The blood corsing through our bodies gives us life. Circulating nutrients and oxygen and more throughout our bodies, the entire body receives what it needs to be alive and stay alive through this incredible delivery system.
Without blood, there is no life. If blood is spilled, as we say, life may be lost.
But spiritually speaking, life can be gained if blood is involved.
In the time of Moses, God gave the Israelites the Law, the words of God that Moses wrote down to take to God’s people. Throughout the law, the use of blood was an integral part to worship. Today, we think of worship and we think of singing songs in church. In Moses’s time, it would have seemed a little more chaotic with sheep and goats and bulls outside of a tent, which they referred to as the tabernacle, with the priests scurrying back and forth to sacrifice the animals to God on behalf of the people who had brought them.
There were several different types of sacrifices, the blood used for cleansing of the person for their sins, or ceremonial cleansing before God of an altar or particular instruments used in the course of the sacrificial worship.
All of this happened based on a desire to adhere to the Law that God gave to the Israelites.
But the Israelites didn’t keep the Law. The Israelites didn’t continue to worship the one, true God. Instead, they turned to other gods. They forsake the commandments that God had given them. Not only the commandments related to sacrifice, but many, many more. And for this, the covenant that God made with his people – that he would be their God and they would be his people – was broken. The Israelites would no longer recognize God as their God, so the covenant that God made with the Israelites had been broken.
God always required blood to cleanse his people. A sacrifice was required. But both in looking back to the beginning of time as well as looking forward into the future, people were sinful and required cleansing. No animal sacrifices would provide for the complete cleansing that was required, so God himself decided to give the sacrifice. For example, if we look at Isaiah 53, we can see that God is the one offering the sacrifice for us, for the forgiveness of our sins:
Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
Isaiah 53:10-12
So in the Old Testament, prophesies were given that the Lord would offer himself, and that offering would be a sacrifice for sins. The Lord would be crushed and his blood would be poured out for the forgiveness of sins.
These prophecies are consistent with what Jesus told his disciples at the Last Supper. As they were eating the Passover meal, Jesus told his disciples that his body would be broken and his blood would be given for the forgiveness of sins:
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 26:26-27
And so now, as we look forward to the book of Hebrews, we can understand further why the writer says that there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood:
When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.” In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Hebrews 9:19-22
As human beings in our religious ways of thinking, we often think, and even communicate, that God will be happy with us if we are good people, if we do good religious activities like pray, read our Bible, go to church, avoid major sins, etc. In fact, we might think that, if we do these things, God will owe us. We think that he should allow us to come into heaven because we have been good religious people. But this isn’t the story that God has been telling us. No, instead, he says that if you want to be clean, blood is required.
So we might ask ourselves… where is our sacrifice? Where is the blood that will save us? If that is God’s requirement, if we must have the shedding of blood so that we can be forgiven, where does that come from?
It comes to us by faith. Jesus’s blood was shed for each of us, and this is where our faith comes into our discussion. We must believe. We receive his forgiveness by faith that his blood was sufficient for God as we stand before him in judgment. Will he see me in my sins? Or will he see me clean before him because we have the blood of Christ upon us because we have placed our faith in him and his sacrifice?
If we have placed our faith in Christ’s blood, for the forgiveness of our sins, we also can be forgiven. But it is only by the blood of Christ that we can be clean. It is only by the blood of Christ which cleanses us that we can forgiven. He has done all of the work. He has given all of himself for us so that we can enter into his kingdom and be the priests within his kingdom. We now, because he has paid for us, serve him as our king. Otherwise, there is no forgiveness and we cannot enter his kingdom. To enter, we must be forgiven. And to be forgiven, we must have his blood.