Sprinkled with Blood

When the Old Covenant was established at Mount Sinai, Moses sacrificed bulls, ‘took half of the blood and put it in bowls’ and then sprinkled the blood on the people as they agreed to the conditions of the covenant with God. It was a covenant-establishing ceremony.

… they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the LORD. Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he splashed against the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, ‘We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey.’

Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, ‘This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words’ (Exodus 24:5-8).

Wow. That sounds a little gross, doesn't it? I don't know about you, but I don't like people sprinkling blood on me.

But it's not gross. It's a picture of what is going on now with you in Christ. In the present time, under the terms of the New Covenant, our hearts get sprinkled with the blood of Jesus. This next passage says that we have had ‘our hearts sprinkled… and our bodies washed.’

Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, his flesh...

... and having a High Priest over the House of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water (Hebrews 10:19-22; NKJV).

How were ‘our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience’? By faith in Jesus. The Bible says so.

With what were our hearts sprinkled? By the blood of Jesus.

When did this happen? In baptism, when we entered the New Covenant—because the passage clearly ties the sprinkling of blood to the moment our bodies were washed with pure water. That washing is baptism.

The Process of Sanctification

So, you get baptized, and you enter into Christian fellowship. You become a brother or sister in Christ. At that point, you begin to make Christians your best friends. That’s good, but if you want Jesus’ blood to continue being effective to atone for your sins you must continue to walk in the light and to maintain fellowship. Only by remaining in Christian fellowship will the blood of Jesus continue to cleanse us from all sin.

… if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7; NKJV).

So, as the verse above says: a) walk in the light, b) have Christian fellowship, and c) then Christ’s blood will to cleanse you from sin. If you do not walk in the light and if you neglect Christian fellowship, then don’t count on Christ's blood to do its job.

Are you waling in the light? Have you got fellowship? Great. In addition, if you want the blood of Jesus to be effective in covering your sins, you must confess them to God. Only then will they be forgiven.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8).

In the Old Covenant worshippers needed to present themselves to the priests and offer sacrifices to have their sins forgiven. The priests would collect the blood and intercede for penitent Jewish believers.

So, let's get back to you. If you have been baptized, you have entered the New Covenant. Good for you. You have come to God, and you have come to righteous people, and to Jesus, but you have also come to the sprinkled blood. Don't forget that with all that's going on, the blood is a necessary facet of the complete New Covenant experience!

You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a New Covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel (Hebrews 12:23-24).

Blood Speaks

Did you notice how the last verse says that Jesus’ blood speaks? How does it speak? The Scriptures say that Christ’s blood speaks a better word than Abel’s blood. Interesting. How do we interpret this "speaking blood" phenomenon?

Let’s start with this question: What did Abel’s blood say?

Well, Abel’s blood cried out “Injustice!” and it screamed for vindication.

God heard Abel’s blood. In response, he drove Cain from the ground which received his brother’s blood. Furthermore, God hit Cain where it hurt most. He destroyed Cain’s career as a farmer saying ‘When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you.’ God drove Cain from the ground East of Eden and from farming, a ground-focused profession.

Look closely at the interaction:

Then the LORD said to Cain, ‘Where is your brother Abel?’

‘I don’t know,’ he replied. ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’

The LORD said, ‘What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.

When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the Earth (Genesis 4:9-12).

What happened to Cain was good. The just consequences of sin came upon him. If Cain’s punishment was activated by Abel’s blood—blood which cried out from the ground to God—then what will Jesus’ blood activate? What consequences did Jesus’ blood (shed at Calvary) came into play after that blood was spilt?

What does Jesus’ blood say? Don't forget: This is a good question because the Bible says that 'the sprinkled blood... speaks a better word than the blood of Abel' (Hebrews 12:24).

God Hears Jesus’ Blood

Our Lord’s blood cries out “Mercy!”

Jesus’ blood cries out for our sins to be forgiven. That’s its cry.

Jesus’ blood fell from his body as he bled on the Cross. Much of it fell to the ground as Abel's did, but not all of it. Enough of it was conserved so that our Lord Jesus might take a bowl of it with him and enter the Holy of Holies with it in order to sprinkle it before God in Heaven.

That blood Jesus sprinkled before God because it speaks. It speaks a word, and that word is "Mercy!" God hears the cry of Jesus’ blood.

God’s wrath towards sinners is appeased through the blood of Jesus. God grants mercy to those who hearts have been sprinkled by the blood.

Has your heart been sprinkled by the blood of Jesus?

Did you put your faith in Jesus when you were baptized?

Those of us who have been baptized now have access to God through the blood of Jesus. How does that happen? Well, now that we’re in the New Covenant Jesus has become our Intercessor. Jesus has officially become our High Priest. He stands before God in Heaven for us to plead for the forgiveness of our sins--and he does it always!

Jesus Entered Heaven

The Bible says that once for all (Hebrews 9:26) Jesus entered Heaven so that he might appear before the Almighty God to present his blood as the sacrifice for sins. By doing so, our Lord Jesus appeased God’s anger.

Do you get that? Jesus deflected God’s wrath—wrath that was rightly aimed at you and me. He offered his life (the life is in the blood) so that our lives might be spared.

… even the First Covenant was not put into effect without blood… In fact, the Law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

It was necessary, then, for the copies of the Heavenly things [the Temple and its implements] to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered Heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s Presence.

Nor did he enter Heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the High Priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the Creation of the World.

But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself (Hebrews 9:17, 22-26).

This passage is not talking about the crucifixion. It's talking about Jesus' intercession in Heaven right now. It's talking about "Jesus' Payment to God" (the title of these last three teachings). It's talking about Jesus' ministry as our Mediator before God.

It doesn’t get any better than this! Congratulations if you have trusted in Christ. Your sins have been forgiven.

Our Lord Jesus entered the heavenly Sanctuary with his blood and sprinkled his blood there in the Presence of Almighty God. That's how Jesus ‘did away with sin by the sacrifice of himself’—a sacrifice he made to God. His blood is a suitable offering to God because Jesus' blood is all he has--it's his life.

So Jesus gave his life to God in sacrifice for us. That's what his blood means.

Jesus has solved the sin problem. Now we are free. The power of sin has been broken because even if we sin again after our baptism, Jesus is ready to intercede for us.

Jesus Lives to Intercede for Us

Jesus presented his blood to God in Heaven by sprinkling his blood in the Heavenly Sanctuary, the True Temple.

For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the True one; he entered Heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s Presence (Hebrews 9:24).

This offering which Jesus made to God comprises the only viable and acceptable sacrifice for sins. There is no other way a human being can obtain forgiveness for their sins. It's only if Jesus stands in the breach for you in Heaven.

Only if we come to God through Jesus can we be forgiven. So, do you go to God in the name of Jesus? Some people go to Jesus through Mary. Others only go to Jesus. But the goal is to go to God through Jesus.

… he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them (Hebrews 7:25).

Therefore since we have a great High Priest who has ascended into Heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s Throne of Grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16).

Did you catch what Hebrews 7:25 says? Jesus lives to intercede for us! Yes, Jesus lives for this ministry. It has become his profession. He is fully employed in the sacred duty of intercession. Jesus saves us from guilt every day and whenever we need it. So, with an intercessor like Jesus, we approach God's Throne of Grace with confidence!

Confusion About Jesus and God

In conclusion, Jesus paid our ransom to God. His payment was made in person. He literally went to God in Heaven to sprinkle his blood in the Presence of God.

Jesus did this so that God’s wrath would be abated and appeased. That’s called atonement for sins. It’s also called expiation or propitiation. Those are words you may see in your Bible, words that express that Jesus ‘offered himself unblemished to God’ (Hebrews 9:14) for our sake.

But today most people who call themselves Christians don’t know the difference between Jesus and God. Most are completely confused about who is who. They have been indoctrinated by so many human theologies that they have no foundations on which to stand to even comprehend the reality of what's happening in Heaven. That's very unfortunate because they likely don't even have the custom of confessing their sins.

If you take anything away from this teaching, take this: God demanded the blood of Jesus as a sacrifice for sins. Those sins God would have punished in you by sending you to Hell. But now, thanks to the ministry of Jesus as High Priest, God’s wrath has been appeased. Atonement for sin happened in the Holy of Holies in Heaven, where God received Jesus and his blood as a payment for sins.

Jesus qualified for this job. He had the full credentials (having obeyed God unto death and having never sinned) to become our High Priest.

Oh Precious Is the Flow

God has accepted the blood which Jesus sprinkled in Heaven, but it must be applied on Earth as well. You live on Earth. Jesus' blood must be applied to your heart. Has Jesus sprinkled his blood on your heart?

If he has, you will value his blood. You will value it above all else. His blood is his life, God's greatest gift to you.

How precious is the blood of Jesus to you? Every believer will demonstrate their level of appreciation or lack of appreciation for Christ’s blood in the way they act. What do you demonstrate?

Do you drink it? Jesus told us to drink it.

… he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the Covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins' (Matthew 26:27-28).

Do you treat it as holy? The author of Hebrews warns you not to treat it as unholy.

How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has… treated as an unholy thing the blood of the Covenant that sanctified them… (Hebrews 10:29)?

Finally, do you devote yourself to fellowship in the Lord's Supper? The first church devoted themselves to the breaking of bread, the Lord's Supper. Paul continued that tradition. Is it a tradition in your life? It's one that Jesus started. He started it, so let's continue it. We won't finish doing it until he comes.

... they were devoting themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayers... (Acts 2:42; LEB)

... we sailed from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and five days later joined the others at Troas, where we stayed seven days. On the first day of the week we came together to break bread (Acts 20:6-7).

... after supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the New Covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.' For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes (1 Corinthians 11:25-26).