Introduction to this letter from the son
What's all this "bloody" talk about?
Have you ever walked into a room where a group of people are engaged in some serious talk? You walk by them and they are using terms very unfamiliar to you in their eager discussion. You automatically feel left out, excluded. When you break the circle and join the discussion, they look at you as if you should “get it” and just pipe in, but you can’t. You’re not about to let them know you are a bit lost, so you just nod and hope to escape with your ignorance kept a secret.
This is how I felt some years ago when I was a fresh new member of a franchise organization. When attending my first national conference, I didn’t know much at all about the business I was in. When I got around the collected bodies of the seasoned franchisees, I was clueless as to what they were talking about most of the time. Pridefully, I nodded in silent agreement as to keep my lack of understanding undetected. Awkward, get me outta here!!
The blood of Christ. It’s really important for Christ followers to understand what’s behind all this talk about the “blood” of Christ. I wonder if many “freshly” new believers feel like I felt at my first franchisee conference. What we “seasoned” believers have been around for ages, the talk of the “blood of Christ” comes easy now. Why did Jesus have to die? Why couldn’t God just issue a “Presidential decree” for forgiveness and skip this bloody episode of the cross? Why did Jesus have to go through with what he experienced on the cross? If God is really God, then why couldn’t He find another way for redemption? All of these questions and more are answered by understanding Ephesians 1:7. I doubt my father, Pops, could have explained it to me, thus the letter I wrote to him you are about to read. As I finish this introduction, my heart understands the gravity of this truth of the “blood of Christ,” it wants to tear up and shout “Thank you Father for the spilt blood of your Son, thank you!”
This letter was written on January 9, 2019
What's all this "bloody" talk about?
In Him we have redemption through His blood. Ephesians 1:7
Hi Dad,
Having been around “Christian speak” for most of my life, sung the many classic hymns and been “around” the Bible since I can remember, this talk of “blood” is very familiar and natural. It is hard for me to put myself into the mindset of a non-believer in Christ or a person who is not familiar with Christendom and Old Testament Jewish law. What is all this talk about “blood?” Yuck! It must sound strange and a little macabre to them.
Yes, it must sound strange. Yet, without the actual blood of Christ being spilt on the cross, I am left destitute and wanting. I am reduced to a hopeless, lost and soon to die soul. I will experience a death that will produce a position of eternal judgement in a real place called Hell. So yes, this discussion of “blood” might sound strange to the uninformed and lost, but it is vital (having to do with life) to understand. Without the blood of Christ, literally leaving His body and leading to His physical death, there is no answer provided for my sin problem.
We could write a book on Jewish law, the old covenant God made with Israel. This book should also include discussion of the new covenant presented in the New Testament. This book would be enormous in size. So, I’ll reduce it to a few sentences.
Man has a sin problem. This happened when he chose to rule himself instead of following God’s laws. Sin is breaking Father’s law. The law has been broken. Every human has sinned. A penalty has to be exacted. Something has to die, its blood shed to pay for the breaking of the law, thus the word “atonement.” Hebrews 9:22 NIV, “.......without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” NIV. The Jewish Temple was set up for this purpose, the presentation of sacrificial blood to be presented once a year by the high priest for the collective sin of the nation of Israel. This “arrangement” set up by Father was only a temporary solution to the “sin” problem. He knew this “blood” being presented by the priest was unsatisfactory to accomplish His “real” goal. His goal was restoration of relationship. To restore what was lost in the Garden, the blood presented needed to come from something pure and blameless, something that had never experienced sin in any form or shape. The only person who would qualify for such a sacrifice was.........Himself, Father God. So, Father carried out His Love plan. He came here on Christmas Day, born of a virgin. He came for one purpose. To present Himself as one more and FINAL sacrifice for the sin, not just of Israel, but the entire human race, for all time (past, present and future). But, for a person’s sin to be “covered” by His (Jesus’) blood-sacrifice, that person has to do something. That person has to ask for forgiveness and “believe” in their heart who Jesus is and what He did was for them; to provide the sacrifice necessary to pay the penalty for their sin. The result of such belief is the restoration of relationship and the promise of eternal life with Him. John 3:16
"For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness." Hebrews 9:22 NIV
So, there you have it. A one paragraph summation of the purpose of all of history. The purpose is for us to be “covered” by the blood of Jesus and “saved” from our sin. For relationship to be restored with Father God. John 1:12-13.
So yes, thank you Father God for the blood of Jesus, shed for me and you. This is the only time in history where the shedding of blood is actually wonderful and beautiful. It is the pinnacle expression of Love. There is only one question that is vitally important! Am I covered by His blood? Yes, would be the answer for me. I believe! Amen to that!
Oswald Chambers: “Sin has alienated man from God, and the story of ages is an accumulation of wrongdoing and of judgement days, there is an utter hopelessness in any attempt to meet the righteousness of God, but let man begin to realize what sin is, then, ‘the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son cleanseth us from all sin,’ will be a holy word to his soul.”
Love you Pops!
Comments are welcome below!
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