"There's Power in the Blood..."

There is pow’r, pow’r, wonder-working pow’r

In the blood of the Lamb;

There is pow’r, pow’r, wonder-working pow’r

In the precious blood of the Lamb.

 - from the hymn, "There's Power in the Blood"

Filled with oxygen and nutrients necessary for survival, it goes without saying that blood is a precious substance that we could not live without.  There is a lot of emphasis put on blood in the Old Testament.  One of the Ten Plagues of Egypt turned the water into blood, the Israelites marked their doorways with the blood of lambs, and, of course, worshipers in the were commanded to make sacrifices of various livestock.

Blood also has a deep significance in the New Testament.

Hebrews 10:1-4  For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

As previously mentioned, while under the Law of Moses during the duration of the Old Testament, the followers of God would make sacrifices of livestock as part of their worship.  These sacrifices served to cover up their sin for a time. However, as we just read in Hebrews, these sacrifices were not sufficient to take away sin completely.

In the various Bible studies I participate in, a common point of conversation is the injustice of Christ's death on the cross.  Certainly, the humiliation, torture, and cruel death of Jesus - the very Son of God - is an awful event.  However, it is important to remember that it is also a blessing to us as Christians even to this day.

The Bible, particularly the New Testament, is filled with "role-reversal" illustrations:  The first will be last and the last will be first.  To be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, one must humble himself and become as a little child or a servant.

Similarly:  The cross - the most unjust of crimes that could possibly be committed by mankind - is at the same time the most significant event.  It is our salvation.

Christ offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for all of mankind for all time.  It is through His blood that we are cleansed and able to stand justified before our God.

Another hymn we sing from time to time asks:  "Are you washed in the Blood of the Lamb?"

Are you?