What does water mean? In John 3:5, Jesus says
I tell you the truth, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
In a previous post, I showed how John, in five scenes, presents something Jesus offers as greater than water.
- Jesus baptism in the Holy Spirit is greater than John’s baptism in water (1:19-34)
- Jesus’ wine is greater than the water of Jewish purification (2:1-11)
- Jesus’ living water is greater than the traditional waters of Jacob’s well (4:4-26)
- Jesus’ healing is greater than the traditional healing waters of Bethesda (5:1-9)
- Jesus’ living water is greater than the feast’s water ritual (7:37-39)
But Jesus also offers this spirit “water” in John 1, 2, and 5. Here’s how the Holy Spirit, wine and Jesus healing represent the water which is the spirit.
Dividing the Waters Below from the Waters Above (1:19-34)
In Matthew, Mark and Luke , John the Baptist declares
After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. (Mark 1:7-8, see also Matthew 3:11 and Luke 3:16)
But in John he leaves the mention of the two baptisms till the “next day” (1:29). It’s the second in a series of days.
- Day 1 = 1:1-29;
- Day 2 = 1:29-35;
- Day 3 = 1:35-39;
- Day 4 = 1:39-43;
- Day 5 = 1:43-2:1;
- Day 6 = 2:1-12
- Ending Days = 2:12
The days appear to part of an allusion to the creation account. For instance John appears to echo Genesis in his opening verses (Compare John 1:1-2 and Gen 1:1). He likewise follows Genesis by indicating a distinction between light and darkness on the first day. John’s testimony falls on the second day, the day on which in Genesis God divides the waters.
God said, “let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” God made the expanse, and separated the waters, which were below the expanse from the water, which were above the expanse; and it was so (Gen 1:6-8).
The connection is instructive. Through the allusion, John describes John’s water as water below and the Holy Spirit as water from above. The description fits perfectly within the Gospel of John (7:37-39).
Wine as Water and Spirit (2:1-11)
Jesus transforms the water of Jewish purification into what the headwaiter describes as the “best’ wine. But the two liquids are not entirely incompatible.
The narrator calls the wine “water-turned-wine” (2:9). John wants us to see the wine as water, albeit a water which is spirit.
This is key.
Wine is alcohol. The headwaiter’s comment makes the connection clear (2:10).
Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink
John wants us to see wine as an intoxicant – as a spirit – much like Paul does in Ephesians 5:18. Once again John describes what Jesus offers as water which is the Spirit.
Living Water as Spirit Worship (4:4-26)
There are two halves to Jesus conversation with the Samaritan woman. In the first half Jesus and the woman discuss two sources of water. She looks to the water found in Jacob’s well while Jesus offers her living water. The topic of conversation shifts, however, when Jesus reveals his knowledge of her marital history. In the second half the woman raises the issue of the right location to worship. Jesus, however, looks beyond location to worship in Spirit and in Truth.
The two halves differ in topic but are related in meaning. Note how the word “father” is used in both halves. In the first half, the woman exalts the status of the well by saying it had been given by ‘father’ Jacob. In the second half, she exalts the status of the mountain by saying it the place her ‘fathers’ worshipped. The well is a source of a traditional water just as the mountain is a source of traditional worship. We find that the well and the mountain are linked.
Jesus offer of “living water” in the first half of the conversation is likewise connected with worship in Spirit and in Truth in the later half of the conversation. Once again Jesus offers water which is the Spirit.
Jesus as Container of the Stirred Water (5:1-9)
In chapter 5, Jesus heals a lame man who looks for healing the troubled waters of Bethesda. When Jesus asks him if he wants to get well, He states,
Sir, I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.
Unlike the former accounts, there doesn’t appears be a “water” standing opposite the water in the pool. The Holy Spirit isn’t mentioned nor does Jesus transform the waters or speak to the man about his water. Jesus simply ignores the water altogether and just heals the man.
It’s certainly a break with what has come before. But its a hint at whats to come.
find no defined object there is no defined object as the opposite of the stirred water.
