DAY THIRTY-SIX -- Water and Blood
Stand at the foot of the cross, and count the purple drops by which you have been cleansed; see the thorn-crown; mark His scourged shoulders, still gushing with encrimsoned rills . . . And if you do not lie prostrate on the ground before that cross, you have never seen it. —Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Reflect
As you come before the Lord today, consider what it must have been like to have been a Hebrew celebrating Passover. For centuries, fathers have used this event to pass down to their children the story of how Jehovah spared them from death in Egypt by having them mark their doorposts with the blood of a pure, unblemished lamb (see Exodus 12).
Ephesians 1:7–8 says:
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished on us. (NASB)
Reflect on the fact that Jesus’ blood is a sign over you, a gift of His lavish grace, that you may escape terrible judgment and punishment and embrace new life. Jesus is our Passover Lamb. Muse on this for a few moments.
Now, very slowly, read the following passage:
If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. (1 Peter 1:17–19 NASB)
Read it again, offering specific words of thanksgiving for everything it tells you about you and your relationship to Christ.
Read
He who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. (John 19:35 NASB)
As evening draws near, only the soldiers and a handful of priests remain on Golgotha. The two thieves continue to groan occasionally, rising up as they spew out each agonizing breath. Jesus seems shrouded in death, yet no one can be absolutely sure. With the Sabbath approaching, Caiaphas worries that they won’t all die before sundown.
Sacred law is clear on this: No criminal is to hang from a tree overnight. The thousands of pilgrims who’ve come to Jerusalem for Passover will certainly question his own authority if these bodies are left to hang.
Disturbed, he sends one of the elders with an urgent message to Pilate, requesting an order for the bones of the dying men to be broken. Once this is done and they can no longer lift themselves up to exhale, they will suffocate in a matter of minutes. As he waits for an answer, the chief priest paces impatiently, wanting to be done with the whole sordid saga. Finally, a runner approaches with the order bearing Pilate’s seal.
The centurion reads it and picking up a large iron bar, motions to one of the soldiers to begin. The soldier nods and moves to the thief on the right, striking a vicious blow just below the knees. The criminal cries out, then collapses. The bar is handed off to another soldier, who does the same to the thief on the left.
The third soldier takes the bar and approaches Jesus, but just as he lifts it up, the centurion calls out for him to wait. The three soldiers step back with questioning looks. The centurion knows that Pilate will want proof of death, but for some inexplicable reason feels compelled to keep them from breaking this One’s bones. Clearly Jesus is dead, and has been for a while. Why bother?
Torn, he finally pulls out his lance and faces Jesus, quickly plunging it into His heart. A stream of liquid shoots forth, spraying the air and splattering him. Dumbfounded, he stares at the strange mixture of thick red blood and clear liquid spewing from Jesus’ side.
The soldiers exchange curious glances. What an odd crucifixion this has been. Nothing about this prisoner’s behavior has seemed normal. Now in His death He bleeds blood and water, a sight they’ve never seen in all the hundreds of executions they’ve witnessed.
Night is beginning to fall and the last of the priests and elders, content that Jesus is dead, hurry home before the sun sets in the west. The soldiers begin to clean up the area around the crosses where debris from the day is scattered.
As news of the mysterious phenomenon of blood and water spreads throughout Jerusalem, some pause to consider what it might mean. There are those who say Jesus died of a broken heart, the blood and water mix pure proof. To others it is a reminder of how He had claimed to be Living Water, and His promise that rivers would flow out of their innermost beings as well, if only they would believe. Naysayers mock the soldiers’ story, certain such a thing could never have happened.
But one day this scene will flash in front of every person who has ever walked this earth. Every eye will gaze at Jesus’ pierced side, and they will mourn as if they have lost their only son, for all of humankind has played a part in His gruesome death. But today on a hill outside Jerusalem, only a few stragglers witness the amazing enigma of blood and water flowing like a fountain from the side of the Carpenter from Nazareth.
Respond
Spend some time gazing at Jesus in death on Calvary. Allow your mind to recall various scenes from this place—the words He spoke, the compassion He showed, the gentleness He demonstrated, and the choice He continued to make to offer Himself till the very end. As you contemplate these things, worship Him.
Read the following prophecies:
Look on the One whom you, too, have pierced with your own sin. Feel a sense of mourning at your part in His death, but also rejoice that He will come again in glory as the King of kings, and all will understand the price He paid. Offer words of praise for this reality. Write a prayer of thanksgiving.I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. (Zechariah 12:10 NASB)
Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. (Revelation 1:7 NASB)
A Prayer
Jesus, even now, I look at You—at Your side as it flows with water and blood. It is a fountain in which I cannot plunge deep enough, dearest Savior. I feel Your heart break for me, and I know that I, too, have pierced You with my indifference, my rebellious clutch at control, and my callous disregard for the price You paid to change all this. I see in Your blood the great sacrifice and I take comfort in the cleansing streams that ever flow from Your side. Wash me here, Lord, and I will be whiter than snow.
Reprinted by permission. Contemplating the Cross: a Forty Day Pilgrimage of Prayer, Tricia McCary Rhodes, 2004, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved. Copying or using this material without written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited and in direct violation of copyright law.
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