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. (Leviticus 17:11)

Life Is In The Blood

The human body is a wonderful design of a divine architect. There is nothing that man can create that marvels at the unique creation of how God formed the human frame. The key to life is found in the blood flowing through the veins, which brings life, healing, and cleansing. Blood is necessary for life because life is in the blood. Whether from a spiritual view or a scientific conclusion, all agree on the importance and necessity of blood. God created the body with its intricate source of blood vessels coursing through every organ and tissue to sustain it with life. The natural design of life in the blood is the antitype of the need for life in the spiritual blood.

Jesus was fashioned as a man in every respect. He was God, but He took on flesh, born of a woman in the natural fashion, growing from infancy to manhood. Blood flowed in the veins of Jesus. When He cut his finger, it bled. His heart beat more than one hundred thousand times daily, moving the blood throughout his body. Eight pints of blood delivered oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to tissues and organs daily. When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane praying, He was in such agony of spirit that His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. This weakened the Savior as He prepared for the trial of crucifixion.

Before a man is crucified, the Romans would scourge him. This was a near-death experience as soldiers used a whip to lacerate the back of the victim almost to the point of death. Blood loss was excessive. Keeping the victim alive, the soldiers would take the man to the place of execution and nail him to a cross. The procedure was a bloody process of exacting as much misery on the body as possible. Jesus experienced all of this. Golgotha was a place covered in the blood of previous victims. Jesus was scourged and then crucified. His suffering was attended by blood splattering everywhere and pouring down his body.

On the night of His betrayal, Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper. He called the fruit of the vine the blood of the new covenant, and His blood was shed for the remission of sins. After feeding the five thousand, Jesus told His disciples that whoever ate of His flesh and drank His blood had eternal life. His language was metaphorical of eternal life in His blood. As life is in the physical blood, so eternal life is in the blood of Jesus. Without the blood of Jesus, there is no eternal life. Under the Law of Moses, the Lord said blood makes atonement for the soul. The difference in Jesus’ blood was that it was pure from sin and was only offered once.

Jesus is the source of eternal life. Through His blood, sins are washed away. Baptism is necessary for salvation because, in baptism, sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus. If a person refuses to be baptized, they will never have the blood of atonement. In the taking of the Lord’s Supper, the remembrance of the blood of the new covenant is instilled in the hearts of the faithful. Walking in the light of God’s grace, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses the heart from all sin. Life is in the blood. Eternal life is in the blood of Jesus. Have you been washed in the blood?