On the 14th of Nisan, each Israelite family was to take a lamb from the flock to sacrifice. The hope was that the angel of the Lord would pass over their home when He saw the blood of the lamb. What were the requirements for the lamb? It must be a yearling from either the sheep or goats. It must have no defect or blemish. It was to be taken into the home on the 10th of Nisan and slain at twilight on the 14th. Unlike any other sheep, this unique lamb was called the ARNION or Passover Lamb. Once slain, the blood of the ARNION was to be painted on the doorposts and the lintel beam on the outside of the home. When the death angel saw the blood, He would pass over that house. The lamb was to be roasted and eaten in haste with bitter herbs and unleavened bread on this night. On this most sacred of nights, the Lord would set His people free from bondage in Egypt (Exodus 12:1-28).
The application to the Christian life is clear. Christ Jesus is our Passover Lamb. He is God's ARNION. Like the ARNION, He is without sin and unblemished. All must partake of him and eat His flesh to have eternal life (John 6:54). We cannot be set free from our slavery to sin without the shed blood of the Jesus Christ. His shed blood must be applied as the payment for our sin. Consider these facts about blood before we turn our attention to Christ’s blood payment for our sins.
Here are some scientific facts about blood. Blood can be frozen and is unaffected. Blood can be taken from one race and given to another without influencing the color of the recipient. Blood is incapable of duplication; there is no synthetic blood. Blood is the “red river of life”: it carries food and oxygen to every cell and it simultaneously carries away waste from every cell. Blood circulates twice/minute and as the heart pumps it, every cell is supplied and cleansed. No part of the body can live without being in contact with the “red river of life.” White corpuscles (leucocytes) in the blood fight disease. Red corpuscles carry food and oxygen. Most adults have 5-7 quarts of this red substance made up of plasma, corpuscles, and platelets. Every cubic millimeter of blood (size of a pin head) has 5.5 million cells. Cells live for 110-120 days. To replenish these cells, the body manufactures 2 million new cells/second! Blood is incredible stuff!
God declared that blood and blood alone could atone for the human soul. That’s why Jesus had to die a bloody death. . . to atone for our souls. Now consider these four powerful truths about the His blood from the Bible:
I. The Blood Saves Sinners--Exodus 12:1-28
It saves us from judgment to come. It must be believed and obeyed to save--Exodus 12:28
Suppose the Israelites said to one another: “Sounds bizarre, sounds too gory this smearing blood. What will the neighbors think? Forget it. This is foolish!” “I can’t kill our pet arnion. That’s too cruel. What would the animal rights society of Egypt think? No lamb, no blood, SURE death!
It must be applied to save--Exodus 12:7. It’s not even enough to slay the lamb if the blood is not applied. Without the application of the lamb’s blood the firstborn in that home dies. Though the house be dark and the blood could not be seen, God could see the blood. By the way, once the lamb was slain and the blood applied to the door, no Israelite was to venture outside (12:22). Suppose you as the firstborn son didn’t believe that and you went outside. Though the blood was applied, it would only benefit those who obeyed and remained under its protection. It is dangerous to come out from under the protective power of the blood.
It saves us from sin. It alone is the acceptable atonement for the soul--Leviticus 17:11
For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.
Life is in the blood. The word atonement means “to cover”. The blood of animals sacrificed “covered over” sin—under the Old Covenant. It held back the wrath of God against sin. Under the New Covenant, the blood of Christ does not cover sin; it cleanses the soul from sin. Remember Christ’s death alone does not atone for sin. His blood had to be shed to atone.
It alone is the acceptable propitiation for sin--Romans 3:25. Propitiation means a two-way transaction took place: A protection against God’s wrath against sin is satisfied. An offering for sin is accepted.
It alone is the redemption price--1 Peter 1:19.“. . . you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold . . but with precious blood as of a lamb, unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.” Redemption means “ransom price”. As sinners you and I had a price tag on our heads, not money but blood. Jesus paid it for us. The blood has the power to save us from judgment and sin but it is only effective if it’s applied.
II. The Blood Conquers Satan--Revelation 12:11
It enables us to conquer Satan. Just as the blood conquered Satan’s attempts to enslave Israel, so the blood enables us to conquer Satan. “They overcame him (Satan, the “accuser of the brethren”) because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death.” How do these saints in the Great Tribulation overcome Satan? By the blood of the Lamb and their fearless testimony. What’s the Greek word for “overcome, victory, triumph?” NIKE!
Remember, saint, Satan is already defeated by the Cross. When Christ Jesus died and shed His blood, Satan lost the war. All we need do is claim the power of the blood through prayer and the victory is ours. Old timers call it “pleading the blood of Jesus.”
III. The Blood Condemns Sinners--Matthew 27:24, 25
It bears witness for or against our condemnation. No one wants to hear this, but just as the blood can save, so it can also condemn. Remember what God told Cain after he had murdered his brother, Abel? He said, “what have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.” The Tribulation martyrs cry out, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, wilt Thou refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
It bears witness for or against our condemnation. When Jesus was brought before the angry mob by Pontius Pilate, the Bible declares that “he took water and washed his hands in front of the multitude saying, “I am innocent of this Man’s blood; see to that yourselves.” And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.”
IV. The Blood Cleanses Saints--1 John 1:7
All animal blood could ever do was cover over sin and temporarily avert the wrath of God against sinners. Only the blood of Christ can cleanse from sin. When His blood cleanses us, we are washed so pure that there is no stain or hint that sin was ever present! But that’s not all . . .
It cleanses all sin no matter how many, no matter how heinous--1 John 1:7. Confession is the key to unleashing the power of the blood to cleanse us from sin—1 John 1:9. It cleanses our consciences--Hebrews 9:14. It frees us to pray with power--Hebrews 10:19.
It frees us to minister with power--Revelation 1:5, 6a. We have been released from our sins by Jesus’ blood so that we can be “priests to His God and Father. . . “We need the cleansing of the blood in our lives so that we can minister with power. God only uses pure vessels. Paul writes, “Therefore, if a man cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master. . .” (2 Timothy 2:21)
Conclusion
Grateful to God for the blood,
Irv