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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

blood, water, Gospel of John, Biblical studies

College

Humanities

Department

Comparative Arts and Letters

Abstract

The stated purpose of the Gospel of John is that the reader or hearer “may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name” (20.31) (2). Regardless of whether the Fourth Gospel is written to a community of believers or to convert the unbelieving, as is debated, this verse points to life through Jesus Christ as the focus of the book. Each of the four Gospels offers a testimony of Jesus as the Christ. Culminating in the passion and resurrection narratives, each version presents a unique witness of Christ’s mission. While details in each account differ, the axis of each book’s message is the crucifixion scene. Peculiar to John’s gospel, and central to the book as a witness of Christ’s salvific power and purpose, is the flow of blood and water from the side of the crucified Jesus (John 19.34). The inclusion of such details in the Johannine Passion has prompted considerable commentary. This study focused on how this episode illuminates the rest of the gospel as a unified literary, historical, and theological work. Moreover, it demonstrated how the evangelist employs the symbols of blood and water to state his soteriological message.

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