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1 John 5:5-12
May 30, 2010 Pentecost 1 #1801
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Hi Kids,
What do you like to do most on the play ground – the swings, the bars, the slide? Suppose
you and one other person were playing there and I heard one of you crying. I came out and asked
“why are you crying?” That person crying pointed to you and said “you pushed me off the swing.”
Then you said, “No, I didn’t push you. You fell off.” How would I know who was telling the truth? I
couldn’t know because it was one person’s story against the other’s story.
But suppose there was someone else on the play ground who saw what happened. I could go
to that person as ask, “please tell me what happened.” Then I would know the truth. Do you know
what we call that third person who explained what he or she saw? We call them a “witness.”.. [have
them repeat the word.] We will learn about this word in the sermon.
Who is Jesus? Some people think he is just a human person who lived on earth and did lots of
good things, but has died and is buried in a grave somewhere. They don’t believe what happened on
Easter. What did Jesus do on Easter? He rose from the dead. Who is Jesus? He is God our
Savior. Listen in the sermon for how God uses his three special witnesses to tell us that this is true.
Those witnesses are the Holy Spirit who wrote the Bible to teach us about Jesus, water when Jesus
was baptized and God said “This is my Son whom I love,” and blood to show that he died.
Fellow listeners in the gallery of God’s courtroom,
“Guility” or “innocent,” how do you know which is the correct verdict about an individual? You
can ask the person “did you do it?” But how do you know if the answer is the truth? You can let
Judge Brown or Judge Judy decide with the accuser and defendant pleading their cases to the judge.
You can ask a jury to hear the case give the judgment. But how is guilt or innocence proven? When
God set up the legal structure for the children of Israel to be a new nation at Mt. Sinai, he set up this
procedure for finding the truth: “One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense
he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” [Dt 19:15]
Jesus followed this format to establish his claim that he is the Savior when skeptical Jews
doubted it: “If [only] I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid. There is another who testifies in
my favor.” [Jn 5:31] Jesus then referred to John the Baptist as his witness and his heavenly Father,
whose booming voice at the time of his baptism in the Jordan River publicly affirmed Jesus as his
Son and his choice. And now John follows the same format. JESUS IS CONFIRMED BY THREE
WITNESSES AS GOD’S SON .
Who are these three witnesses? The witnesses that “testify” to Jesus’ divine identity are: “the
Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.” It is a “no brainer” that the “Spirit” is
the Holy Spirit. The work the Holy Spirit does is to get the Gospel about Jesus and about his
redeeming work to people’s hearts and convert them to believe it as true. The Spirit directs all ears,
eyes and hearts to focus on Jesus. We can believe him because “the Spirit is truth.” But what is
meant by “Water and the blood?”
Is it reference to what flowed from Jesus’ body on the cross when the soldier speared him?
John is the one who reports this proof that Jesus truly was dead. It verified that the Old Testament
writings were fulfilled – “not a bone in his body was broken” and “they looked on the one whom they
had pierce.” And it verified that the sacrifice for the world’s sins really had been made. If this is the
point, then John is silencing those who don’t believe that Jesus really died, or that Jesus was only a
man when he died, not God.
Another thought is that the “Spirit, the water and the blood” are references to the means of
grace, the ways that God brings his Gospel and its saving forgiveness to us. If this is the meaning
then the water is representative of the sacrament of baptism, the blood represents the sacrament of
Holy Communion and the Spirit is reference to the Word of God which the Holy Spirit inspired certain
believing men to write under his divine hand. These certainly are our life line to Christ. The Bible
alone gives a true witness about everything we know about God’s love for us and much more. The
Bible is the only factual record of the creation, the fall, the gospel promises, Jesus’ conception and
1 John 5:5-12
May 30, 2010 Pentecost 1 #1801
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birth, his crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. What better way to drive doubt from our heart than
to go to God’s Word! And the sacraments personalize and confirm the work of the word to bring us to
saving faith and keep our heart intent on believing it.
And there is a third option which I pick as the THREE WITNESS TO CONFIRM THAT JESUS
IS GOD’S SON. The “Spirit” is the Holy Spirit as in the previous ones. But the “water” would be
Jesus’ baptism when the Father declared “This is my Son whom I love.” The “blood” speaks of Jesus
death with the miracles and Jesus’ words which lead the Roman officer to conclude, “Surely he was
the Son of God.” [Mt 27] The baptism and the crucifixion marked the beginning and end of Jesus
public ministry. And I can believe these because “it is the testimony of God which he has given about
his Son.”
Why does God want me to believe this? So that I conquer the world through faith in him.
“Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” And how
do I overcome the world that has been corrupted by sin including my original nature which only wants
to sin? I rejoice in life, hope and forgiveness I have through Jesus. I resist the devil knowing that he
will flee when I stay close to Jesus by trusting in him and obeying his directions. I adopt God’s moral
value system instead of listening to sinful human thinking which decides right and wrong based on
what I want and feel. I use and enjoy things without becoming addicted to them as my security
blanket. I endure pain and hardship without despairing or becoming bitter thinking that God has
ignored me.
God has given has testimony that Jesus is his Son to me with the 3 witnesses So that I don’t
make God into a liar . If I don’t believe God, I am in essence saying to God’s face, “You lie. Jesus is
not your Son. He has not saved me. Your gospel is a farce and you are a fake.” God is patient with
us even when we sin. But if we mock God, He will take action because our badmouthing him affects
whether others believe in him or believe our defamation of his character. This is serious because it
has eternal consequences.
The bridge God built to connect me with him is Jesus Christ. The pilings, roadway and
supports are Jesus’ perfect obedience and sacrificial death. I am on the bridge by God’s gift. God
keeps me traveling on it with his Word and Sacraments – the gospel to motivate me and the law to
show me the road. That is why ongoing review and learning more of the Bible is so critical for our life.
The end result is So that I have the eternal life God has given to us.
I conquer the world on Judgment Day by rising from the dead. I have the conquest because
God took the initiative. What is the gift? Death can’t hold my body. Hell can’t have me. How do I get
it? Heaven is where I am headed because Jesus unblocked the door by removing my sins and giving
me his purity. When was it given? When the Holy Spirit created faith in my heart. What determines
the quality of the rest of my life? My connected with Jesus Christ.
A body without life is called corpse. If it moves we call it a Zombie, the living dead. Look at v
12, “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” It is worth noting
the simplicity of the words. Not one is more than four letters in English. Everyone can understand
them. Without Christ you are dead! Facing God’s wrath is your eternity. God didn’t sacrifice his Son
“for the fun of it.” He did it because of his intense love for us. He made us to enjoy heaven with him.
That is why Jesus came. That is why he had to be God’s Son. One man who also is God could and
did pay for all your sins and make you perfect. Keep believing in Jesus and live. Amen.