A Reflection on the Side of Christ

Today I wanted to examine an occurrence found in the crucifixion account of Saint John: 

“Now since it was preparation day, in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the Sabbath.  The Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and they be taken down. 

So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out.”  - John 19:31-34

I want to examine three significant meanings of this event:

Ancient Death Certificates:

The story of Jesus confronts everyone with a choice.  Who was this man? Why was the tomb empty?  Why did the Apostles come to the sincere belief that they saw Jesus? 

A skeptic could deny the divinity and resurrection of Jesus.  However, it behooves him to have an explanation for what DID happen.

Among the common theories is that Jesus wasn’t really dead.  It seems as if Saint John had heard this theory and was trying to shut the door on it.  He was essentially saying, “No, I was there.  They stabbed the guy in the heart.  He was dead.”

The True Temple:

But there are more layers of this onion to peel back.

The crucifixion took place during the Passover when the Jews were sacrificing their lambs.  There would have been hundreds of thousands of lambs having their throats slit and spilling their blood.  These vast quantities of blood would have to be washed out of a channel in the side of the temple.  An observer on the outside of the structure would have looked up and seen a flood of blood and water flowing from the side of the Temple. 

Alrighty, let’s travel back outside the walls of Jerusalem and what do we have?  We have Jesus with a shower of blood and water coming from His side.  This is an echo of what He said at the beginning of the Gospel:

“Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews said, ‘This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?’ But he was speaking about the temple of his body.”  - John 2:19-22

The blood and water from Jesus’ side shows us that He is the true temple, the place where God dwells on earth.  It also shows that He is the true lamb of God, the one to whom all those other lambs point.

The Bride of Christ:

Lastly, in Genesis we are told how God crafted Eve from the side of Adam while he was asleep:

“The man gave names to all the wild animals; but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man. So God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from the man. When he brought her to the man, the man said: ‘This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called woman, for out of her man this one has been taken.’"  - Gen 2:20-23

Well, Saint Paul referred to Jesus as the new Adam [1 Cor 15: 45].  Again, what do we see?  While this new Adam is on the cross - while He sleeps - we see His side opened and a gush of blood and water from His side.

The blood and water symbolize the waters of Baptism and the blood of the New Covenant.  These are the two elements which constitute the Church, which we know is the bride of Christ:

“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her.” - Eph 5:25

To conclude, by looking at this sign of blood and water from the side of Jesus, we are reminded who He was, who we are… and what He did for us.

Thanks for joining me.