The blood of Jesus
We have heard that very often to plead the blood of Jesus over our lives. For some, pleading the blood of Jesus is just mere words without real significance. However, for others, pleading the blood of Jesus really means something and has its full importance. Leviticus 17 gives us already an insight of the preciousness of blood in a more general setting.
Today, I want to share with you the power that exists in the blood of Jesus. The blood of Jesus is so powerful that it is like sending a grenade in the camp of the devil. Each time the blood of Jesus is mentioned, in the spiritual realm, it brings havoc in the devil’s camp. This is just because it reminds the devil of the victory of Jesus on the cross (Colossians 2:14–15). Through this small message, I want to show you the importance of the blood of Jesus.
First, I believe it is important to know a few cases where blood was shed in the bible. Since the beginning of time we already see blood being shed. The first blood shed, though not explicitly mentioned, can be found in Genesis 3:21 where we see God making tunics of skin to cloth Adam and Eve. By deduction, we understand that an animal’s blood was shed so that its skin could be used.
A few lines after Genesis 3:21, we see how Cain murdered his brother Abel (Genesis 4:8) where blood was shed again. In the Old Testament, we see so many examples of the shedding of blood of humans or animals. It is therefore important to understand why so many times we see references to blood. Although it may sound weird, the truth is that in certain contexts, blood is shed for a right purpose. However, in other contexts, this is not the case. Let us examine the different contexts in which blood is mentioned and see how the blood of Jesus relates to these contexts.
The blood of Jesus gives life
One of the main functions of the blood for the body is to carry life according to the bible (Leviticus 17:11).
Jesus clearly states that “…. Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53).
What Jesus mentions here takes its full significance when you realise that life is in the blood.
The statement of Jesus transcends this momentary life on earth for an eternal life. By participating in the communion every Sunday, you are declaring powerfully in the spiritual realm, that you have eternal life through Jesus and that you will be raised up on the last day (John 6:54).
The blood of Jesus protects us
Just before the deliverance of the people of God from Egypt, we see the institution of the Passover. God commanded the congregation of Israel to apply the blood of the Passover Lamb on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat (Exodus 12:22). By doing so, when God sees the blood, He will not allow the destroyer to come into the houses to strike them (Exodus 12:23).
One of the characteristics of the Passover lamb is that it should be without blemish (Exodus 12:5).
As you probably already know, the whole bible points to Jesus. Today, we don’t need to sacrifice any lamb for protection. Jesus is the type of the Passover lamb given He was without sin (blemish).
Through the blood of Jesus, we obtain protection from plagues or any attacks of the enemy. God will not allow the devil to destroy us as long as we are covered by the blood of Jesus.
The blood of Jesus gives us access to the Father
The high priest would enter the Holy of Holies once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement (Exodus 30:10). The blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat found inside the veil by the high priest to make atonement because of the sins and transgressions of the children of Israel (Leviticus 16: 15).
Today, our High Priest is Jesus who entered the Holy of Holies with His own blood. By doing so,we can have the boldness to enter the presence of God any time (not once a year as in the Old Testament) by His blood (Hebrews 10:19). This shows that the blood of Jesus gives us the free access to the Father at any time.
The blood of Jesus removes our sins and brings redemption
In Leviticus 16, we see how the blood is used to make atonement for the sins of the people. The word atonement used in Greek is the word “Kaphar”. This word means “to cover.” In the Old Testament, we see a rather limited application of blood with regards to sin as it does not indicate the removal of sin but only the covering of sin. This is also confirmed in Hebrews 10:4, where we see that the blood of animals cannot take away sins.
Hebrews 9: 22 clearly shows that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
Today we don’t need any animal sacrifice, but by the wonderful grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, today we know that through His blood, we are cleansed from all sin (1 John 1:7). Through His blood, we have obtained eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:12). His blood is so powerful to go beyond just covering sin, to the point of taking it away and redeeming us.
The blood of Jesus brings reconciliation and a new covenant
Through the fall of man due to sin, we see the start of a broken relationship between man and God.
God sent Adam out of the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3: 23) where he was enjoying the presence of God. This broken relationship has continued over time and we have seen such a great number of times where God dealt with the unfaithfulness of His people (Hosea 4:12, Jeremiah 13:27).
The solution to this broken relationship is the blood of Jesus. The blood of Jesus brings peace and reconciliation between man and God (Colossians 1:19). The blood of Jesus also seals a new covenant (Matthew 26:28) which implies a new relationship between man and God offering freely the Holy Spirit, salvation, eternal life and more.
The blood of Jesus sanctifies us
When the people of God came out of Egypt, we see that God started to give the laws to Moses.
One of the reasons for all the different laws that we see in the book of Leviticus was to sanctify His people. The word sanctification in the Hebrew language referred as “qadash” means to be consecrated or to be set apart.
Today, as Christians, we are not under the law (Galatians 2:19) but we are sanctified rather by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 13:12). Through sanctification, we know that we belong to God alone and although we live in this world, we do not belong to it anymore.
There is power in the blood of Jesus as you have seen. We should thank God every day for the precious blood of Jesus shed on the cross for us. I have myself experienced the power in the blood of Jesus through healing. I have also seen how demons react just at the mention of the blood of Jesus.
It is essential to understand what the blood of Jesus means for us before we claim it over our lives.
Otherwise, it would be like a “magic pill” that you are applying with no effect. Let us realise that through the blood of the Lamb and the word of God, we can overcome the enemy (Revelation 12:11).
Let us also remember that the blood of Jesus speaks better things than that of Abel (Hebrews 12:24). The blood of Jesus speaks life, protection, boldness to access God’s presence, forgiveness of sin, redemption, reconciliation and sanctification.
