Blood and Sacrifice are the firm foundation of Christianity. Followers of Buddha, Mohamed and even Islam are not based on blood and the sacrifice of death. Some forms of sacrifice are practiced, but they are not obligatory. Only Christianity is bathed in blood and an atoning, sacrificial death.
On the other hand, Satan, the great counterfeiter 2 Corinthians 4:4, created idol worship and the occult. It is based on bloodletting rituals, including human sacrifice, but no atonement.
Earth Soaked in Blood
The soil of this planet is soaked with blood, through countless bloodletting, from acts of man, and wars, to natural disasters. Does the blood and sacrifice of Christ make Christianity a ghoulish religion? Or was there some higher, eternal plan, based on the sinless, shed blood of the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, Revelation 13: 8?
Right at the start of the Old Testament we see an animal sacrificed to provide covering for fallen man, Genesis 3:21. There, the penalty for sin was death was announced. This revealed the seriousness of sin and the resulting separation from God. However, the path of man’s salvation was also announced, Genesis 3:15. Yet, atonement could only come through the shedding of blood, for the life of the flesh is in the blood, Leviticus 17:11.
Old Testament Sacrifices
The Old Testament went on to be bathed in a sea of blood. Spend time in the book of Leviticus to see the fullness of the sacrifices, that were all fulfilled in Christ.
Blood forms a river that runs from Genesis to Revelation. King Solomon had to do everything on a grander scale than everyone else. At the opening of the Temple, he sacrificed 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. On top of all that, individual families would have also brought a sacrifice. Around 250,000 animals could have been sacrificed that day.
The priests would have had the worst butcher job you can imagine. There are around 39-litres of blood in just one ox, with just under 5-litres in each sheep. Every sacrifice had to be dealt with very specifically, with some of the meat roasted and most of it burnt. This was the Guinness World Record for barbecues and the greatest blood bath of all time.
Blood and Sacrifice Plan B?
God’s ‘Plan B’ was not sacrifice, for the Lamb was slain from before the foundation of the world, Revelation 13:8. God had an eternal, unchangeable plan from before He even began creation. After all, He knows and reveals the end from the beginning, Isaiah 46:10.
God, the all-knowing one, Psalm 147:5, knew what Adam would do before He was even created. In His mercy, God did not wipe Adam out there and then.
Adam’s faith was untried, and when tested he failed miserably. Eve was beautiful and perfect, so no wonder Adam couldn’t walk away from her. When the woman failed, Adam should have trusted God to provide a new woman. Maybe she wouldn’t have failed. Or would she?
Faith Must be Tested
The true value of faith in God, is tested faith that produces the fruit of perseverance. This leads to spiritual maturity and inner peace. In turn, it results in a sincere relationship with God the Father, and Jesus Christ the Son, empowered by the Holy Spirit. However, that testing only comes through fiery trials.
The first Adam failed miserably and created a world of agony and sorrow. The last Adam redeemed mankind through His shed blood, death and resurrection 1 Corinthians 15:45, to create a world of peace and joy beyond our comprehension.
Power in Blood and Sacrifice
Why do Christians believe there is power in the blood? Abel’s blood cries from the ground, Genesis 4:10, but the shed blood and sacrifice of Christ speaks better things than the blood of Abel, Hebrews 12:24.
The writer of Hebrews tells us that the sinless blood of Jesus Christ sanctifies all who believe in His death and resurrection, Hebrews 13:12. Christ’s sacrifice achieved what animal sacrifices could not, for it cleanses us from all sin. There is no condemnation for those who are hid in Christ Jesus, Romans 8:1. He took the punishment in our place and paid a debt He did not owe. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness, Hebrew 9:22.
Became Sin on Our Behalf
God made Him who knew no sin to be sin our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God, in Him, 2 Corinthians 5:21. That is quite a statement to get our head around. From unrighteousness to righteousness in one quick moment of time. The second a sinner believes in Christ’s atoning death, God’s righteousness is imparted to him, or her. The only thing we have to do is believe.
Christ’s death was retroactive and proactive, covering every sin from Adam unto the end of time, 1 John 1:7. That simple statement is mind-blowing. Though our sins be as scarlet, they are made white as snow, Isaiah 1:18. They disappear into God’s sea-of-forgetfulness, as far as the east is from the west, Psalm 103:12.
The shed blood of Christ ratified the covenant between God the Father and God the Son, Hebrews 9:11-23. It made the eternal covenant official and unbreakable. It offered fallen man the way to eternal salvation, washed in the cleansing blood of the Lamb, Hebrews 9:14.
Christ the Mediator
The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was much more than just the penalty of sin paid for all eternity. The finished work of Jesus Christ on Calvary is where loving kindness and truth, grace and mercy met together. Righteousness and peace kissed each other, Psalm 85:10.
Christ is the mediator between God and man, 1 Timothy 2:5. A mediator is one who intervenes in a dispute between two parties. When man sinned, he instantly knew separation from God, Genesis 3:24. He was barred from the place where he had fellowshipped with God. Christ paid the price in full and the all-powerful I Am of Exodus 3:14, provided the way for man to return to full fellowship with God. Through His sacrifice, Jesus also became our High Priest, 1 Timothy 2:5.
Christ the Reconciler
Christ reconciles us to the relationship of being a friend of God. Only in the New Testament could believers call God, Abba Father.
Through His obedience to the Father, the Son was given absolute sovereign authority in heaven and on earth, Matthew 28:18. Christ drew us who were afar off, to Himself in a personal relationship, Ephesians 4:13. This reconciliation makes those who believe in the Son of God, fellow heirs with Him, for we are hid in Christ, Colossians 3:3.
Blood and Sacrifice
The blood, sacrifice, death and resurrection of Christ, gives whosoever will believe, the choice of eternal life, John 3:16. The alternative is to know eternal death and judgement, John 5:29.
We can be overcomers in Him. because the great mystery of what took place at Calvary. Even the angels were in awe. All we have to do is to accept what God did for us.
The choice is ever ours, for God gave us a free will. It is our choice to either experience the full blessings in God or know eternal separation from God. Let us rejoice that Christianity is based on blood and sacrifice. Through it we can become living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, Romans 23:1. Totally yielded to the will of a loving Heavenly Father.
For all eternity we will praise Him for His amazing love towards us, as we look at those nail-scarred hands. There is no greater love than to lay down your life for your friends, Matthew 15:13. The One who humbled Himself and gave His life for us, will shortly return for His own. What a glorious day that will be.
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