicodemus: the ignorant teacher
The conversation with Nicodemus is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, this is Jesus first interaction with any of the Pharisees in John’s gospel (it is ‘the Jews’ who oppose Jesus at the cleansing of the Temple in chapter 2) and unlike many of the other instances, this Pharisee shows Jesus a good deal of deference. Secondly, this is one of only two times where Jesus is speaking to a specific, named Pharisee (Simon is the other, cf. Luke 7).
Nicodemus comes to Jesus with the simple recognition that Jesus is a “teacher from God” (v. 2). Implicit in this recognition though is the evaluation of Jesus by Nicodemus. Similar to other Jews, Nicodemus is considering Jesus based on the signs he performs. As mentioned previously, it is these signs which John records for the purpose of belief. So the true question is does Nicodemus believe and therefore have life in Christ?
Jesus starts drawing this out with his response:
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. John 3:3
And when Nicodemus expresses his incredulity over such a teaching, Jesus follows it up with:
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God John 3:5
What is Jesus saying here? What is he requiring of Nicodemus?
born again, born from above, born of water and of spirit
Though we could try and see being “born of water and of the Spirit” as referencing natural birth and regeneration or baptism and faith neither of these options fit well with the context. “Born of water” is not an idiom for natural birth used anywhere else in contemporary writing. It also a bit nonsensical to claim that someone should be born at all and then be born of the Spirit to enter the kingdom. It’s like saying “First, one must exist…”
Seeing the necessity of being “born of water” as referring to baptism has its own problems. First, this could seem to have Jesus arguing for baptism as a necessary precondition for faith. Such an idea is contrary to the rest of Scripture’s testimony on the place of baptism for the believer. It also doesn’t fit with Nicodemus’ response or Jesus’ follow-up. If baptism is so crucial how does it not recur in the remainder of the discussion?
A better way to understand Jesus is to realize his first two statements parallel each other:
- *Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God
- *Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God
So are these different things or are they the same thing? The same! So why “born of water”?
Jesus here is recalling for the “teacher of Israel” what he should know (cf. v. 9), namely, the words of the prophet:
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules Ezek 36:25–27
This connection is only strengthened when we consider the fuller context of Ezekiel’s words. In the next chapter Ezekiel is taken to valley which is full of dry bones. In obedience to the word of the Lord Ezekiel prophesies over the bones and the Spirit or breath of God enters them causing them to live.
This is the picture that Jesus is painting. It is the Spirit of God that comes to bring life and the Spirit does so according to his own designs.
Woman at the well: the ignorant temptress
One of the first things we might note here is the difference of Jesus first two conversational partners. Nicodemus the elite Pharisee and the publically shamed woman from Samaria. Yet they both display a need for Jesus’ instruction and a positive response of faith.
After engaging her in conversation, Jesus begins by telling the woman that she should ask him for “living water”, a phrase that recalls rich OT imagery. In addition to Ezekiel 36 which we already mentioned we could add Isaiah:
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day: “Give thanks to the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted. Isa 12:3–4
And Jeremiah:
Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the LORD, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water Jer 2:12–13
Similar to Nicodemus, the woman is unable or unwilling to follow Jesus to his level of meaning. She understands Jesus to mean “running water” as a river, she understands not having to thirst anymore as relief from having to get water from the well, she responds to Jesus indictment of her sexual lifestyle with an evasion (to a greater or lesser degree), and finally, before Jesus own self-revelation, she-perhaps timidly-states the suspected truth: Jesus is the Messiah.
He is the Messiah who brings the water of life that never runs dry and always slakes the thirsty.
Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price Isa 55:1
Feast of Booths
On the seven days of the Feast, a golden flagon was filled with water from the pool of Siloam and was carried in a procession led by the High Priest back to the temple. As the procession approached the watergate p 322 on the south side of the inner court three blasts from the šôp̄ār—a trumpet connected with joyful occasions—were sounded. While the pilgrims watched, the priests processed around the altar with the flagon, the temple choir singing the Hallel (Pss. 113–118; cf. Mishnah Sukkah 4:9). When the choir reached Psalm 118, every male pilgrim shook a lûlāḇ (willow and myrtle twigs tied with palm) in his right hand, while his left raised a piece of citrus fruit (a sign of the ingathered harvest), and all cried ‘Give thanks to the LORD!’ three times. The water was offered to God at the time of the morning sacrifice, along with the daily drink-offering (of wine). The wine and the water were poured into their respective silver bowls, and then poured out before the LORD. Moreover, these ceremonies of the Feast of Tabernacles were related in Jewish thought both to the LORD’s provision of water in the desert and to the LORD’s pouring out of the Spirit in the last days. Pouring at the Feast of Tabernacles refers symbolically to the messianic age in which a stream from the sacred rock would flow over the whole earth Carson, The Gospel according to John
John 7:37-39
the spirit on the cross
But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. John 19:34
John only records this scene from the crucisfixion. I don’t know about you but I’ve heard quite a few sermons describing the medical aspects of crucifixion. I do believe these are worthwhile since in our time and place we are at a considerable distance from the realities of crucifixion and it’s significance. However, on this point such sermons attempt harmonization with medical science answering only “how could there be blood and water?”
Make no mistake, I believe this account is historical but let’s ask “why did John record this” and I think we must answer it is because Jesus is the one who baptizes his followers in the water of the Spirit. From Jesus’ own body comes an atoning blood and a cleansing, sealing, life-giving Spirit.
Several weeks ago we talked about how prophecy is often not what we expect, and we read this passage:
Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side. Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits, and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. And he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?” Then he led me back to the bank of the river. As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other. And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea; when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh. And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From Engedi to Eneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea. But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.” Ezek 47:1–12
From Jesus the true temple flows a water that brings life wherever it flows.