Nothing But The Blood

Google Images
The rules were clear for the fledgling nation of Israel. God’s people were not to eat the blood of any animal. To do so brought swift and sure punishment (Leviticus 17:10). The blood was sacred because of what it symbolized. “For the life of the creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life” (Leviticus 17:11).

These Old Testament sacrifices foretold of One who would make the ultimate sacrifice; whose blood would atone for our sins once and for all time.

As we come to another Good Friday and Easter we remember that without the shedding of that blood, there would be no forgiveness. We remember “…the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

As I thought about these verses from Leviticus this morning, an old hymn came to mind.

What can wash away my sins?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Oh, precious is that flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount' I know
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

For my pardon this I see—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
For my cleansing, this my plea—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Nothing can for sin atone
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
Naught of good that I have done—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

This is all my hope and peace—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
This is all my righteousness—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Robert Lowry

The resurrection of Christ is extremely important, but there have been other resurrections from the dead. Lazarus returned from the dead, the son of the widow of Nain was resurrected. If you believe the stories that many tell today, others have been dead and come back to life again after having died. These resurrections saved no one, made no guarantee that death would not happen again, and made no promise of eternal life and peace with God. The blood is the key. There has been only one perfect sacrifice, one perfect Lamb of God, who shed His blood in payment for my sin.

Only Jesus. Only His blood. What a wonderful Saviour.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Staying Put and Moving On

Genesis 23-26 Among the many interesting aspects of these chapters is an incident that jumps out at me. This year I’m looking at my Scripture readings in the light of changes, adjustments, course corrections that have to be made, and what the Scriptures say about them. Abraham had died. Isaac was living in Gerar under the watchful eye of Abimelech. God blessed Isaac to the point that there simply wasn't room for him and all that he had gained to lived peaceable among the Philistines. There were issues of envy which resulted in some nasty events: “ So all the wells that his father’s servant had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth ” —Genesis 26:15. Abimelech asked Isaac to move a little farther away to prevent any more conflict. Isaac did what he was asked and moved, reopening the wells that the Philistines had stopped up when his father was alive—presumably the result of a different generation of envious neighbours at Abraham’s
Read more

The Case of the Pilfering Peacock

Image
Such little things under ordinary circumstances: a few pots of lettuce and a little spinach. But in a country like Pakistan, and in the heart of the Sindh, anything resembling salad is as hard to find as hen’s teeth; well, in this case, peacock’s teeth. My friend, Hannah, is a retired missionary nurse. Actually she became a retreaded missionary nurse, having returned to Pakistan several times several times after retirement to fill a desperate need for nursing staff at the hospital she first went to serve in back in the 1960s.   A wall surrounds the hospital. On the grounds are the homes of the medical staff and some of the Pakistani people who work at the facility. It also seems to be the favourite place for the peacocks from the local Temple to hang out.    It had to be the lettuce and the spinach that attracted them. When she first noticed the peacocks, Hannah admired their beauty—until she noticed that they were lunching on the spinach. She tried to shoo them away. “Persistent” seem
Read more

Worry Walks Alone

Somewhere along the way I picked up a little card that still hangs on the bulletin board above my desk. It says: "Worry slanders every promise in the Word of God." Naturally it came to mind this morning as I read my verse for the day. "Then Jesus said to his disciples: 'Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes" —Luke 12:22, 23. (And these verses come attached to yesterday's verse on being careful about greed.) Another image comes to mind. As I watched the news yesterday, several people cheated of their life savings by Bernie Madoff, were being interviewed. One woman in particular stood out. She said that, thanks to Madoff, she no longer has the means to feed herself or to buy medicine. Basically she is now destitute. Is she worried? Who wouldn't be? Matthew includes the teaching of these verses in the famous Sermon on the Mount, j
Read more