I want to talk to you now about the power
of blood. In the
Old Testiment we learn how God demanded
the blood of
animals (sheep or goats) for the covering
of sins. Note how
very specific He is and gives attention
to details. In the
New Testiment we learn of the Blood of
Jesus to cleanse us
from sin.
Let’s
begin in the Old Testiment
with
the instructions for the first Passover…
They are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides
and tops of the doorframes of the houses where
they eat the lambs.[Exodus 12:7]
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 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.
[Exodus 12: 12]
Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin
and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of
the doorframe. Not one
of you shall go out the door of his
house until morning. When
the Lord goes through the land
to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the
top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that
doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter
your houses and strike you down. [Exodus 12: 22-23]
***This
was the first use of the blood as protection***
Moses took half of the blood
and put it in bowls, and the
other half he sprinkled on the
altar. 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.”
[Exodus 24: 6-8]
***Here
the blood was used to seal a covenant.
Now
the people could come into God’s presence
in
safety.
Before
that He had forbidden them to even
approach
the mountain
because
of their unbelief.***
--
***
During the consecrating ceremony for priests
…first
a bull…***
Take some of the bull’s
blood and put it on the horns of the
altar with your finger, and
pour out the rest of it at the
base of the altar. [Exodus
29:12]
***then a ram…***
Slaughter it and take the
blood and sprinkle it against the
altar on all sides [Exodus
29:16]
***then a second ram…***
Slaughter it, take some of its
blood and put it on the lobes
of the right ears of Aaron and
his sons, on the thumbs of
their right hands, and on the
big toes of their right feet.
Then sprinkle blood against
the altar on all sides
[Exodus 29:20]
And take some of the blood on the altar and some of the
anointing oil and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments and
on his sons and their garments.
Then he and his sons and
their garments will be consecrated. [Exodus 29:21]
***
Atonement for the altar…***
Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on its horns.
This annual atonement must be made with the blood of
the atoning sin offering for the generations to come.
It is most holy to the Lord.” [Exodus 30:10]
Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with
anything containing yeast, and do not let any of the
sacrifice from the Passover Feast remain until
morning.
[Exodus
34:25]
***He
is specifically telling them to eat all of it.***
He is to slaughter the young
bull before the Lord, and then
Aaron’s sons the priests
shall bring the blood and sprinkle it
against the altar on all sides
at the entrance to the Tent of
Meeting. [Leviticus 1:5]
***Any
burnt offering…***
He is to slaughter it at the north side of the altar before
the Lord, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle its
blood against the altar on all sides. [Leviticus 1:11]
The priest shall bring it to the altar, wring off the head and
burn it on the altar; its blood shall be drained out on the
side of the altar. [Leviticus 1:15]
***Fellowship
offering - if from the herd…***
He is to lay his hand on the head of his offering and
slaughter it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
Then
Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood against the
altar on all sides [Leviticus 3:2]
***Fellowship
offering – if from the flock…***
He is to lay his hand on the head of his offering and
slaughter it in front of the Tent of Meeting.
Then Aaron’s
sons shall sprinkle its blood against the altar on all sides.
[Leviticus 3:8]
***Fellowship
offering – if a goat….***
He is to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it in front of
the Tent of Meeting. Then
Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its
blood against the altar on all sides. [Leviticus 3:13]
***Sin
offering…***
This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come,
wherever you live; You must not eat any fat or any blood.
[Leviticus 3:17]
Then the anointed priest shall take some of the bull’s blood
and carry it into the Tent of Meeting. [Leviticus 4:5]
He is to dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle some of it
seven times before the Lord, in front of the curtain of the
sanctuary. [Leviticus 4:6]
The priest shall then put some of the blood on the horns of
the altar of fragrant incense that is before the Lord in the
Tent of Meeting. The
rest of the bull’s blood he shall pour
out at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the
entrance to the Tent of Meeting. [Leviticus 4:7]
And
in the New Testiment Paul talks about Jesus……
*****************************************************
But those sacrifices are an
annual reminder of sins, because
it is impossible for the blood
of bulls and goats to take away
sins.
Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:
“Sacrifice and offering you
did not desire, but a body you
prepared for me; with burnt
offerings and sin offerings you
were not pleased.
Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written
about me in the scroll—I
have come to do your will, O God.’ ”
First he said, “Sacrifices
and offerings, burnt offerings and
sin offerings you did not
desire, nor were you pleased with
them” (although the law
required them to be made). Then
he said, “Here I am, I have
come to do your will.” He sets
aside the first to establish
the second. And by that will, we
have been made holy through
the sacrifice of the body of
Jesus Christ once for all.
Day after day every priest
stands and performs his religious
duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take
away sins. But when this priest had offered
for all time one sacrifice for
sins, he sat down at the right
hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be
made his footstool, because by
one sacrifice he has made
perfect forever those who are
being made holy.
The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:
“This is the covenant I will make with them after that time,
says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”
Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember
no more.” And where these have been forgiven, there is no
longer any sacrifice for sin.
[Hebrews 10:3-18]
*****************************************************
This moved us from under the law – to
the grace of God
through the blood of Jesus to cleanse our
sins, not just
cover them.
This was a one-time sacrifice by God of His
Own Son.
Once again just as he provided the sacrifice for
Abraham so that when Abraham showed his
obedience to
God by being willing to give up his son,
God has now given His
own son for us as the Passover Lamb.
Notice how in most cases listed above
that the priest was to
lay his hand on the sacrifice and
slaughter it in the presence
of God before the altar. God also has His hand on Jesus as
He was crucified as the Passover Lamb in
Jerusalem—which
would be before the altar.
Remember – man did not crucify
Jesus.
He volunteered Himself as the Lamb for God to
sacrifice as a one-time atonement for our
sins. This
sacrifice would never have to be repeated
as were the
sacrifices of animals.
You can see that He is a God of details
– and He never
forgets the details. He is the one who set the time for the
Passover Lambs to be killed to be
prepared in time for the
Passover meal.
His own Son was crucified at the very time
the Passover Lambs were to be killed.
The meal we know as the Last Supper was
NOT the Passover
meal as is often thought.
It was the day before the
Passover.
Remember….
As soon as Judas took the
bread, Satan entered into him.
“What you are about to do,
do quickly,” Jesus told him, but
no one at the meal understood
why Jesus said this to him.
Since Judas had charge of the
money, some thought Jesus
was telling him to buy what
was needed for the Feast, or to
give something to the poor.
[John 13:27-39]
and…
Then the Jews led Jesus from
Caiaphas to the palace of the
Roman governor.
By now it was early morning, and to avoid
ceremonial uncleanness the
Jews did not enter the palace;
they wanted to be able to eat
the Passover. [John 18:28]
The
Jews did not enter the palace because they wanted to
remain ceremonially clean in order to be
able to eat the
Passover Feast.
So you see, they had already had their Last
Supper before Jesus was arrested.
This was Wednesday
evening.
Passover started Thursday evening at sundown.
The Passover Lambs had to be slaughtered
and prepared
before sundown on Thursday.
There were two Sabbaths
that week due to the Passover starting on
Thursday evening
and the regular Sabbath starting Friday
evening.
Not understanding that the Jewish day
began at sundown
and that Passover would have been a
separate Sabbath in
addition to the normal Sabbath
is how people have been
confused into thinking Jesus was
crucified on Friday which
is how our Good Friday came into being.
It should have been
Good Thursday to be accurate.
Then when you count the
days, you see that He was indeed in the
grave of death for
three days before the resurrection.
Now, since we all know that Jesus’
whole ministry was with
the use of parables, how exactly like him
to do the same at
the end of His ministry. .
Like at the beginning of His
ministry when He read the scripture and
told them the
prophecy was being fulfilled….
He went to Nazareth where he
had been brought up, and on
the Sabbath day he went into
the Synagogue, as was his
custom. And he stood up to read.
The scroll of the prophet
Isaiah was handed to Him
Unrolling it, he found the place
where it is written:
me to preach good news to the
poor. He has sent me to
proclaim freedom for the
prisoners and recovery of sight
for the blind, to release the
oppressed, to proclaim the year
of the Lord’s favor.”
Then he rolled up the scroll,
gave it back to the attendant
and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were
fastened on him, and he began
by saying to them, “Today
this scripture is fulfilled in
your hearing.”
[Luke 4:16-21]
When on the cross He cries out…
“Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which
means,
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken
me?”
He is not ending His life thinking He has
been forsaken by
His Father.
He is quoting Psalm 22 which begins with those
same words.
This is to give hope to those with an eye
to see and an ear
to hear and yet closing out all meaning
to those not inclined
to love Him.
He is saying for them to go back and read the
scriptures – once again it is being
fulfilled. We will read this
Psalm now so you can feel the full effect
of it.
*****************************************************
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, and am not silent.
Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the
praise of Israel. In you our fathers put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them. They cried to
you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not
disappointed.
But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and
despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they
hurl insults, shaking their heads: “He trusts in the
Lord; let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”
Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me
trust in you even at my mother’s breast. From birth I
was cast upon you; from my mother’s womb you have
been my God. Do not be far from me, for trouble is
near and there is no one to help.
Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan
encircle me. Roaring lions tearing their prey open
their mouths wide against me. I am poured out like
water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has
turned to wax; it has melted away within me. My
strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue
sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust
of death.
Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil
men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and
my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and
gloat over me. They divide my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing.
But you, O Lord, be not far off; O my Strength, come
quickly to help me. Deliver my life from the sword, my
precious life from the power of the dogs. Rescue me
from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns
of the wild oxen.
I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the congregation I will praise you.
You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the
afflicted one; he has Not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
From you comes the theme of my praise in the great
assembly; before those who fear you will I fulfill my
vows. The poor will eat and be satisfied; they who
seek the Lord will praise him—may your hearts live
forever! All the ends of the earth will remember and
turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will
bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the Lord
and he rules over the nations.
All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who
go down to the dust will kneel before him—those who
cannot keep themselves alive. Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord. They
will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn—
for he has done it. [Psalm22]
*****************************************************
In effect He is
reminding them of the plan of God and how
God attends to details.
You see He knows that He has not
been abandoned and He
is still trusting in God and instead
of thinking of His own
pain, is thinking of us and giving us
hope. He is telling us the scripture is fulfilled and the work
is finished.
Now in remembrance:
For
I received from the Lord what I also passed on to
you:
The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed,
took
bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it
and said, “This is my body,” which is for you; do this in
remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper
he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant
in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in
remembrance of me”. For whenever you eat this bread
and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until
he comes. Therefore, whoever eats the bread or
drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will
be guilty of sinning against the body and the blood of
the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he
eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone
who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord
eats and drinks judgment on himself.
[1 Corinthians 11:23-27]
“Lord we know that by eating of this bread -- your body and
by drinking of the cup--your blood, we are taking into ourselves
your life to replace ours. We want you to live in us and
shine through for others to see.”
And in the same way we eat bread daily to nourish our bodies,
as Jesus’ word is the bread of life, we should eat it daily
to nourish our souls—not just some of it some of the time, but daily.
Like the Israelites were told to eat all of the Passover Lamb,
we should use all of the Word (Bible)—not
just parts of it.
So you see saving souls is a very bloody
business. Without
the blood of Jesus, we would all be dead
in our sins and
doomed to spend eternity in Hell.
With His blood we are
guaranteed a home in Heaven with Him and
I for one want to
be drenched in Jesus’ Blood.
© 2000 Eva McAllen
Butterfly Publishing
