Power in the Blood, Part Two

God provided a system of atonment with blood, first with purified animals, then with Jesus Christ Himself, the Son of God! In Jesus, God would give the ultimate blood for us. His precious Son would go to Calvary and shed His blood for you and me. That was the purpose behind the earlier purified animal sacrifices in the Old Testament! It was all pointing to the cross!

In sacrifices there is the altar. A place associated with death and suffering. The altar was a bloody, grim place also marked by the blood the dead and dying. From the altar arose the smoke of the sacrifices that burned there continually. It was a place of suffering.

Again, this all pointed ahead to a time when the Son of God would go to an altar called the cross and would shed His blood the redemption of mankind. Please never lose sight of the terrible price Jesus paid for us. He suffered terribly so that we might be saved. Just as the sacrifices of old were tied to the altar and burned with fire, Jesus was nailed to His altar and burned in the fire of divine wrath! The price He paid was a terrible price!

God reminds them that the reason He gave them the blood sacrifices was to make an atonement for their sins. The word “atonement” means “a covering”. God gave them the blood as a means of covering their sins and of bringing them into fellowship with Himself. Lest we forget, sin separates us from the presence of God, But the blood of Jesus has the power to bring us together!

One of the most remarkable truths in the Bible is the fact that God genuinely wants to have fellowship with you and me. He has proven this be the lengths He has gone to, to bring us together. The fact that God would place our value above that of another life is an amazing thing! To me, it is absolute proof of the power of the love of God for humanity. That He would value us more than the life of His own Son is a truth that is wonderful beyond words.

The Blood of Jesus Covers Sin - The blood of Christ was given to cover sin. That is, when the blood was shed and applied to the altar, God saw the blood and not the sin. It was removed from His sight and He accepted the blood of the innocent sacrifice in place of the guilt of the sinner.

The Blood of Jesus Cleanses Sin - When we come to the New Testament and to the death of Jesus on the cross, we find a sacrifice that was filled with a power that the Old Testament sacrificial system could never know. What we find about the blood of Jesus is that it has the power to take away sin!

Unlike the Old Testament sacrifices, the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross will never have to be repeated! It was a one-time for all-time offering that forever removes the sins of every person who places their faith in Him and His shed blood!

The Blood of Jesus Converts The Sinner - When a person comes to Jesus by faith and is saved by grace, that person is forever changed. The blood of the Lamb has the power to convert the soul. Not only will God cleanse away your sins, but He will forever change your life. The blood of Jesus has the power to make us into new creatures in Christ.

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews says in 13:12: “Jesus suffered ... in order to sanctify the people by his own blood.” This means that we are all saints, holy people, people protected and empowered by God’s holiness. Because Jesus shares his own holiness with us by giving us his blood as a covering, we can approach our heavenly Father with great boldness and confidence as if we were Jesus himself and had his status as God’s Son. We enjoy the privilege of access to heaven here on earth as we receive the holy Sacrament. When we take the Lord’s Supper we can “enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus” and “approach with a true heart in the full assurance of faith” (Heb 10:19-22).

We can bring our own needs and the needs of others to God in prayer. Together with the word of God and body of Jesus, his blood is the most holy thing that you have from God. It presents you holy before God. You are as holy in God’s eyes as Jesus is, because you are covered spirituatlly with his Blood. Since you share in Christ’s holiness, your body is the temple of the living God. Wherever you go God goes with you. God uses you to reach out and touch other people. Whether they know it or not, they meet Him through you. Since you are Christ’s ambassador, you may live your life as in God’s presence; you belong to his holy priests that bring people and their needs to God in prayer, just as they bring God and his blessings to the people around them. All this is yours because of the blood of Jesus! Blood that consecrates you before God.

Blood is indeed a remarkable, powerful substance. We depend on it to remain alive and healthy. But the holy blood of Jesus is an even more remarkable substance, something far more powerful than human blood.

There is power in His blood. His blood brings life and cleansing and holiness to those who take him at his word when he says in Matthew 26:27-28: “Drink from this cup, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Believe it and you will receive its blessings. Believe that you receive eternal life in his blood and he will give you eternal life. Believe that you receive cleansing from sin in his blood and he will cleanse you through and through. Believe that. Believe and receive. Then you will have good reason to rejoice and sing: THERE IS POWER IN THE BLOOD!