Christians are so passionate about the blood of Jesus. We sing of the precious blood, “Come thou fount, the blood that cleanse each spot, just as I am, gaining an interest in the Saviour’s blood, and can it be.” We sing, “O for a thousand tongues, the blood that makes the foulest clean, the wonder-working power of the blood”, and many more. Those new to Christianity or belong to other religions may have thought these songs strange. Faith in the blood of Jesus is the foundation of all the Christian spiritual blessings. We are redeemed and cleansed through the blood of Jesus. Without the blood of Jesus, we do not have redemption.
No fact is more essential to human life – without the blood you need, you die. Beyond the physical need for blood, we need to understand our need for blood to live spiritually and to live eternally after we die. In the Book of Hebrews, the original audience who lived in a culture that denied the necessity of the death of Jesus Christ argued that His death proved that He was not who He claimed to be. The author of Hebrews reminds his audience that “Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness” (Heb. 9:22). In Christianity, forgiveness is critical and commanded. Forgiveness is the only way to remove our sins from God’s wrath and book—no way to get rid of our sins without God’s forgiveness through the blood. The blood of Jesus is shed for the death penalty that sin carries.
God’s idea is to save sinners. Charles Wesley echoes this in one of his hymns: ‘Sinners, turn: why will you die? God, your Savior, asks you why. God, who did your souls retrieve, Died Himself, that you might live. Will you let Him die in vain? Crucify your Lord again? Why, you ransomed sinners, why, Will you slight His grace and die?’ The reflection is that humans’ greatest salvation in God is through the divine blood of Jesus, just as the life of the flesh is in the blood. The Bible reveals the reason for blood sacrifices and how they relate to atonement, covering for sin (Lev 17:11). The animal’s blood represented its life (Lev 17:14). No blood, no life – physically and spiritually.
For God’s ancient people, a practice of regular animal sacrifices where the shedding of a substitute’s blood – the blood of an animal was a way of providing forgiveness. This system of practice was only temporary and incomplete, just as God said, “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Heb. 10:4). God sent to earth His only Son, Jesus Christ who was perfect enough to be the substitute for humanity, shedding His blood for us. We are acceptable to God because “We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once and for all” (Heb. 10:10).
John Owen said, “How great is the darkness of men under the new covenant who look or seek for any other way for the pardon of sin except through the blood of Christ.” The Christian world has ignored the real essence and value of the blood of Jesus, and that is why the church is declining, lifeless, powerless, disjointed, divided, and on life support. Sadly, the pagan Gentiles were not ignorant of the practices and place of blood sacrifice, unlike the modern Gentiles, who are too wise in their thinking. Christians, every year at Easter, we remember Jesus’ shed blood on the cross and his resurrection from the dead. While we often sing and talk about how Jesus saved us, we must not forget or deny what part His shed blood played in that process.
Life-renewing salvation only comes through Jesus’ divine blood. The principle of substitutionary atonement helps us understand the importance of Christ’s blood in providing forgiveness and spiritual salvation under the new covenant. As Jesus Christ shed His blood on the cross, He substituted His life for the sinner’s life (Rom 5:1). Because His life was perfect and sinless, His blood is priceless and provides a complete covering for all sin. John Stott said, “The biblical gospel of atonement is of God satisfying Himself by substituting Himself for us.” The biblical gospel of atonement, at one ment, points to how strange parties become reconciled. Beloved, have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power through the blood of Jesus? The mystery of the atonement is that God, who has just wrath against sinners, motivated by love, sent His Son to satisfy that very wrath. The cross is how we are God’s friends instead of His enemies.
Jesus Christ offers perfect salvation, that is, forgiveness for sin and an eternal relationship with God for all who accept trust and follow Him (Col. 1:14, Heb.9:13-14, 1Jn. 1:7, Rev 7:14). Beloved, do not be deceived, humble yourself, there is no reality in salvation outside the blood of Jesus. You can only become truly born again through the blood of Jesus, and you will know it without one doubt. There is power in the blood of Jesus to wash away all your sins and make you holy like God Himself (Matt 5:48). In Holy Communion, to eat the flesh, and drink the blood of Christ, spiritual eating of Christ by faith, ‘is to believe that Christ is come in the flesh and is truly man; that his flesh is given for the life of his people, and his blood is shed for their sins, and this with some view and application to themselves: it is to partake of, and enjoy the several blessings of grace procured by him, such as redemption, pardon, peace, justification’ (Jn 3:50).
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