THE SHEDDING OF HIS BLOOD

Due to the medication (blood thinner) I take for Congestive Heart Failure, once a week, I must place a drop of my blood on a test strip, and wait about thirty seconds for the little computer thingy to tell me whether or not my blood is too thick.  This morning, like every test I have made over the past three and a half years, the results were within range.  Praise the Lord! 

But today, while I was testing, for the first time, I began to think about all of the hymns, sermons, and books which address the blood of Jesus.  Christians and Jews both have a great deal to say about blood sacrifices, but there is a major difference between the two religions:  while the Old Testament addresses animal sacrifice as an atonement for sin, the majority of references to a blood sacrifice in the New Testament refer to the Crucifixion of Jesus.  The word, "blood," is found in sixty-seven verses from the founding of the Church on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1), to the Second Coming of Christ (Rev. 19:13).  Of those, twenty-nine refer to the blood of Christ, and from just those twenty-nine verses, we find the reason the Church has placed its faith, expressed its gratitude, and served its Lord for two thousand years. 

When Christ's blood is mentioned, it does not mean simply His loss of blood due to His wounds; it declares that Jesus gave His life.  Leviticus 17:11 says, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul."  This always involved the death of the sacrifice.  As a result:

*  Jesus' blood purchased our freedom from sin (Acts 20:28).
*  Jesus' blood is our source of justification (Rom. 5:9).
*  Jesus' blood is our source of forgiveness (Eph. 1:7).
*  Jesus' blood reconciles us to God (Col. 1:20).
*  Jesus' blood redeems us from the bondage of sin (Heb. 9:12).
*  Jesus' blood is our source of sanctification (Heb. 13:12).
*  Jesus' blood cleanses us from the stain of sin (1 Jn. 1:7).

Finally, Jesus' blood, shed as our Passover (1 Cor. 5:7), is seen in His title, the Lamb of God (Jn. 1:29, 36; Rev. 7:14; 12:11).  Salvation today, like the salvation of the Jews at the first Passover (Ex. 12:13), results from believing the blood will save you!

Someone had to die for your sins; Jesus said, "It is finished!"