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Monday, April 6, 2020

The significance of the Blood of Jesus



Even though the function of blood and how it circulates in the human body was discovered in 1615 by William Harvey, yet across the world, every nation has had mysteries attached to blood from ancient times. At least every culture has some kind of rite or ritual associated with blood, some of which are practiced to date.

There are those who argue that the Biblical aspect of the blood was borrowed from ancient Near East Semitic tribes, but that notion does not have a strong basis. The Bible being the most reliable and accurate ancient source of history1, seems to have set in motion the universal reverential fear which emanates from the shedding of blood (Gen 4:10). From here also stems the universal dignity for human life.


It seems logical enough that, after the flood, as people migrated to different parts of the world, they also moved with the reverential fear of blood. As time went by, blood rituals were developed, probably out of curiosity or because of the mysterious aspect of the subject.

Although eating of blood was prohibited by God in earliest time2, yet among the heathen nations it was done as a religious rite. There is a sharp contrast of how blood was perceived by the Hebrews in comparison to the heathens. For Mesopotamia Semites, blood was not used as a purifier but rather as food for the gods. This is in contrast to what the Hebrews perceived about blood. To the Hebrews, blood was the universal purifier and consecrator.

In Exodus 12, the foundational relevance of blood to the Hebrews and later to the Christians is laid out. Here the Hebrews are about to be set free from bondage in Egypt. Almost 400 years had passed since their ancestors came down to Egypt from Canaan. On the night before their departure, God gave Moses instructions on what to do. Among the instructions, God told Moses to smear the blood of the Passover lamb on top of the door frames of the houses where the Hebrews were staying. The blood was to be a sign for the Hebrews, which when the destroyer saw, he would pass over the house hence not kill the occupants. Further on, God instructed Moses to commemorate the day for the generations to come, and that is what comes down to us as the Passover. (Read here about the Passover and the Lord's Table)

It is through the Passover that the divine nature of blood is set forth. The Passover, unlike other blood rites practiced by the Semites of Near East, portrays the divine importance of blood. “Passover-like blood rites may well have been in the ritual of the earliest nomads of Near East, but intrinsic meaning of blood is still not spelled out, and the explicit claim that blood is life and so divine remains isolated to Israel”3.

In Leviticus 17:11, God established the basis for atonement. He stated that the life of the creature is in the blood and that that is what He has to give man to atone for his life on the alter.  The animal had to be without blemish or sin so that its blood (life) can be able to atone for their lives.

The animal sacrifice was a temporary spiritual solution symbolizing the permanent and universal atonement offered through the blood of Jesus. Jesus had to die in order for his blood to atone for the sins of man. He had to give his life, which is in the blood, for “the life of a creature is in the blood4”. Without his death, he wouldn’t have offered atonement for the world, for it is written that “without shedding of blood is no remission5”. It was a heavy price to pay for man. A price that no amount of money, good works, kindness or even generosity from our side can pay for. He (Christ) offered a perfect sacrifice, for he was without sin. It is a divine mystery that set man free. It is my hope that you find the freedom to man offered through the blood of Jesus.


Notes
1 Josh McDowell; A Ready Defense; P 42-55
2 Genesis 9:4
3 Dennis J. McCarthy; The Symbolism of Blood and Sacrifice; P 174
4 Leviticus 17:11
5 Hebrews 9:22


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