We sing old hymns that speak this truth, like: “There is Power in the Blood,” “There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins, and sinners plunge beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains,” “Nothing but the Blood,” “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness,” and “Are you washed in the blood? In the soul cleansing blood of the lamb?” There are also newer hymns, like, “Thank You, Jesus for the Blood.” Why so much emphasis on the blood of Jesus?
The phrase “the blood of Jesus” refers to His death and His atoning of sin. To atone for something is satisfying someone or something for an offense committed. This is the reconciliation of God with humanity through Jesus Christ! The blood of Jesus is crucial for our atonement.
Illustration: Years ago, I was given several solid wood 3 legged stools. We used them for ministry for many years and we still use them today. What if I decided to cut one of the legs on each stool, leaving only two legs on each stool? You would tell me not to do it! Why? Because that leg is VITAL for the stool to work.
What makes the blood of Jesus so vital?
1. God required a blood sacrifice.
Why? Leviticus 17:11 is a central verse in the Old Testament. The life of an animal is in the blood, so it is the blood that must be poured out to atone for sins. Instead of an Israelite dying for their own sin, it would be the sacrificed animal having its blood poured out on their behalf. Instead of the New Testament person dying in judgment for their sin, Jesus willingly sacrificed Himself and His blood was poured out in our place!
In other words, Leviticus 17:11 tells us that we are set free from the negative outcomes of our sin (the Divine judgment we have earned and deserve) when we are covered by the blood sacrifice.
Remember, atonement requires the sacrifice of something highly valued for highly offending the holy God.
II Corinthians 5:21
The bloody sacrifices of the animals in the Old Testament are all foreshadowing the ultimate sacrifice Jesus would make on behalf of His entire creation. This bloody act was also always substitutionary. An animal shed its blood in the Old Testament Covenant and Jesus poured out His blood for the New Testament Covenant.
2. The blood of Jesus was shed once – for all!
The atonement for our sins being tied to the blood goes back to the Mosaic law. Every year the priest was to make an offering of the blood of animals for the sins of the people. The law required that nearly everything needed to be cleansed with blood.
“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”
Hebrews 9:22
“Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”
Hebrews 9:12
Joseph Swan may have discovered the light bulb, but the vacuum pumps available at the time did not allow full success. Later, Thomas Edison attempted 3,000 different theories for the light bulb. Once the correct pathway was discovered, the lightbulb became irreplaceable.
The effectiveness of the animal sacrifices were limited, as a result, the sacrifices had to be made over and over again. This Old Testament sacrifice for the sins of mankind was a foreshadowing of the ultimate sacrifice that was yet to come.
“Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.”
The old hymnwriter, Philip Bliss, said it well when he wrote:
“Free from the law, O happy condition,
Jesus has bled, and there is remission;
Cursed by the law and bruised by the fall,
Grace has redeemed us once for all.
Once for all, O sinner, receive it,
Once for all, O friend, now believe it;
Cling to the cross, the burden will fall,
Christ has redeemed us once for all.”
3. The blood of Jesus was shed for me
Once Jesus shed His blood for the sins of all people, the blood of bulls and goats would no longer be needed! It is the blood of Jesus that is the basis for the New Covenant. In fact, Luke 22:20 says, “Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.” This phrase in Luke 22:20, “shed for you” is the Greek word for “to pour out.” The pouring out of the grape juice represents the blood of Jesus that was poured out for the sins of all mankind.
4. The blood of Jesus satisfied God’s justice.
The blood of Jesus poured out meant never needing blood to be poured out again to cover sin. The blood of animals was only ever enough to cover the sins of the people on a temporary basis. “Sin against a holy and infinite God requires a holy and infinite sacrifice” (Source: Unknown) – the greater the offense, the greater the sacrifice!
“But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.”
Hebrews 10:3-4
While the blood of bulls and goats reminded the people of their sin, it is the blood of Jesus Christ that paid the full debt we owe to God for our sin!
“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.” I Peter 1:18-21
5. The blood of Jesus frees me
Many societies have embraced slavery at some point in their existence. Places like Rome and the USA allowed slaves to purchase their freedom with an agreed amount between the master and the slave. It was hard to save the money and a challenging goal to achieve, for sure.
When it comes to every man’s enslavement to sin and sin’s consequences, there is no amount of money that is high enough to earn freedom! It is only the blood of Jesus that redeems the believer from his sin and from eternal judgment. The blood of Jesus makes us free from making continued sacrifices – and free from having to depend on works of the flesh to please God!
“How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
Hebrews 9:14
The blood of Jesus has redeemed the believer, made us knew creations in Him, and frees us to serve, glorify, and enjoy the one true living God!
II Corinthians 5:14-21
Bette Nesmith was a secretary at a bank in Dallas when she decided there must be a way to correct typewriter mistakes without erasing the ink. She came up with a formula for a fluid that she could use to paint over mistakes. In a short time all of the secretaries in her office were using her correction fluid.
Betty called her product, “Mistake Out,” and began a business selling it full time. When she sold her business to Gillette Company for $47.5 million, it was making $3.5 million every year on sales that grossed $38 million.
Jesus’ blood does not merely “mistake out” our sin. The blood of Jesus washes us whiter than snow. (Source: Source: Crossroads, Issue 7)
Thank you Jesus for the blood applied,
Thank you Jesus, you have washed me white
Thank you Jesus, you have saved my life
Brought me from the darkness into glorious light!