The Blood of Jesus

Blood is necessary to the life of humans and animals. It is essential to maintain life. So, it has been called lifeblood. Lev 17:11 says, “for the life of a creature is in the blood.” Without blood there can be no life. Jesus was human and had lifeblood too. But His blood was particularly special. Jesus’ lifeblood brings life to us. His lifeblood is key and necessary to our salvation.

There are a couple of events that God put into place for the Jewish people that were a foreshadow of the blood of Jesus. God always had in mind His Son as He set up feasts, festivals, and ceremonies. Blood was an essential component in many of them. 

Passover for example was observed in remembrance of how God miraculously brought them safely out of slavery. The sacrificial animal they slaughtered to get the blood to put on the doorframes was called the Passover lamb. I Cor 5:7 says, “For Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed.” Jesus' death and shed blood, Christ fulfilled the true meaning of the Jewish sacrifice of the Passover Lamb. The bible confirms that Jesus was crucified on Passover day. And He was the sinless and spotless sacrificial Lamb of God who frees us from being a slave to sin. Those who put their trust in Him will escape the judgement of death. Heb 10:10 says, “we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” He substituted His life for ours and there was no longer any need for countless sacrifices. 

We know in Jesus’ last meal with His disciples, after he had given thanks, he took the cup saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’” The shedding of Jesus’ blood is a covenant sign, and God states our salvation is sealed and paid for by Jesus’ blood. And we are to regularly set aside time to remember that His body was broken and His blood shed for us.

Jesus went through what we go through to identify with every aspect of life including having our flesh cut. He allowed every drop of blood to be shed while He was being whipped, the crown of thorns pushed on to His head, and the nails hammered into His hands and feet. Jesus knew with every blow the significance of His blood being spilt for the sins of man. The blood was spilt for the Pharisees, Pilot, Herod, the crowds, his disciples, His mother and even the Roman soldiers who were whipping Him. 

A speaker on Focus on the Family radio said that the human body can replace 20 million cells in just a few seconds, which means over a lifetime your body produces a lot of blood. Adult humans have somewhere around 25 trillion red blood cells in their body. This means that Jesus had this many red blood cells too and they were being replaced every few seconds. The speaker said he didn’t want to over spiritualize it but were there enough divine and powerrful blood cells shed so that there was enough for every person whoever lived in the world? Is it possible that we each have one red blood cell assigned for us? And that cell is so holy and pure that it can do what it says in I John 1:7, “the blood of Jesus…purifies us from all sin.”

Jesus shed His blood for you to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Cleansing is a result of being washed in the blood of Jesus. When God washes us, we become whiter than snow. White is a sign of purity. If you feel your life is so impure and stained with so much sin that you can never be made pure again, Jesus is saying and promises that His death and shed blood has the power to completely wash you clean so you can begin anew. All you have to do is accept this truth, confess your sins, and ask Jesus to come into your life and then you will receive the gift of this cleansing through His blood. Will you please do that today? Put your trust in Jesus who shed His lifeblood to bring you eternal life.

Transcript

Intro to Attribute

Blood is necessary to the life of humans and animals. It is essential to maintain life. So, it has been called lifeblood. If you are to lose a significant amount of blood, your body will become weak. If your blood is drained out, you will die. Lev 17:11 says, “for the life of a creature is in the blood.” Without blood there can be no life.

From a biological point of view, there is 1.2 to 1.5 gallons of blood in a human body. Most adults can lose up to 14% of their blood without experiencing any major side effects or changes in vital signs. Some, however, may feel lightheaded or dizzy if this amount is lost quickly. 

Red blood cells are by far the most abundant type of cell in the human body, accounting for over 80% of all cells. The job of the heart is to pump and circulate blood in the body. The job of red blood cells is to transport oxygen to the body’s tissues. Without blood, the body’s organs couldn’t get the oxygen and nutrients they need to survive. 

One other interesting note that I didn’t know: Blood is red inside and outside the body. I was told as a child that it was blue in the body and turned red when it hit the air. But actually, human blood is red because of the protein hemoglobin which contains a red-colored compound called heme. Heme contains an iron atom which binds to oxygen giving blood its red color. Veins appear to be blue but only because of how it looks through the skin. I just shook my head when I learned this and I saw a correlation that we are trying to accomplish through this study. This just proves to me that you should examine what you know about Jesus. Just like with the color of blood, you could have something wrong all these many years and not realize it and be convinced you are right. Having the wrong knowledge about the color of blood has no significance to your life; but having the wrong knowledge and understanding about Jesus can have eternal significance.

Jesus was human and had lifeblood too. But His blood was particularly special. Jesus’ lifeblood brings life to us. His lifeblood is a key and necessary to our salvation. Let’s see how it does that.

How is the Blood of Jesus revealed in the Word.

There are a couple of events that God put into place for the Jewish people that were a foreshadow of the blood of Jesus. God always had in mind His Son as He set up feasts, rituals, festivals, and ceremonies for the Israelites to participate in. Blood was an essential component in many of them. In regards to blood, we will look at three foreshadowings: The Passover, the old and new covenants, and the sacrifices in the law.

Passover

When God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, this is what God said about the last plague in Ex 12:12-13, “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn—both men and animals—and I will bring judgement on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. The blood (that God instructed them to put on their doorframe) will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.” This became an annual Jewish ceremony called the Passover that they were to observe in remembrance of how God miraculously brought them safely out of slavery. The sacrificial animal, that was to be without defect, they slaughtered to get the blood to put on the doorframes was called the Passover lamb. 

I Cor 5:7 says, “For Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed.” NIV commentary says that in His death and shed blood, Christ fulfilled the true meaning of the Jewish sacrifice of the Passover Lamb. The bible confirms that Jesus was crucified on Passover day. And He was the sinless and spotless sacrificial Lamb of God who frees us from being a slave to sin. Those who put their trust in Him will escape the judgement of death.  

Old and New Covenants

After God took the people out of Egypt, He gave them the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20) and other stipulations and conditions listed in Ex 20-23 that were included in the Book of the Covenant. As it says in Ex 24:6-8, “Moses (who was the mediator between God and the people of Israel) took half of the blood (from the sacrifices of young bulls) and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the alter. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, ‘We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.’ Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, ‘This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.’” As the old or Mosaic covenant was formalized and observed by the blood of sacrificial animals, so the new covenant would be honored and celebrated by the blood of Christ. God even says in Jer. 31:31 that, “The time is coming…when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel.” In the new covenant, Jesus would become the mediator between God and His people.

From Matt 26, Luke 22, and I Cor 11, we know in Jesus’ last meal with His disciples, after he had given thanks, he first took some bread, broke it, saying, ‘Take and eat, this is my body, broken for you, do this in remembrance of me.’ Then he took the cup saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’” The shedding of Jesus’ blood is a covenant sign, and God states our salvation is sealed and paid for by Jesus’ blood. And we are to regularly set aside time to remember that His body was broken and His blood shed for us.

Sacrifices

God said, in Lev 17:11 that He gave the Israelites the law of sacrificing animals “to make atonement for yourselves on the alter; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.”  NIV commentary says the blood shed in the sacrifices was sacred. Since life was sacred, blood (a symbol of life) had to be treated with respect. Practically every sacrifice included the sprinkling or smearing of blood on the altar or within the tabernacle thus teaching that atonement involves the substitution of life for life. Even though God’s law required sacrifices and offerings to be made year after year, they didn’t please Him because they only reminded people of their sins, they didn’t take away sin. The law was only a foreshadow of the good things to come.

Therefore, Christ came into the world. He says in Heb 10:8, “Here I am , I have come to do your will.” Rom 3:25, says that “God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood.” God set aside the first to establish the second through Jesus. Heb 10:10 says, “we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” He substituted His life for ours and there was no longer any need for countless sacrifices.

How is The Blood of Jesus revealed in the World.

When Jesus cut His finger working as a carpenter or masonry worker, it hurt and it bled and it developed a scab and healed over time. I don’t think Jesus necessarily went through short cuts on earth because He was God. He went through what we go through to identify with every aspect of life including having our flesh cut. He allowed every drop of blood to be shed while He was being whipped, the crown of thorns pushed on to His head, and the nails hammered into His hands and feet. 

It is said that a flogging of Roman days has a horrendous physical effect on the human body including mental torment. It was often used as a prelude to crucifixion. The person would be stripped naked and bound to a low pillar so that he could bend over it, or chained to an upright pillar so as to be stretched out. Whips with small pieces of metal or bone at the tips were commonly used. The blows went from the bare shoulders down the body to the soles of the feet. These devices could cause disfigurement and serious trauma, such as ripping pieces of flesh from the body. In addition to causing severe pain, the victim would approach a state of shock due to loss of blood. The number of blows inflicted was left to the soldiers to decide, though they were normally not supposed to kill the victim.

Jesus knew with every blow the significance of His blood being spilt for the sins of man. The blood was spilt for the Pharisees, Pilot, Herod, the crowds, his disciples, His mother and even the Roman soldiers who were whipping Him. His blood was falling to the ground for their sins too. 

I Pt 2:24 – “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed.”

Is 53:5 – “But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities.”

How much blood was shed, we don’t know. Thirty years ago, I heard a speaker on Focus on the Family radio. He said that the human body can replace 20 million cells in just a few seconds, which means over a lifetime your body produces a lot of blood. Adult humans have somewhere around 25 trillion red blood cells in their body, on average. This means that Jesus had this many red blood cells in His body too and they were being replaced every few seconds. The speaker said he didn’t want to over spiritualize it but he hypothesized something I have never forgotten. Think about the fact that Jesus’ red blood cells were divine and powerful. Do you think perhaps that the blood that was shed on the cross had enough red blood cells for every person whoever lived in the world? Is it possible that we each have one red blood cell assigned for us? And that cell is so holy and pure that it can do what it says in I John 1:7, “the blood of Jesus…purifies us from all sin.”

How is The Blood of Jesus revealed in our hearts.

There is power in the blood of Jesus. Let’s take a look at what the power of the blood of Jesus provides for us:

v  Freedom from slavery to sin: Rev 5:9 – “You (Jesus) were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God.” Back in bible times, if a person was a slave, they could be purchased out of slavery with money. But I Pt 1:18 says, “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life…, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world but revealed in these last times for our sakes.” Jesus had access to all heavenly riches but He didn’t purchase us with that, He purchased us with His own blood.

v  Reconciliation with God: Rom 5:9 – “Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him!” Our sin separated us from God. Eph 2:13 – “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.” Jesus’ blood reconciled our relationship with God. He desired that we be in right relationship with the Father that He willingly went to Calvary. Rev 1:5 says, He “loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood.” Jesus proved His love at Calvary and brought us back into relationship with God.

v  Victory from the Enemy: Rev 12:11 – “They overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.” This verse shows the true power of the blood with victory over the devil. When we are covered in the blood, we have strength to defeat our greatest enemy the devil. He cannot take our salvation away from us.

v  Forgiveness of sins: Eph 1:7 – “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” In Heb 9:22, is says, “in fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” Jesus’ blood covered every single sin of all men and women born and to be born and all those sins are forgiven through His blood. Jesus brought the forgiveness we needed from our sins by sacrificing Himself. 

v  Cleansing from sin: Jesus shed His blood for you to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Cleansing is a result of being washed in the blood of Jesus. Rev 7:14 says, “they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” The bible says when God washes us, we become whiter than snow. White is a sign of purity. If you feel your life is so impure and stained with so much sin that you can never be made pure again, Jesus is saying and promises that His death and shed blood has the power to completely wash you clean so you can begin anew. All you have to do is accept this truth, confess your sins, and ask Jesus to come into your life and then you will receive the gift of this cleansing through His blood. Will you please do that today? Put your trust in Jesus who shed His lifeblood to bring you eternal life.

Living a radical life for Jesus means believing in the power of Jesus’ blood shed for you.