Thank you Jesus for Your Blood Applied

Thank you, Jesus for Your Blood applied.

“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29

In Exodus 12, God completed His series of 10 plagues by causing the death of the firstborn sons in Egypt, finally driving Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave. The Lord brought death to the firstborn son of every home in Egypt unless its residents spread the blood of the Passover lamb on their doorposts. The Lord spared those homes because the sacrifice of the lamb satisfied Him.

God commanded the Israelites to sacrifice a lamb as an intentionally chosen picture of His holiness. He commanded that the Passover lamb be “without defect” in Exodus 12:5. An unblemished sacrifice is of the utmost importance throughout Scripture. The Passover lamb is our picture of purity and innocence surrounded by the darkness of this world

Blood was the key component of sacrifice. That’s no coincidence. Blood is the life of the flesh and blood is essential in taking away sin. Hebrews 9:22 reads, “According to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.”

Why is blood so important?

The forgiveness of sin clearly revolves around the shedding of blood. But why is it necessary? Leviticus 17:11 answers that question: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.” We need a blood sacrifice because it is the sign of life. A body cannot survive without blood. When the Israelites made these sacrifices in the Old Testament, life was offered back to God, the life giver.

Our sin has always been our reason for needing a blood sacrifice. Since the first sin of Adam and Eve in the garden and the subsequent sin nature that resulted in all people, we have been separated from the God with whom we were designed to have relationship. God will not co-exist with sin. His Holy Presence prevents it. As a result, we’ve found ourselves in need of an unblemished sacrifice to atone for the sin separating us from God. Just as the blood of the spotless lamb saved the Israelites from the 10th plague, so too does the Blood of the spotless Son of God save us and set us free.

Throughout Scripture Jesus is proclaimed as the Lamb of God. The Messiah is given this title in Isaiah 53:7, as His suffering is compared to that of a lamb:

“He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth.”

No other sacrifice would suffice for our sin. Yet the blood of animals could never purchase anyone’s salvation. God required a spotless offering, clean of impurity, to cover the sin of one offender. To cover the sins of all mankind, God required the most perfect Lamb. Jesus, His only Son.

Thank you, Jesus for Your Blood applied.

I love how Hebrews brings together Old Testament sacrifices and Jesus’ sacrifice. We know that God commanded Israel to sacrifice the blood of animals in the Old Testament. It couldn’t atone for their sin, no matter how many lambs were sacrificed; it could only show them that they were incapable of removing their own sin.

But Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross offered permanent fulfillment. “Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many” (Hebrews 9:28). This sacrifice was final. It brought an end to the rigorous offering requirements of the Old Testament: “And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God” (10:11–12).

Thank you, Jesus for Your Blood applied.

It was only through the shed blood of our Lord that our sin was completely blotted out. The writer of Hebrews is very clear on this point, “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Heb. 9:12). And again, “. . . But now once, in the end of the ages, hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Heb. 9:26).

What a beautiful picture of Jesus, our sin offering. He became an outcast condemned to endure the suffering and shame of crucifixion that He might sanctify us through His own blood by suffering outside the camp of Jerusalem (Heb. 13:11-12).

The Word of God clearly shows that forgiveness of sin can only be obtained by approaching God in the way He has set forth. There are not many ways or many paths to God. There is one way. Paul tells us, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus, Who gave Himself a ransom for all. . .” (1 Tim. 2:5-6).

Not only did Jesus’ shed blood provide for our forgiveness, it provided full and complete atonement from the effects of sin. We know the wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23) We all know the damage that sin inflicts in a life … pain, sickness, broken relationships, poverty, guilt, shame, fear and destruction to name a few.

The atonement, provided by the shed Blood of Jesus, gave us salvation. It removed the effects of sin. As Christians we know that we have eternal salvation when we repent, believe and surrender our lives to Him.

What’s a little harder for people to believe is that God also desires us to be healed and to come into wholeness here on this earth. It’s not just a promise of a future heaven but a present one! We were taught to pray “thy kingdom come.” That’s here and now!

When we take a closer look at the Greek word translated as ‘saved’ it’s clear that it’s not just our eternal destination that God is concerned about. The word is ‘sozo’, which when used many times in the New Testament is translated variously as ‘save, heal, make whole, deliver’.

The first use of the word is in Matthew 1:21, when the Lord speaks to Joseph in a dream to tell him not to be afraid of taking Mary as his wife. He says, ‘She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus (which means Saviour), because he will save (sozo) his people from their sins’.

Salvation brings us into relationship with our Father, but salvation doesn’t end there. Our Father is concerned about every aspect of our lives, including our physical and emotional well-being.

In Matthew chapter 9 we read the account of the woman with the flow of blood who pressed through to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment. Jesus turns to her and says, ‘Take heart, daughter, your faith has healed you’ (sozo) (Matthew 9:22). She was instantly healed from her physical problem, and I believe inner healing would have also taken place because we know the toll that sickness takes on our minds and emotions.

The condition she’d been suffering from would have made her unclean and would have resulted in feelings of rejection and isolation, but Jesus speaks acceptance to her and gives her a sense of belonging by calling her ‘daughter’.

The same Greek word is used again in Matthew 8:25 during the storm on the lake. The disciples cry out to Jesus: ‘Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!’ In that context they were needing deliverance from immediate, physical, tangible danger, which may well have involved demonic activity, as Jesus then rebuked the wind and the waves.

Thank you, Jesus for Your Blood applied.

We are saved from sin, delivered from sickness and demonic attacks of all kinds because of the power of Your Blood. Jesus, Precious Lamb of God, we thank You for Your protection and deliverance.

Often, our enemy, the serpent of old, will go on the attack and bite into us. He will try to inject his venom through lies, fear, sickness, doubt, unbelief, frustration and weariness. But do not worry! His venom is no match for the Blood of the Lamb! The serpent’s bite is made of no effect because of the Blood of the Lamb that has already provided victory over the sting of sin and death.

There is an old story about a rattlesnake that bit a sheep. The sheep’s face swelled up and it began to experience a lot of pain for a couple of days. The snake was feeling pretty good about himself, but what it didn’t know is that the blood that flows through a sheep carries a powerful anti-venom! This anti venom is used in anti-cancer drugs and even fights sepsis. The serpent may bite but we carry the anti-venom within us – the power of the Blood of Jesus!

God weaves His power and truth throughout the earth, showing us physical evidence of His majesty and eternal plan through what He has created! Grab hold of the spiritual truth that He is teaching us by the composition of the blood of a lamb.

Thank you, Jesus for Your Blood applied.

The lamb’s blood is a natural anti venom. Let that sink in. THE Lamb’s Blood is a natural anti venom.

While the Old Testament sacrifices covered sin, Jesus’ shed Blood REMOVES it! (Col 1:19-20) And, if sin no longer holds power in our lives, then can’t we also apply the “anti-venom” that His Blood gives to EVERY area? That is my challenge to myself and my challenge to you. Lord, grant us even mustard seed faith to grab hold of, believe and apply this!

Thank you, Jesus for Your Blood applied. It is my plea over myself, my family and everyone reading this. It is my plea over us spirit, soul and body. It is my plea over all manner of sickness and disease. It is my plea over lack and poverty. It is my plea over every danger known and unknown. It is my plea moment by moment, day by day until we see You face to face.

Keep us by the power of Your Blood, Messiah Jesus. Amen.