The symbol of water in John's Gospel is perhaps the most sophisticated of the Evangelist's motifs. The symbol of water is used repeatedly to tie together significant episodes in the Gospel that signal a coming to faith in the lives of the characters that the author wanted to portray.

The Symbolic Use of Water Outside John's Gospel

Water as a symbol is readily understood by most cultures, but is particularly important in a semi-arid region like Palestine. The careful use of water to support life (human, plant and animal) and hygiene in such a culture would be readily understood.

In consonance with the author's allusions to creation, we find the primeval ocean already present before creation in the Genesis account (Gen 1:2). Jewish ritual utilized water to cleanse the hands before meals (Mk 7:3) and ritual washings are prescribed in Old Testament law as signs of cleansing (Lev 11:1-39, 14:8, and 15:1-21) (See HCBD, 1200-1201.) Perhaps the most vivid allusions to water in the Old Testament are found in the books of the prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah. In passages such as Ezekiel 36 and Isaiah 44, we find water as a symbol of spiritual renewal and refreshment for Israel. This use of water as a symbol in the Old Testament seems to foreshadowing its powerful use in the Gospel of John as a symbol of rebirth.

The Developing Use of Water in John's Gospel

Similar to its use in the Old Testament, water in John's Gospel also functions as a symbol of cleansing. Several of verbs associated with water in the Gospel (washing, baptizing and wiping) tend to bear this out. However, water in the Gospel also tends to have a more personal focus (e.g. drinking and thirsting). This personal side to water stresses the need for water and, through John's symbolism, the reader's need to believe in Jesus.

The Evangelist's opening reference to water involves the questioning of John the Baptist by the Priest and Levites in Chapter 1. John indicates that his baptism is only to reveal the one who will come (Jn 1:31) to baptize with the Holy Spirit (Jn 1:33). With this, the author establishes the initial connection between water and the Spirit. In the encounter with Nicodemus in Chapter 3, the author strengthens the spiritual connection (Jn 3:5), but with it adds the element of re-birth "from above" (Jn 3:3).

In the second chapter, the author provides the account of the changing of water into wine at the wedding in Cana. The water is found in Jewish ritual containers, indicating that for the Evangelist, water will become much more than an association with a Jewish cleansing ritual. Wine at the wedding is symbolic of the beginning of the possibility of new life in the wedding couple. In John's Gospel, water as a symbol will become something entirely different than what his readers expect.

In Jesus' encounter with the woman at the well, we observe an additional element to the water motif in that water will become closely associated with the person of Jesus (Jn 4:13-15). Just as a spring is the source of water in the natural world, so is Jesus the source of "spiritual" water that will satisfy eternally (Jn 4:14). With this revelation and the encounter with Jesus, the woman forgets about her task in the natural world (Jn 4:28) and attends to relaying her revelation of the Messiah (Jn 4:29). Through the encounter with Jesus which which began with a discussion about water, she and others come to believe in the true identity of Jesus (Jn 4:39-42).

The author next presents another episode involving water, in the healing of the man by the pool of Beth-zatha. The man, who cannot access pool for healing, finds an alternate source of healing in the person of Jesus and his command to walk (Jn 5:8). In this action, Jesus incurs the indignation of the Jews (Jn 5:16) which will ultimately lead to his glorification by his death on the cross.

While there are no explicit references to water in Chapter 6, the drinking of Jesus' blood is described as essential to eternal life in Jn 6:53, similar to the way those who drink the water Jesus provides in Jn 4:14 will never thirst again. In Jewish thought, blood is the essence of life and the seat of life's power and vitality. In its most dramatic symbolism, blood gives life to the Hebrews in the Exodus account (Ex. 12:7, also see HCBD, 148). Hellenistic thought associated the consumption or sprinkling of blood as a symbol of mystical union with the god to whom the animal was sacrificed. In the drinking of Jesus' blood, the believer "consumes" or takes in the eternal life that is brought by the person of Jesus.

Water is again connected to the Spirit in 7:38 where believers who drink will ultimate receive the Spirit after Jesus' death (Jn 7:39). Several other references to water appear between 7:39 and the washing of the feet of the disciples in chapter 13, however, the allusions are somewhat more subtle. For example, the man born blind must wash his eyes to be able to see (chapter 9) and Mary "washes" Jesus' feet with her hair (12:3). Water will re-emerges dramatically in the washing of the disciples' feet; the penultimate act of God descending to the created world (Jn 13:3-4). In the following "farewell discourse" Jesus reveals that his disciples are no longer servants, but friends (Jn 15:15).

For John's Gospel, the ultimate glorification of Jesus comes with his death on the cross. Again, water is present as a symbol when water and blood come out of Jesus side (19:34). Thus, as in the washing of the feet, water is associated with the laying down of life, the ultimate act of friendship on the part of God (Jn 15:13) and that which must be received ("drunk") by the believer.

In conclusion, the author of John's Gospel uses water in the same way that he portrays the progression of belief for many of his characters. By use of this symbol, the reader is also lead to an ever-building knowledge and understanding of the person of Jesus and what it means to be a believer.