Thanks for joining us today as we continue our discussion about blood in the Bible, focusing on the New Testament. If you were busy living your godly, sin-free life and somehow missed last week’s study, fear not! You can catch up now or read this synopsis from last week:
“In the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), blood symbolizes life and death. Blood is also used as a sacrifice to God for the atonement of sin in one’s life or among His people. Blood sacrifice, the slaughter of animals, is recorded numerous times in the Old Testament. Later, in the New Testament, after the death and resurrection of Jesus, those who followed Him believed, and we believe today, that His blood was shed as atonement for our sins and for all humankind.”
The “blood of Christ” is a theological concept central to all Christ-centered faiths. If you take away one lesson from this study, it is the transition from animal blood in the Old Testament, offered as a sacrifice to God for the redemption of sins, to Christ in the New Testament. Jesus offered His blood as a sacrifice for our sins and for all humankind, thereby establishing a new, eternal Covenant between God and humanity.
Researching this study, from a sermon, I found the following paragraph:
“The New Covenant is a promise of a new relationship between God and humanity, initiated by Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, offering forgiveness of sins, inner transformation, and direct access to God through grace rather than the old Mosaic law. It is sealed by Jesus’ blood, making it a superior, eternal, and permanent covenant.”
Jesus instituted this New Covenant, as recorded in Matthew 26:26-28, Mark 14:22-24, Luke 22:19-20, and recounted in 1 Corinthians 11:23–25. Here is Matthew:
“While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to His disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my body.’ Then He took a cup, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’” (Matthew 26:26–28).
In that passage, Jesus presided over a Passover Seder known as the “Last Supper.” In part, the Last Supper commemorates the sacrificial blood of an unblemished lamb, which was spread on the doorways of the enslaved Hebrew people. God used that blood as a sign to save their firstborn sons from the angel of death and ultimately free His people from Egyptian bondage. See last week’s study.
Approximately 1,500 years later, when John the Baptist first saw Jesus, he proclaimed, “Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). These two events are gloriously connected. Consequently, the New Covenant forgives sin through the sacrificial blood of Jesus, as recorded and explained in Hebrews:
“It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4).
Remember that Moses authenticated God’s Covenant by throwing animal blood on his people in the passage shown last week. Below, I repeat this passage to illustrate the sacrificial blood connection between the two covenants and why the Hebrews verse above explains why God’s New Covenant, sealed by Jesus’s blood, superseded the Mosaic covenant:
“And Moses took half of the [animal] blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. 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.’ And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, ‘Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words’” (Exodus 24:6-8).
Now let’s review a passage from John’s gospel that was controversial then and still is today. Jesus was teaching in a Capernaum synagogue:
“So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him’” (John 6:53-56).
Over the centuries, volumes have been written about the meaning of that verse. First, Jesus is not advocating cannibalism, as some in the Temple believed upon hearing it. As we read in the Old Testament last week, God warned against drinking blood.
Second, Jesus teaches that believers must place their full trust in Him. He must be central in the life of His believers as He foreshadows His death and resurrection for their salvation. The breaking of His body and the shedding of His blood can be a source of life energy and eternal life for humankind.
Third, Catholics and other denominations partake of a wafer called the Eucharist, which brings Jesus’s sacrificial teaching to life at every Mass. The Catholic Church teaches that the consecrated wafer (the host) and wine are THE body and blood of Jesus. That teaching has led to tremendous religious conflict.
Next, in this non-gospel passage, the apostle John presents Christ’s blood as a guide for how we are to live:
“But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
Below are three notable verses from Paul on the meaning and sacrifice of Christ’s blood as they relate to our ongoing relationship with Him.
“Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God” (Romans 5:9).
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace…” (Ephesians 1:7).
“And through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross” (Colossians 1:20).
Finally, Peter brings us full circle to the unblemished Passover lamb that was sacrificed for its blood that freed God’s people from bondage, which symbolically is sin. As I wrote last week, the blood of the lamb is a Messianic prophecy that connects the Old and New Testaments:
“Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19).
I hope you have enjoyed reading about the blood connection between the Old and New Testaments. The message is clear that only by believing that Jesus shed His blood for us can our sins be forgiven. Amen!
Thanks to readers who send heartfelt emails. I try to respond to each one.
Myra Kahn Adams is a conservative political and religious writer. Her book “Bible Study For Those Who Don’t Read The Bible“ reprints the first 56 volumes of this popular study. “Part 2,” reprints Vols. 57 –113. Order it here.
Myra is also the Executive Director of the National Shroud of Turin Exhibit. You can help support our six-month exhibit at the Basilica in Orlando, Florida. Contact: Myraadams01@gmail.com
This article was originally posted at Townhall.com
