The 9 Meanings of Jesus’ Blood (Hebrews 9:19~22)

The 9 Meanings of Jesus’ Blood (Hebrews 9:19~22)

 

19 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.

20 He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.”

21 In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies.

22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

 

Today’s sermon will be about the 9 meanings of Jesus’ blood. In Korean, the blood of Jesus Christ is literally called “precious blood” (bo-hyul). Most living creatures on this Earth have blood. Our blood flows through our veins providing us with nutrition, oxygen, and it takes away toxins in our bodies. Not only that but our blood protects us from illness with the immune system and white blood cells. Yet, despite its many properties and the numerous creatures on this Earth that have blood, none of them are said to possess “precious blood”. only is the blood of Christ truly worthy of being called “precious”. only the blood Christ, shed on the cross over 2000 years ago, can provide forgiveness and salvation. Why is this? Today, we will explore the nine reasons behind this fact.

 

First, the blood of Christ is the blood of promise.

 

There may be some who think that Jesus died on the cross because he committed many sins.

 

However, the blood of Jesus is blood that was already promised in the Garden of Eden, when the first humans created committed their first sin 6000 years ago.  

Genesis 3:14-15, “14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

 

All humans on earth are of a “man’s seed”. In society, a child carries on the family name, meaning the last name of his/her father, hence it is said that a child is the descendant of the man, or from “his seed”.

A mother cannot have a child by herself; she needs the man, i.e. the father, for the baby. Thus, in the Bible, it would be strange for someone to say a child was of the “woman’s seed”.

 

Even if one were to legally have the last name of his/her mother, they would still be from the “man’s seed”, otherwise they could not exist.

 

Therefore, the only person in the history of the world who could be a “woman’s seed” is Jesus Christ.

 

Confucius, Buddha, Socrates, Mohammed, etc. were all from a man’s seed. only Jesus was born without a “man’s seed” since he was conceived unto Mary through the Holy Spirit before she and Joseph were married.

 

Matthew 1:18-25 says, “18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.

20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.

22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:

25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus.

 

This event was predicted by the prophet Isaiah 2700 years ago, 700 years before the birth of Christ.

 

 Isaiah 7:14 says, “14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

 

In this scripture, it is important to note that Mary was a virgin, meaning she had never slept with any man. A woman who has done so, regardless of whether she was married or not, can not be considered a virgin by any means.

The fact that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit to the Virgin Mary is God’s way of telling us that Mary was worthy of mothering His one and only Son. It also tells us that Jesus was indeed God’s son and the Messiah.

 

A birth to a virgin was one of the signs of the Messiah. It was also said that the virgin would bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” In other words, God would come to be with humans. The Baby Jesus is God. Jesus is God in the form of man who was sent to this Earth.

 

Let us go back to Eden in Genesis 3:15:

“15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

 

It says that the “her seed”, i.e. the son of the Virgin Mary, would crush the head of the serpent. This is referring to Jesus crushing the head of Satan. It is illustrating Jesus Christ, the son of “her seed”, coming to Earth to save the world from the curse and death of sin and destroying Satan. Now we can understand why Communists, who openly deny the existence of God thus workers for the devil, persecute Christians.

 

The latter part of verse 15 says, “15 and thou shalt bruise his heel.” This section refers to Jesus’ crucifixion on the cross. The fact that the serpent, Satan, can only bruise the heel of Jesus is showing how he is successful in killing Jesus on the cross, but is unable to destroy Jesus as Christ rises from the dead after 3 days.

 

What day was Easter this year? It was April 20^th. If we look at our calendars we see each year there are days marked for Easter, the day Jesus died, and Christmas, the day the Virgin Mary gave birth.

On Sundays, we rest. Why is this? It is because the third day after his death, when Jesus rose from the dead, was on a Sunday. That is why people of Christ worship on Sundays and not on the Sabbath of the Jewish religion, which is on Saturdays.

 

The calendars we use today can be considered as numerical representations of the Bible. Let us think a little more about calendars. What year are we in? It is 2014. This means that it has been about 2014 years since Jesus’ birth. (AD = Anno Domini = in the year of the Lord = after Jesus’ birth)

 

How amazing is it that Jesus’ blood, the fact that Jesus would shed his blood for us by dying on the cross, was spoken of, promised, and predicted literally since the beginning of mankind. There are even more instances where Jesus’ sacrifice and our salvation was predicted it would be impossible to cover all of them in one day!

 

The Old Testament has hundreds of predictions of Jesus’ coming.

 

Even the Apostle Paul mentions the blood of Jesus in 1 Corinthians 11:25, “25  This cup is the new covenant in my blood.”

 

In the past, tribes or groups in the Middle East would make promises or vows with blood. The heads of each tribe would make a cut on a part of their body, collect the blood in a cup, and each person would drink the mixture of blood. Sometimes the blood would be mixed with alcohol. In doing this, the two tribes become brothers, helping each other and showing each other loyalty. Blood is a symbol life. Combining or mixing blood symbolizes a sharing of life.

 

Jesus died and shed his blood for us who were dirtied by sin and destined for hell. He gave us a new promise. Through the blood of Christ, we gained the gift and right to go to Heaven.

 

Second, the blood of Jesus is the blood of forgiveness of sin.

 

Hebrews 9:22 says, “22 without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”  If we each of us had to pay for our own sins, then surely no one could be saved. It says in the Bible, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23) and “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).

 

The “all people” mentioned above includes you and me, i.e. “us”. If there is anyone here without sin, they you do not need to attend church.

 

Hebrews 9:22 says, “the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

 

In the Old Testament, if anyone wanted to receive forgiveness, he/she would have to find a flawless sheep or cow, kill it and spill its blood, spread the blood on an altar, and hold a ceremony. But in the time after Christ, all we need to do is believe in Jesus, believe in his sacrifice, believe he is the promised Son of God, and repent for our sins.

 

To truly repent means to turn away from the life where we did whatever we wanted and live a life for God, being obedient to God’s words and Jesus’ words. The blood of Jesus has the power to cleanse us of our sins.

 

Third, the blood of Christ makes us righteous before God.

 

Romans 5:9 says, “9 Since we have now been justified by his blood.” Not only are we forgiven for our sins by Jesus, but we are also made righteous and justified. Righteousness allows us to stand before God without shame. If you believe in Christ, anyone can become a righteous man instead of a sinner, regardless of how big the sin.

 

It means that God can see everything, except for our sins covered by the blood of Christ. That is how we become righteous and justified before God. Our sins are “blotted out” or “painted out” by Christ’s blood.

 

This image of our sins being “blotted out” comes up 3 times in the Bible.

Isaiah 43:25 says, “I, even I, am he who blots out
 your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”

 

Fourth, the blood of Christ has the power to make even sinners holy.

 

Hebrews 13:12 says, “12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood.” What does it say can make us holy? The blood of Jesus. The blood shed by Jesus on the cross is the only thing that can erase the sins in our hearts and make us holy before God.

 

Fifth, the blood of Christ puts us in harmony with God.

 

Ephesians 2:13 says, “ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”

 

When we try to come back to God after enjoying the temptations of the world and sinning, it is difficult to pray and God feel so far away. What do we do in such situations? We must praise Jesus’ blood, believe in it, lean on it, and pray away. The blood of Jesus is our path to God; it is what connects us to God; it is what brings us nearer to God.

 

Sixth, the blood of Christ is the blood of peace.

 

Colossians 1:19-20 says, “19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”

 

 The blood of Jesus not only rectifies our relationship with God, but it can also fix and make peaceful our marital, family, and other relationships.

 

Thus, if we trust in the blood of Jesus, we not only receive salvation, but we live lives that bring happiness to the Lord.

 

Seventh, the blood of Christ helps us pray.

 

Some people say that they do not know how to pray. If this is the case for you, simply pray, “Lord, I trust in the blood of Jesus.” It is said that the righteous man’s blood cried out to God from the earth. It says in the Bible that Abel’s blood cried out to God of how his brother Cain killed him, and the Lord heard every bit of it.

But Hebrews 12:24 says, “24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”

Thus, when it feels difficult to pray, think of Jesus’ blood and trust it. The Holy Spirit will surely help you in your prayers.

 

Eighth, the blood of Christ is life, i.e. the blood of everlasting life.

 

John 6:53 says, “Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” The “life” mentioned in this verse refers to everlasting life.

 

This verse was originally written and Greek. In the Greek language there are two words for “life”. The first is “bios” which refers to the life of all living creatures on earth. (Hence the origin for the word “biology”, the study of life.) The second is “joe” and this word refers to everlasting life.

 

Jesus, who came from the seed of a woman, shed his blood, the blood that saves us, and the blood that gives everlasting live, “joe”, to those who believe he is the Son of God.

 

Ninth and last, the blood of Christ is the blood of victory.

 

Revelations 12:11 says,  “They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb
 and by the word of their testimony;
 they did not love their lives so much
 as to shrink from death.”

 

If we trust in Jesus’ blood, not only will we triumph over the world’s hardships and sins, but our rough and crude selves will become refined and precious. We can and will come out victorious over this evil world.  

 

 

Let us take a moment to look at ourselves.

 

First, let us allow Jesus’ blood to flow freely and abundantly through our lives. If we do this we will surely live with triumph and victory.

 

Next, is there anyone who is still skeptical of the blood of Christ? Or is still trying to accept him? A rag is still a rag even after it is washed. No matter how much good we do, we cannot be saved without the blood of Jesus. The only thing that can cleanse us from our sins is his blood.

 

If there is anyone who wants to believe that Jesus’ blood is the blood of the Son of God and the blood that saved me from sin? If so, please raise your hand. Let everyone repent for their sins today and accept Jesus Christ the Savior and the powerful precious blood he shed for us. Hallelujah!