The Blood of Jesus

This morning I am thinking about the Blood of Jesus. I know this is not your common reflection, but I was reading through Leviticus this morning and the subject of blood, and the command about not eating the blood was given and explained.  As we know, this ordinance is still practiced today by those that follow Kosher regulations.  Here are the verses from Leviticus 17:10-12 NIV:

[10] “ 'I will set my face against any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who eats blood, and I will cut them off from the people. [11] For the life of a 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. [12] Therefore I say to the Israelites, “None of you may eat blood, nor may any foreigner residing among you eat blood.”

The Lord is very clear about this law, and the people seem to have embraced this directive.  In contrast, I was thinking this morning how shocking it must have been when Jesus spoke about drinking His blood at the Last supper. Here is Matthew's version - Matthew 26:26-28 NIV:

[26] "While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”

[27] Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. [28] This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."

We see the direct parallel, between the sacrifice described in Leviticus and Jesus' statement here. His blood is His life, and He poured it out for the atonement/forgiveness of all our sins, every one of us.  Wow. Putting the two statements (Lev and Matt) together we get the following: The Blood of Jesus has been given (poured out) to you to make atonement for yourselves! This is the Blood of Jesus, the blood of the Son of God, the Word made flesh, that has been poured out!  This really is incomprehensible.

Here is a quote from Frederick Faber's book, "The Precious Blood; or the Price of Our Salvation" where he talks just briefly about the Precious Blood of Jesus:

"It is also a revelation to us of the character of God. Nothing on earth tells us so much of him, or tells it so plainly and so endearingly. How adorable must be the exactness of his justice, how unattainable the standard of his sanctity, how absorbing the blissful gulfs of his uncreated purity, if the Precious Blood is to be the sole fitting ransom for the sins of men, the one divinely-chosen satisfaction to his outraged Majesty! Yet what a strange wisdom in such an astonishing invention, what an unintelligible condescension, what a mysterious fondness of creative love! The more we meditate upon the Precious Blood, the more strange does it appear as a device of infinite love. While we are really getting to understand it more, our understanding of it appears to grow less. When we see a divine work at a distance, its dimensions do not seem so colossal as we find them to be in reality when we come nearer. The Precious Blood is such a wonderful revelation of God that it partakes in a measure of his incomprehensibility."

Faber goes on to write 362 pages just on the Precious Blood of Jesus. Each page is full of deep thought and causes one to stop and reflect.  We really have such a small understanding and appreciation for this great gift, and it would be wise to cultivate a deeper understanding.  Most of the time when I hear it mentioned it is an old hymn being sung like "Nothing but the Blood of Jesus".  I pray that we would oce again uncover and restore a proper understnading and appreciation for His Precious Blood.

Oh Lord, help us to rightly understand the great gift that You made to us in Your Precious Blood.

Amen!