About the BLOOD
Blood is the “vital principle of life.” A body cannot be sustained without it. When you injure someone, and cause their blood run out, they die. That’s what Jesus did for us. Let’s look at some Scriptures that tell us about blood.
Matthew 9:20 makes it clear that we can bleed everyday, and still maintain some life. But it’s not the quality of life that God wants us to have. Let’s read Matthew 9:18-22. This woman had been to many doctors, using up whatever money she had trying to get well. But only when she put her trust in Jesus the Physician, was she healed.
Blood is a precious thing. And to shed the blood of others is a wicked sin (unless done under combat of some sort, or to protect your family or yourself.) Jesus really came down hard on the Pharisees about shedding the blood of the prophets. Let’s read Matthew 23:27-36. They are in the midst of being told their faults by Jesus. He places the woes all over them.
Let’s look through this chapter and see the woes. Every verse that starts with “woe” we’ll read.
13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!
23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
So- all those things they did brought condemnation on them, but it appears only one of them led to hell. Or is it a compilation of things? I think it’s the idea of never being able to accept the truth that damned them to hell. They had the prophesied Savior before their eyes, yet could not see the truth of Him and they rejected Him. Even as they told Jesus they would never have taken part in killing the Prophets, they were planning His own death. Talk about speaking out of both sides of your mouth.
The question in verse 33 is rhetorical. He knew how they could escape hell, but also knew they would not choose that. Their eyes were so blinded by the selfishness and egotistical bent in them that they could not see beyond their own fleshly desires for acclaim. People would bow to them. Make room for them in the synagogue, or jump into the streets to allow them to pass. These are men who thought that making an oath on gold, or the sacrifice on the altar was more binding than swearing by the One who sanctified all things.
Jesus gave them a second chance to prove their love and respect for the prophets, He sent them His apostles, who were prophets. He knew their end and declared it to them in verse 34. They would shed the blood of these prophets as their fathers had shed the blood from Able to Zechariah, because they could not believe the truth that they were sent from God with the message of salvation. Steven they stoned; John’s brother James, Herod pierced with a sword; the other James they threw from the pinnacle of the temple, then clubbed him to death; Simeon was crucified by the Jews, and some prophets were scourged (beaten with a whip), that is, John, Peter, and Paul. Peter was crucified upside down. So they not only refused salvation, they poured out the blood of their Savior, and of His prophets. That’s what condemned them to hell. Not only this though, but also their participation in the deaths of all prophets from the beginning of time. Ultimately, it was their denial of the Living Savior that brought them down.
Let’s look at some correlating Scriptures. Luke 11:46-51 and I Thessalonians 2:14-16.
The Lord’s Supper is another place where blood is used. But here, it is symbolic. It isn’t really blood we drink at communion, but a representation of the blood shed by Jesus. Let’s read in Matthew 26:26-30. I found something very interesting when reading this Scripture. Verse 30 says, “And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” I don’t think I ever noticed that before! Guess singing with someone who is facing death is a good thing! This was a revelation to me. It’s not earth shattering, but it’s very important to know these little things when one is working for the Lord.
We see how much more important the blood is than the body in this Scripture passage. The body is merely mentioned, but the blood is described. It is the blood of the new covenant, shed for the remission of, or forgiveness of, sin. The wine used at the Last Supper was used symbolically to represent Jesus’ blood.
This new covenant fulfills the ones in Genesis 3:21 and Exodus 12:1-13. Always from the first sin in the Garden till now, we need blood to be poured out as our covering. God killed an animal and made clothing from the hide for a covering for Adam and Eve in Genesis, and the lamb was killed and its blood painted onto the doorposts and lentils of the Houses of Israel so the plagues would by pass over their homes. Now, Jesus came and took away the need to kill defenseless animals, or paint their blood onto our houses. He came to shed His own blood for the remission of all sin! Jesus satisfied the need for blood shedding.
Our life’s blood keeps us alive physically. The shed blood of Jesus is able to make you alive spiritually if you accept it as the sacrifice God made for your salvation. If any of you do not know Jesus as personal Savior, now’s the time. You can see me after the service, or one of the people who are wearing name tags. God bless you.
