The Blood of Jesus
Notes
Transcript
One of the words used incredibly frequently through out the scriptures is Blood. this has been the subject if confusion as to how this language is used
additionally this language has been criticized going all the way back to the first christians who were accused of cannibalism due to the constant speaking of the body and blood of Jesus
Blood is one theme we see through out the whole text from genesis 4 to revelation
Tracing blood through out the text
Tracing blood through out the text
Blood and Life
Blood and Life
Blood functions both as the symbol of life and death.
The word (דָּם, dam) is used in the Hebrew for blood
10 And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. 11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
additionally we see life joined with blood in
4 But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.
the blood of an animal is seen as the life of that .
Blood is the life sustaining substance found in almost every chapter of the Bible.
the blood is tied to the term Nephesh which translates to the essence of a living being
Blood and Covenant
Blood and Covenant
Blood and life is also an integral part of covenant that were made
As previously mentioned Noah covenant
4 But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.
Abrahamic
9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half.
Mosaic
5 And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. 6 And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.”
Blood and Purification and atonement
Blood and Purification and atonement
Blood is also continually used within the context of purification and atonement
The frame work is set up all through out the law.
Purification:The practice of making people or things pure in regards to the Mosaic Law.
There were certain cases where blood would have been used in a ritual cleansing. seeing priest apply blood to sacred spaces
15 And he killed it, and Moses took the blood, and with his finger put it on the horns of the altar around it and purified the altar and poured out the blood at the base of the altar and consecrated it to make atonement for it.
Purification allowed priest to enter into the presence of God in the tabernacle. It dealt with all the impurities that come with living in an earth that has been tainted by sin
the sprinkling of blood for purification allows us to see how God cleans away the implications of humans sin that lead to the need for purification
Atonement: concept that refers to the reconciliation or reparation of a broken relationship between God and humanity, often through sacrificial or redemptive means.
Atonement is at the very heart of the sacrificial system.
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. 12 Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, No person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who sojourns among you eat blood.
Atonement allowed something else to take the punishment that we deserved.
Sacrifice and Atonement
Sacrifice and Atonement
Sin creates a system of debt that requires an atonement. something must be paid back for what has been taken but also for what has been destroyed the nature of the environment
If some one steals from you they do two things
first problem is that they have done what is evil
second they destroyed the nature of the relationship
this what Tim Mackie calls vandalism
The problems is that human kind continues to do evil from the very foundation of time we have done what is evil,
Vandalizing the beautiful space God made
Since the people had such great sin
Need for the sacrifice
Need for the sacrifice
God has made a beautiful space
The evil that human kind commits goes against God vandalizes that space
the evil should be removed
God loves his people and does not want them to die.
God allows animals to serve as a substitute in the sacrifices for atonement
from here since the land has been stained by our sin or vandalized the blood of this sacrifice allows for purification
The atonement is required because of the peoples rebel. purification enables to preist to enter into a holy space which has been cleaned of the problems that occur due to humans sinful actions
however the problems of human sinfulness remained the atonement merely covered up the evil of the people.
There was a hope amongst the people that this system would end as from its inception there was a promise of full redemption
1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
This was the hope and promise of the sacrifice to come.
we see this happen in through and as the person of Jesus
Blood and Hebrews
Blood and Hebrews
One of the amazing parts of the book of hebrews we have seen all year is the Jesus always provides a better way then what was previously laid out.
Thesis Jesus is better then anything
We see all of these Old testament practices fulfilled in through and as the person of Christ
12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
the tabernacle and temple mirrored what was taking place in heaven with the holy of holies
when christ dies as the sacrifice he is able go in with his blood not only serving as the sacrifice but also the priest using his perfect blood to make purification for us
the standard for blood was high thats why the animals were just a substitute. Christ’s perfect blood
This came in and made perfect purification for our behalf.
meaning the weight of sin has no stain on us
the vandalism has been dealt with all of the impurities that infected our soul have been washed clean
15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.
In the same way that all covenants were made Jesus makes a covenant
20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
This is the covenant we remember when we partake in communion remembering that our saviour has done for us
22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
The apparent violence in the old testament was for the forgiveness of sins
We see christ shedding his blood for our forgiveness
Jesus fulfilled everything as the perfection of the law fulfilling every requirement that we could be forgiven
Call band
26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
There is an invitation here to a God who gave everything to have you that not only forgives you of your sins but has set you free from the stain of sin
the impurity of our sin is dealt with.
the consequence is dealt with
Christ is no longer dealing with sin he has dealt with it
Sin which once lead to death is now a defeated enemy. for those whoa are in christ there is freedom from the law of sin in death
Jesus death was the great sacrifice made for our atonement
Jesus Blood Our purification
Church lets sing together of the great love that our saviour has poured out for us through his blood