Testimony of Water, Blood and Spirit

Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

The scene of the Baptism of our Lord actually provides us with two testimonies about Christ. First, John makes a statement about the superiority of Jesus and His baptism: “Someone is following me, someone who is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to kneel down and undo the strap of his sandals. I have baptised you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.” And then the gospel records the incident of the actual baptism climaxing with the Father’s voice, “You are my Son, the Beloved, my favour rests on you.” So, here we have the testimony of two witnesses - that of a human witness, St John the Baptist, and that of God the Father, which is far superior, but only heard by the Son. How do we understand the significance of these testimonies? Jewish law requires the testimony of two or three witnesses to support a charge against a person, especially when it involves a death penalty (e.g. Dt 17:5; Num 35:30).

With such irrefutable testimonies, it shouldn’t be too hard for the world to accept our Lord Jesus’s identity and mission. But this is not so. In an incredulous world, we need evidentiary proof and credible witnesses. To see is to believe. St John in the second reading, therefore argues that we have the corroboration of three witnesses- water, blood and Spirit. He wisely adds that “we accept the testimony of human witnesses, but God’s testimony is far greater.”

Let’s first consider the visible evidence of water. Water is necessary to become a Christian. We are immersed in the “living waters” of baptism and the gift of the Spirit is poured out upon us. At the Easter liturgies, all the baptised are reminded of their own baptism through the renewal of vows and the sprinkling of water. But what is the significance of water? Water quenches our thirst and is necessary for life. According to the prophet Isaiah in the first reading, it is freely given to those who seek it willingly. But water also destroys, as in the case of the Great Deluge during Noah’s time and the parted waves of the Red Sea which came down on Pharaoh and his army as they pursued the fleeing Israelites. But in both cases, what emerged from those destructive waters was new life; only sin and evil were destroyed. In the same way, sin is destroyed in the waters of baptism, and new life is restored to the newly born children of God.

But what about our Lord’s baptism? Remember that the Lord was sinless and therefore had no need to be washed by the waters of the river Jordan. What was the purpose of Him entering those waters? It was not Him who was purified, since He had no need of purification. St Gregory Nazianzen tells us that Christ “comes to bury sinful humanity in the waters. He comes to sanctify the Jordan for our sake and in readiness for us; He who is spirit and flesh comes to begin a new creation through the Spirit and water.” This is what we witness during the Easter Vigil liturgy, when the Paschal Candle, a symbol of Christ, is plunged into the baptismal fount to consecrate the waters which will be used for the sacrament of regeneration and rebirth. This water is the life-giving water which Christ promised to the Samaritan woman at the well and which He poured out from the cross. Recall that after our Lord dies, the soldiers came and one of them “thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out.”

But water is not the only witness. There must be the corroborating testimony of blood too. When the lance pierced the side of our Lord, it was not only water which sprouted forth from the wound but also blood. We must not only bath in this life-giving water but also drink from the blood of Christ. One could speak of the two sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist, as a two-fold baptism - one with water and the second with His blood. Tertullian writes: “These two baptisms He sent out from the wound in His pierced side, in order that they who believed in His blood might be bathed with the water; they who had been bathed in the water might likewise drink the blood. This is the baptism which both stands in lieu of the fontal bathing when that has not been received, and restores it when lost.” That is why the Sacrament of Initiation is not only confined to the sacrament of baptism but necessarily includes the Eucharist.

But the Sacrament of Initiation still lacks a third component. Having received baptism and the Eucharist, one still needs the sacrament of Confirmation. That is why St John speaks of the Holy Spirit as the third witness. At the scene of the Baptism of the Lord, the Spirit comes down upon Him in the bodily form of a dove, witnessing to His Godhead. As a dove once came down to announce the end of the Flood during the time of Noah and inaugurate a new covenant where God promises to never destroy humanity again, the Holy Spirit now witnesses to the One who seals an everlasting covenant which promises salvation and eternal life. The Apostles are witnesses precisely because the Holy Spirit is at work in them, empowering them (Acts 1:8).

These three “witnesses” do not only testify that Jesus is the Son of God, but they also testify to the efficacy of the sacraments which provide us with the grace and power “to overcome the world.” One of the most tragic consequences of the Protestant rebellion is the disavowal of the Sacraments. Their suspicion of the sacraments eventually led to their demise. Gradually, each of the sacraments were rejected by the Reformers until baptism alone remained. But even this was not spared. Today, the baptism performed by many evangelical and Pentecostal Christians is merely an impotent symbol - a witness by men to men, not one which is witnessed by water, the Blood of Christ or even the Spirit. If one thinks that the waters of Baptism, the real presence of the Eucharist, the anointing of Confirmation are just impotent and empty symbols, it’s easy to see why the words of St John would make no sense to Protestants.

To be sure, there are symbolic baptisms in Scripture: the baptism of John the Baptist was one example. It was a symbolic act marking a person’s repentance. But apart from that, it could not confer new life, it could not fundamentally transform us, it had little effect on our future salvation. Only Christ could accomplish all those things and He did by instituting the sacraments and placing them in the hands of the Church. The Baptist could only baptise with water but only Christ could baptise with the Holy Spirit. Rather than impotent symbols, Scripture repeatedly points to the waters of Baptism, along with the Blood of Christ and the workings of the Holy Spirit, as being responsible for our interior transformation, leading us from death to life, and bringing us into a state of fidelity with Jesus Christ.

What is the purpose of us being baptised in water, drinking the Blood of Christ and being anointed by His Spirit? It is simple - it is to share in our Lord’s divine life and His very mission. In the words of St Gregory Nazianzen, “Christ is bathed in light; let us also be bathed in light. Christ is baptised; let us also go down with him, and rise with him.” When our Lord went down into the waters of the river Jordan, we who are baptised in Him can see His death prefigured. But as He arose from the waters, immediately the heavens opened and the Spirit descended, and in this, we see the glory of the resurrection prefigured, and not just His resurrection, but ours too. And as His baptism launched Him on His public ministry, we too receive our commission at our baptism, confirmation, and at the end of every Mass, to be witnesses of this truth, that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus is the Son of God, and His testimony which is God’s testimony, is far greater than any human witness.