According to Matthew 26:27-28, at the Passover meal He shared with His disciples, Jesus “took a cup, and after giving thanks, He gave it to them and said, ‘Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood that establishes the covenant; it is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins.’” As Hebrews 9:22 states, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” We see this throughout the Bible.
- In Genesis 3, after Adam and Eve had disobeyed God by eating of the fruit of which God had told them not to eat, their “eyes…were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves” (v. 7). God confronted the first couple about their sins, then He “made clothing out of skins for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them” (v. 21). Human attempts to deal with sin always are inadequate. Significantly, God’s clothing Adam and Eve with animal skins meant that animal blood had to be shed. The animal or animals had to die as a consequence of the first man’s and the first woman’s disobedience to God.
- During the first Passover, God sent His death angel to Egypt to claim the lives of the firstborn in all households there—with exception of those who had slaughtered a Passover lamb in obedience to God’s commands in Exodus 12:1-13. Families were to “take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses where you will eat” meat from the slain animals at a prescribed meal. God also said, “I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and strike every firstborn male…. [But] The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a distinguishing mark for you; when I see the blood, I will pass over you.” (vv. 7,12-13, see also v. 23). So deliverance occurred under the blood of a lamb.
- The sacrificial system in the Old Testament involved the shedding animal blood (see 30:10; Lev. 6:24-30; 2 Chron. 29:20-24).
- Ultimately, the blood of animals was insufficient to pay the penalty for human sin (see Heb. 10:1-4). Jesus, God’s righteous Son, shed His own blood on the cross to make the payment. So we might say that God wrote, “I love you!” in blood—Jesus’ blood—at the cross (see Rom. 3:21-26; Eph. 1:7-8; Col. 1:13-14; Heb. 10:11-14).
No wonder the inspired writer of Hebrews stated that Jesus “entered the most holy place once for all, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption” (Heb. 9:12). As we participate in the Lord’s Supper, especially the portion involving the cup, we can be grateful that Jesus, through His shed blood, obtained eternal redemption for us!
Copyright © 2016 B. Nathaniel Sullivan. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations in this article are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.