There is one idea or symbol in the Bible that brings everything into focus and even ties it all together. From the beginning in Genesis to the Book of Revelation, it is something that cries out to us, and the one thing that can remove the blemishes and filth of our sinful, fallen nature. Blood. The crimson stain. It flows through all of us, and most advanced animals, delivering oxygen to every part of the body. While it is physically necessary and life-giving, it also has a spiritual connotation and has power and even a voice. In Genesis 4, after Cain murdered Abel, God said:
And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground." Genesis 4:10 NKJV
Notice how He said the blood cries out, seeming to imply that Abel still has a voice and lives. This is the first time blood is mentioned in the Bible as well as the idea of sacrifice in the verses beforehand. As a side-note, in the first two chapters of Genesis, in the Garden, where sin does not exist, there is no mention of blood either. In Leviticus, the Lord commands the Israelites not to eat the blood of any animal:
I will set My face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people. 11 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.’ 12 Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘No one among you shall eat blood, nor shall any stranger who dwells among you eat blood.’ Leviticus 17:10-12 NKJV
In the second book, Exodus, the importance and life-saving aspect of blood becomes even more evident. Moses had been demanding the release of his people from Pharoah, but after nine plagues, he still would not listen due to his hardened heart. It is now when God has Moses tell the Israelites:
Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. 23 For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. Exodus 12:21-23 NKJV
The saving power of blood is clearly seen here. After the Israelites depart Egypt, and the Ten Commandments are given, the system of sacrifice is instituted. An animal would have to be sacrificed as an atonement or covering for the sins of the people. Of course, only shed blood can atone for sin and for the remission of sins because the wages of sin is death(Romans 6:23, Hebrews 9:22). The system of sacrifice that was instituted for the Ark of the Covenant, and later the Temple only went so far because offerings would have to be made continuously, year after year. It was only a shadow of the true Sacrifice that could atone for all sin for all time.
The New Covenant
In the Old Testament, sacrifices were always given, because sinning continued, and the guilt of the sin remained, which meant something needed to change. Then comes Jesus to the scene, preaching repentance and forgiveness of sins. Repentance means a deep sorrow or regret for past sins or wrongdoings and involves a turning from, or a change of heart, which is necessary for the forgiveness of sins. While it is easy to receive forgiveness it is never free, there is always a price to be paid. In The Prodigal God, Timothy Keller used the Parable of the Prodigal Son to show this very idea:
Over the years many readers have drawn the superficial conclusion that the restoration of the younger brother involved no atonement, no cost. They point out that the younger son wanted to make restitution but the father wouldn't let him--his acceptance back into the family was simply free. This, they say, shows that forgiveness and love should always be free and unconditional.
That is an oversimplification. If someone breaks your lamp, you should demand that she pay for it. The alternative is that you could forgive her and pay for it yourself (or go about bumping into furniture in the dark). Imagine a more grave situation, namely that someone has seriously damaged your reputation. Again you have two options. You could make him pay for this by going to others, criticizing and ruining his good name as a way to restore your own. Or you could forgive him, taking on the more difficult record of setting the record straight without vilifying him. The forgiveness is free and unconditional to the perpetrator, but it is costly to you.
Mercy and forgiveness must be free and unmerited to the wrongdoer. If the wrongdoer has to do something to merit it, then it isn't mercy, but forgiveness always comes at a cost to the one granting the forgiveness (92-94).
Blood needed to be spilled. That is what Jesus came to do. On His last night with the disciples, He instituted the Communion, which symbolized what He was about to do on the cross:
26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed[b] and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new[c] covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." Matthew 26:26-28(NKJV)
For the sacrifice to take place, the animal had to be spotless and without blemish. Jesus had never committed any sin and followed the law. Everybody knew this including: Pilate, and the thief on the cross. He was our perfect, spotless sacrifice, and because He was the infinite, eternal God, this forgiveness is a permanent one-time transaction that leads to eternal life.
12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance...25 not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another— 26 He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself....so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.(Hebrews 9:12-15, 25-26, 28) NKJV
Let me finish with a line from a well-known hymn:
What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
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