Blood

As I am typing this right now, Jesus was
probably done with His the Passover with His disciples. On this post,
there will be questions about the difference between the Old Covenant
and the New Covenant. “In the same way, after the supper he took the
cup, saying ‘This cup is the new covenant in my BLOOD, which is poured
out for you.” ~ Luke 22:20

The word, “blood”, was used a lot in
the Bible. During the Old Testament, the Israelite brought different
kinds of offering to God: The Burnt Offering, The Grain Offering,
Fellowship Offering, The Sin Offering, and The Guilt Offering.
Therefore, they would have to slaughter an animal, like the herd or the
flock, as an offering to God. The reason why I want to talk about blood
is because it is very important. How so? My friend sent me an email as a
weekly devotion that enlightened me so I also want to share it with
you.

“So what's the big deal with blood? Well it seems like
throughout scripture it has been displayed as sacred. An Atonement.
Reading through the laws in the burnt, sin, guilt and peace offering it
all mentions an animal sacrifice and the shedding of blood.”

Whenever
the Israelite committed a sin, they would have to bring an unblemished
(clean) animal (herd or flock) to the altar and sacrifice it. They would
sprinkle the blood onto the altar as a performance of purification.
Now, read this last comment from my friend.

“This atonement
practice leads to Christ, when He shed His blood for us. Because blood
is life.”

Have you ever wondered why Jesus Christ came down to
earth and shed His blood for us? As I was saying about the offering in
the Old Testament, the Israelites would repeatedly perform the same
thing whenever they stumble. Why blood? Why sacrifice?

“In fact,
the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with BLOOD, and
without the shedding of BLOOD there is NO forgiveness.” ~ Hebrews 9:22

Today,
as you read this, Jesus was already in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was
in distress and troubled that He even sweats blood. He was arrested by
the Romans. He was mocked and insulted. Why did Jesus have to die? What
is the difference between Him and the animal?

“For it pleased
the Father that in him should all fullness dwell; And, having made peace
through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto
himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in
heaven.” ~ Colossians 1:19-20 (KJV)
We were all destined to be in
hell. We were all not worthy to be with Him.

However, John 3:16
(you know what it says). It is by the love and grace of God that He sent
Jesus Christ to die to us from the wrath of God.

“How much more,
then, will the BLOOD of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered
himself UNBLEMISHED to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead
to death(which is hell), so that we may serve the living God!” ~ Hebrews
9:14

Therefore, Jesus’ sacrifice and shedding of blood for our
sins was ONCE and FOR ALL. There was no need to sacrifice animal or
present offerings at the altar.

“For Christ did not enter a
man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered
heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence. Nor did he enter
heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters
the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then
Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the
world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do
away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to
die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once
to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time,
not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for
him.” ~ Hebrews 9:24-28

“For Christ died for sins once for all,
the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” ~ 1 Peter 3:18a

Today
is Good Friday. Don’t take this day as another holiday. Take this day
as a remembrance of Jesus’ Sacrifice for our sins when He was nailed
onto the cross and crucified. I will post another discussion on Easter.