The Power of the BloodSample

Introduction: Redemption through Sacrifice Do you remem­ber the last time you were enthralled by a good mystery? The Bible speaks of mysteries—Jesus spoke of the “mystery of the kingdom,” while the Apostle Paul spoke of the “mystery” of the rapture and the “great mystery” of Christ and the Church. One subject that is still a mystery to most Christians is the blood of Jesus. However, God never speaks of the blood as a mystery, so I believe that He wants you and me to know all about the dynamite benefits that are ours through the blood. To properly comprehend the power of the blood of Jesus requires an understand­ing of its Old Testament counterpart: the blood of sacrificial bulls and goats. In Leviticus 17:11, God provided the con­dition for atonement by saying: For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul. It was the shed blood upon the altar, the death of a spotless animal, which brought about the atonement or covering for sin. After it was shed, the animal’s blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat—the golden lid on the Ark of the Covenant. The very presence of God was above the mercy seat by virtue of the shed blood sprinkled there. Because the penalty for sin is death, the animal’s death in the place of the sinner symbolized the ultimate sacrifice by Jesus for man’s sin. According to Hebrews 10:4, the blood, or death, of bulls and goats was not sufficient to take away sins: an animal death was not an adequate substitute for the death of a sinful human. That required the death of a spotless human life—the life of Jesus. The Bible says “…we have redemption through His blood…” (Ephesians 1:7). To seal our redemption after His death, Jesus ascended to heaven, and through His own blood, He entered the Holy Place once for all mankind and offered Himself to God (Hebrews 9:12, 14). Because of His death, we enjoy the benefits of God’s grace and mercy, we enjoy His very presence, and we call ourselves “Christians.” It is faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ that obtained God’s favor for us, giving us our new name. Many times, as Christians, we have only thought of Jesus’ blood as the agent that cleansed sin from our lives; but His shed blood has accomplished far more! It’s that “far more,” which has remained a mystery to many Christians. To grasp the power that is available to us through the blood of Jesus, in the coming days, we will compare the physical facts about human blood to the supernatural facts about Jesus’ blood. The physical qualities of blood provide a stunning picture of all the spiritual realities we can enjoy because of the shed blood of Jesus, our “Great Physician.”