The Blood of Christ Jesus

Have you ever given thought to how creepy that sounds?  The Blood of Christ is a statement which is supposed to inspire us to know the depth of the sacrifice of Jesus for us both personally and corporately. It also has a strange sense of ghoulish connotations and mystery about it.  Many Hymns have been written and have been sung throughout the ages describing the Blood of Christ and its power.  It is said that His blood has power to heal and to cleanse even that most vile sinner from their guilt and sin, this is actually a true statement.

Hymn:  "There is a fountain filled with Blood

              Flowing from Emmanuel’s veins

And sinners plunged beneath the flood

Lose all their guilty stains..."

God’s requirement for blood (or death) of anything that was unclean dates back to the beginning in Genesis where burnt offerings were offered to God as a sacrifice of appeasement and praise of what God had provided.  The guilt (or sins) of the people were then imparted on to an animal which was then slaughtered as a graphic example of Gods requirement for the penalty of sin.

Ephesians 2:13 (NIV)

¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

If we were trying to describe things like the blood from a human being we could easily dismiss it as common place, but yet the Blood of Christ Jesus is special and different.  It is different because Jesus is different than anyone who has gone before, Jesus is God.  God Himself became our sacrificial animal to take our sins upon Himself and allowed Himself to be slaughtered for our redemption unto Himself, once and for all time.  This is why the term "Lamb of God" is used to describe Jesus.

Hebrews 10:19-22 (NIV)

¹⁹ Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, ²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

What the Blood of Christ Jesus offers us is access to God which was lost when Mankind sinned eons ago in the Garden of Eden, but is now restored in Christ Jesus.  We once again have right standing with God with the covering of His blood over us by receiving Christ Jesus to live and reign in us.  Now when God sees us, He sees Christ in us who is transforming us into His image, it is Christ Jesus which makes us acceptable to God, not our own effort.

As an added benefit of the Blood of Christ Jesus, the atonement of His willing slaughter on our behalf has opened to us the promises of God.  These promises state that we are now adopted as Sons of God.  We are now co-heirs with Christ Jesus in the promises of God.

Ephesians 1:4-6 (NIV)

⁴ For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

God is holy and He cannot look upon sin, therefore He wisely recognized our inability to redeem ourselves back to Himself, so He made the provision within Himself by offering up His one and only Son to be our scapegoat for the absolute removal of our sins.

The Scapegoat by William Holman Hunt, 1854.

Scapegoat definition:  az·ä·zāl' (Hebrew עֲזָאזֵל) masculine noun “The scapegoat was a goat that was designated "for absolute removal", (i.e. for symbolic removal of the people's sins with the literal removal of the goat) outcast into the desert as part of the ceremonies of the Day of Atonement”.  From the Blue Letter Bible

Christ Jesus became our scapegoat so that we could be reconciled to God once again.  His blood sealed the contract between God and Man so that no one could come to God except through Him.

John 14:6 (NIV)

⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

I have heard people say that Christianity is too narrow-minded, and you have to allow for tolerance of other beliefs and religions.  The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the God whom we serve, through His Son Christ Jesus.  Abraham did not pursue God, God pursued Abraham and revealed Himself to Abraham.  We have mixed up the message to make being a Christian is all about making a decision for Christ, that is only a small part of the equation.  God first made the decision for us by sending His Son as the ultimate sacrifice. God pursues after us by giving us the desire to seek after Him.  We can only take that (God given) desire and offer it back to God.

We on one hand need to realize that God is pursuing us as a people, to plant within us the desire for Him, and on the other hand it is also God who is driving us to pursue that deeper desire for Him more fully.  Essentially, we present the empty vessel (our bodies) and God fills it with Himself, He is the God who is in our midst.

Zephaniah 3:17 (NKJV)

¹⁷ The Lord your God in your midst,

The Mighty One, will save;

He will rejoice over you with gladness,

He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing.”

So the blood of Christ Jesus isn’t just a creepy, ghoulish type of sacrifice that God had done to freak us out, or that Christian people sing about, no it is quite the opposite.  The blood of Christ is symbolic to describe the magnitude of Christ Jesus’ suffering, and the depth of God’s love for us.  
One can only ask why?  
Why did Jesus suffer and die for me?  
The answer is simple, and it is the only answer, Jesus loves you!

1 Peter 3:18 (NIV)

¹⁸ For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.

My prayer for you today is that the power in the blood of Christ Jesus would become a reality in your life which heals you, frees you, and empowers you to become the son or daughter that He delights in.

Blessings to you!

God is good all the time―all the time God is good!

Stephen Barnett

Personal Note:
The following song 'White Ribbon Day' was recorded by the Christian band Delirious back in 1997 as a symbol of Hope for our world comparing blood that is being spilled by the violence in today’s world as compared to the blood that was spilled by the violent sacrifice of Jesus over 2000 years ago.  'White Ribbon Day' for us is also symbolic of the hope we have for the soon coming millennial reign of Christ.  Jesus is coming again.  Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus!

White Ribbon Day

Words and Music by Martin Smith

How can it be that God is love?

When blood rolls down upon our land

And fathers lose their only son

Where is the hope?

Oh God we pray for white ribbon day

How can it be that you could love?

When blood ran down that wooden cross

Your father gave his only son

You came for peace

You came to die for white ribbon day

And we pray for peace

To flood our hearts again

Only God can save our nation now

And we long for joy to fill our streets again

Only God can save our nation now

How can it be that God is just?

When flesh is torn from young and old

And children run in bloody fields

Where is the hope?

Oh God we pray for white ribbon day

And we pray for peace

To flood our hearts again

Only God can save our nation now

And we long for joy to fill our streets again

Only God can save our nation now

Hallelujah, hallelujah

Hallelujah for white ribbon day

And can it be that You are just

When flesh was torn for young and old?

And here we stand saved by Your blood

We'll stand with courage

We'll live and die for white ribbon day

Hallelujah, hallelujah,

Hallelujah for white ribbon day

Written by Martin Smith ©1997 Curious? Music UK  

The lyrics above are copyrighted by the respective artists and are presented here for educational purposes only and not for profit