“Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep” Heb: 13:20
Blood plays a prominent role in the Holy Scriptures. Blood flows through the pages of the Holy writ. We see it flowing and coursing through the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation. It is nearly impossible to separate the blood from the word and in many ways, we simply should not even try to do so.
We see blood at the time of the visitation of
divine plagues upon the nation of Egypt and the very things which the Egyptians
worshiped. It was the blood of the lamb on the door post of the Israeli homes
that preserved the lives of the first born of the nation. The Blood stayed the
hand of the Death Angel toward the people of Israel. Ex: 13
The Blood was sprinkled on Israel which
enacted a National Covenant Relationship with God. Ex: 24:6-8
The Blood was used and had the power to
ceremonially consecrate the Priesthood. Ex: 29
The Blood was used in the sacramental tenants
of the Covenant and had the power to “ceremonially” cover
the sins of the people. We can see blood all through the Book of Leviticus
which details the Priestly service of the tribe Levi.
After the construction of the Temple at
Jerusalem by King Solomon, the Blood played a vital role in Israel’s
relationship with God with the daily sacrifices which were offered at the
Temple of God.
The Role of Blood
What role does blood play for Christians down
through ages and the New Covenant inaugurated and given to us by, and through,
our Lord Jesus? The People Israel had only the Blood of bull’s and goats, but
for we Christians, and in truth, all humanity, if they will but freely receive
it, it is the Blood of Jesus which has a vital part of our relationship with
God.
We can read in the Holy Word of God regarding
the blood, that “the life is in the blood”; the value of the blood is
found in the value of the life it sustained.
“For the life of a creature is
in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on
the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life” Lev: 17:11
The blood of Jesus sustained the life of God,
the eternal Son of God incarnate in the flesh, therefore, it is of more value
than the life of all humanity combined.
When our Lord Jesus, on the night of his
betrayal and arrest, took and transposed the symbolic elements of the Old
Covenant Passover, which recalled the “passing over” of
the Children of Israel by the Destroyer, into the New Covenant’s central
sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, Eucharist or the Communion. Jesus took the
bread and wine and elevates their symbolic meaning from the Paschal lamb of the
Exodus and assigns the meaning to himself as the sinless “Lamb of God”, who, as John the Baptist declared “takes away the sin of the world”.
We are told to ceremonially, or symbolically,
to “drink all” of the Blood of his sacrifice, his life is
still in the Blood.
Israel could not even symbolically drink the
blood of animals, because there was no permanent life there in, but the Blood
of Christ has the power to bring Eternal life and transform our lives.
The giving of the life of our Lord Jesus, that
is, the sheading of his blood ‘brings us into a Covenant Relationship with God.
In the ancient world Covenants were entered into through the sheading of
blood. The blood of Jesus also brings all believers into the sanctified
Royal Priesthood of God under Jesus our great High Priest
What self-inherent property does the blood
possess which gives it the power that Scripture attributes to it. What empowers
it? Simply, the blood’s power and saving properties arise out of the life of
God, the Eternal Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity, in
the “flesh”; the humanity of Christ.
St. John, writing with great insight into the
person of Jesus, tells us about the Word becoming flesh through the
incarnation, in his Gospel.
“The Word became flesh” John: 1:14
Jesus lived as one of us, he lived through all
the common experiences that we each and all have so that he might die for all
of us. Jesus sacrificed his life that means his whole being was given
completely and perfectly over to the service of his Father.
The sacrifice of Jesus however, was not just
one day there upon Celery but rather Jesus offered up his whole life his whole
life, all his life all his life. Jesus offered his whole life as a total
sacrifice to God both in life and in death.
“His whole life, All His life” this
is what our Lord has done even now in eternity continues to do for us.
St. Paul tell us that Jesus gave himself, that
is, he conformed himself to fulfilling the will of God and bring to humanity
the salvation which God, the Holy Trinity purposed in the eternity past.
“and walk in the way of love, just as Christ
loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Eph: 5:2
All His life…All His life” Jesus gave himself
for us completely without reservation, nothing was held back all so that we
might know our God.
Jesus fulfilled the righteous requirements of
the Law of God, as well as its demand for "payment". Jesus bore our
sins in payment for the unplayable debt which would have been held against all
humanity there by redeeming us, this is what St. Paul described again.
“having canceled the charge of our legal
indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away,
nailing it to the cross.” Col: 2:14
Jesus paid with his blood what we could never
had paid with our own. The blood of Jesus ever points us to the divine nature
of our Lord and the power which he has in accomplishing our salvation
completely apart from any action of ours and or in spite of us.
We have, as we are told in the witness of
Scripture, been redeemed through the blood, and this redemption not only speaks
of the future but also brings its redemptive power into our past and through
the mystery of God’s power even redeems our past for his divine purpose for our
lives.
The Accomplishments of the Blood
The Blood of Jesus carries so much power that
it can reach in to the past and provide forgiveness even to those who lived
before it was shed, based on their belief that it would be shed at some point
in the future.
“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
handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of
Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”1Pet:1:18-19
So powerful is the redemptive power of the blood
of Jesus that it had power even before it became an established reality in the
stream of human history that it had power to reaches into the ages which
precede it and bring redemption into the lives of the Patriarchs and Prophets
as well others in whom the Holy Spirit had worked as well as other servants of
our Lord who lived before the incarnation of Jesus.
This quality of timelessness is found in the
very nature of Jesus himself; he being both God and human. His deity or divine
nature gives the power to transcend the boundaries of the temporal world. So, his
life, death and resurrection, impact went beyond a give era of human history.
In this way, the power of the cross and the sheading of his blood reaches eternal
beyond 33 AD unto all ages.
We see the Patriarch Job professing that he
knew that is sins were dealt with and that they had no eternal hold upon
him.
“Surely then you will count my steps
but not keep track of my sin.
My offenses will be sealed up in a bag;
you will cover over my sin.” Job: 14:17-18
The blood of Jesus even has the power to even
open the grave starting even with his own grave which is the great precursor of
eternal life for all humanity who will be freely receive it.
“Now may the God of peace, who through the
blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that
great Shepherd of the sheep” Heb: 13:20
This could not be so if Jesus was only a man.
This recognition that death could not keep its grip upon him and that the grave
could not hold him, is only further witness of his divinity and the revelation
of his godhead.
The blood of Jesus in concert with his
resurrection now has the power to impart life unto any who will revive it for
without the resurrection the blood would have no meaning.
“Jesus said to them, “Very
truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his
blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is
real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my
blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and
I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of
me” Jhn:6:53-56
It is as though, that through the “drinking his blood” that his life is being taken
into our own imparting to us the life eternal that Jesus came to bring us.
Each, and all who will but receive it, can
experiences the atonement wrought for us even a great atonement toward our God
and even among humanity for we cannot truly be atoned with one another if we
are not experiencing the atonement with our very Creator.
“This is love: not that we loved God, but that
he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1Jhn:4:10
The blood of Jesus reflects the complete
realty of forgiveness which our Lord offers for us to experience. This
forgiveness is not a partial forgiveness which only deals with our past, but
rather it is a complete forgiveness of all sin, past, present and future. In truth,
it is not just forgiveness of our sinful acts or words or thoughts but it is a
complete forgiveness of who and what we are.
We are forgiven of our inability to keep the
very essence and intent of the Holy Law of God.
This perfect and complete forgiveness needs no
other additions to it, which is it is fully ours through God’s merciful grace
of which nothing needs to be added.
“for all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice
of atonement through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did
this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left
the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his
righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies
those who have faith in Jesus.” Rom: 3:23-26
This is true due to the sacred truth of Jesus’
divine identity as the eternal Son of God, the second person of the Holy
Trinity who in the incarnation has taken unto himself our complete humanity and
brought us complete salvation, as the ancient Theologian of Athanasius of
Alexandria along with others said, speaking of the incarnation of the Son of
God, “that which is not assumed is not redeemed”.
“And you, who had died by your sins and by the
uncircumcision in your flesh, he has given you life with him and has forgiven
us all our sins.” Col: 2:13
Through the blood of our Lord, we are, as it
were, washed clean of all our sins and the defilement which they brought upon
us. St. John, in his first general epistle writing to counter the gnostic
theology which had found lodgment in the minds of some early Christians wrote
of the cleansing of the blood of Jesus in dealing with sins
“and the blood of Jesus Christ
his Son cleans us from all sin”.1Jhn:1:7c
The power of the blood of our Lord is able to
wash even those who were before, coming to believe, what this means is, that
we, before our acceptance of the truth about Jesus, were living in who we
thought we were in Adam and we lived in that way.
Now in Jesus, we are able to enter into the
fullness of that new self in Jesus, which is, the new life which Jesus has made
possible for us all. The blood washes way our old self and brings us into that
sanctified life which Jesus’ blood provides for us.
“For them I sanctify myself,
that they too may be truly sanctified” Jhn: 17:19
This sanctification, fogginess, atonement and more,
is only ours because of who Jesus is and what he has done. What the blood
shed on the cross really does is to bring into our understanding what God has
decreed in eternity past and makes all that God has for us real and
"tangible" to us in an away which nothing else could.
"The Lamb who was slain from the creation
of the world." Rev: 13:8b
"Then I saw another angel flying in
midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the
earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people." Rev: 14:6
The anonymous author of Hebrews Epistle tells
us of the sanctifying properties of the blood of Jesus to the Jewish Christian
community. This would have been a segment of the Primitive Apostolic Church which
had been raised all or most of their lives living under the Old Covenant.
“And by that will we have been
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” .
Heb: 10:10
This sanctification is, in our experiences, is progressive. It is experienced in one sense upon belief in Jesus, then over time we grow into it. This sanctification is not limited to the areas of life which we might think of religious, that is, attending Church, worship, prayer, and Bible study, no, this sanctification shows us that our whole life is to be given over to the province of God in all that we do. This means that there is no real boundary between the sacred and secular in the way in which we normally would think, all things in life given over to and for the uses of God.
St. Paul writes to the young pastor St.
Timothy of this sanctification in his pastoral epistle about the life of a
Christian is to be used by God in all things at all times.
“Those who cleanse themselves from the latter
will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and
prepared to do any good work” 2Tim:2:21
We are called to be as our Lord was, and is,
completely given over to the will of his Father, his self was and is completely
submerged to accomplishing the divine purpose of the Great God. Jesus did this
his whole life, his whole life, all his life, all his life.
The blood of our Lord is effectual in binding
together the members of his body, which is the Church. His blood is the life
blood of our own bodies courses through our vines bring everything need for our
living each and every day.
Jesus’ blood unites us all as one in him
regardless of our background or nations from which we come. We are one in
Jesus. We are his holy brethren.
“Both the one who makes people holy and those
who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them
brothers and sisters. He says,
“I will declare your name to my brothers and
sisters;
in the assembly I will sing your praises.” Heb: 2:11
The very simple, yet profound sacrament of the
Eucharist, the Communion or Lord’s Supper declares this very truth of our unity
in Jesus.
“Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we
give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that
we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf,
we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.” 1Cor:10:16-17
Our Lord prayed in his High Priestly prayer
for all believers throughout the ages that we all can be one, his blood is
effectual to that very end.
“I pray also for those who will believe in me
through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you
are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe
that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that
they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be
brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have
loved them even as you have loved me.” Jhn: 17:21b-23
The blood of Jesus has brought us each and all
victory, this victory is his very own which he so graciously and lovingly
shares with us. This victory could never have been secured through our own
efforts or by some pious virtue found within us, now it ours because of him and
his victory over all which would keep us from having a relationship with the
great God.
Jesus speaking to his Disciples two thousand
years ago and to all believers throughout the ages that we should not be in
fear for he is victorious.
“do not be afraid for I have
defeated the world” Jhn: 16:33
This victory, is even extended to the unseen
world which spawns the world system in which we currently live, as well as all
that it gives birth to, suffering of every sort and even death.
This victory which our Lord gives us brings us
victory over the power of the “god of this world” Satan.
“They triumphed over him by the blood of the
Lamb” Rev:
12:11a
Blood of Jesus even brings us shared victory
over even death, for as the grip of death and the grave could not hold our
Lord, nor will it hold us in it’s dark and cold grasp.
“When the perishable has been clothed with the
imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written
will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of
sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our
Lord Jesus Christ.”1Cor: 15:54-57
The power found in the blood of Jesus cannot
be overstated. The very power of the blood is derived for the divine person
Jesus, the very eternal Son of God sustained in his incarnate life by his own
blood.
So great is the power of Jesus’ blood that
even the angelic host and all humanity, who will but believe, will sing praises
throughout eternity in an eternal hymn of all that is accomplished on our
behalf through his blood.
“Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if
it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four
living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which
are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He went and took
the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And when he
had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down
before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of
incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. And they sang a new song,
saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased for God
people from every tribe and language and
people and nation.
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests
to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.”
Then I looked and heard the voice of many
angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten
thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the
elders. In a loud voice they were saying:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and
strength
and honor and glory and praise!”
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on
earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:
To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!”
The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and
the elders fell down and worshiped.” Rev: 5:9-14
We should, each and all give honor and glory
and worship to God and Jesus Christ and for the blood of his Holy Son who has
redeemed us through his blood and has given us Eternal Life through his blood.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNxjqxNmBn8
Benediction: May we each and all ever join in the chorus of praise to and for our Lord Jesus whose shed blood which has been effectual for us all, today, tomorrow and forevermore. Amen.
Rev. Todd Crouch, Norman, Oklahoma
- "If It Is Not About Jesus, It Is Not About
Anything"
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