Friday, April 06, 2007

The Blood of Jesus

Today is Good Friday, the day the world remembers that Jesus died on the cross, shedding his precious blood to pay the price for all past, present and future sin of all mankind. His shed blood satisfied the debt of sin required by our Holy God so that we might share eternity with Him forever.

Why is the blood of Christ so important, so precious and so powerful? The requirement of a blood sacrifice for sin by God, the Father, began back in the Garden of Eden when God accepted Abel's sacrifice of "the firstlings of his flock." When God destroyed the earth by a flood, except for Noah and his family, the first act Noah performed once he stepped foot on land was offer to God a burnt sacrifice. Abraham offered his son, Isaac, to God to be sacrificed on the altar, but God provided instead a ram to be used for the sacrifice, thus giving us the first lesson of a substitutionary sacrifice.

In Leviticus 17:11, God tells us of the redemptive power in the blood: "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 maketh atonement for the soul."

Scripture also tells us that "without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin." It was by the power of Christ's own blood that He was raised from the grave (Hebrews 9:12)

We are redeemed by the precious blood of Christ (I Peter 1:18-19)
We are reconciled through the blood (Romans 3:24-25)
We are cleansed by the blood (I John 1:7)
We are sanctified by his blood (Hebrews 13:12)
We can enter into the Holy of Holies by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:19-22)
We are overcomers by the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 12:11)
Our heavenly robes are washed and made white by the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 7:9-10, 14)

Yes, it is GOOD Friday. As Jesus' blood flowed out of his body that day on the cruel cross of Calvary, the whole world mourned, even the earth quaked, the sky turned dark, and fear and sadness were in the hearts of those who watched as the blood flowed from His body. But Christ had to die so that your sin and mine could be paid for in full. His blood was the very redemption necessary for us to be able to enter into the Holy of Holies with Him. How humbled and grateful we should be on this day as we remember what price He paid for us to be able to live with him forever.

We can sing with the whole heavenly chorus: "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain."
Sandy

1 Comments:

Blogger Barbara said...

Dearest Sandy,
I look forward to reading your blogs ... especially this Easter Week. Thanks for your godly perspective and for "speaking the truth in love." Have a blessed Easter!

2:04 PM  

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