About 7 years ago when I was in college and living in NY I would ride the subway to school. It was about an hour train ride in and an hour train ride back. Reading became something I avidly did and I was always inhaling new books.
So one year I decided I wanted to read through the bible- cover to cover. So I started reading in Genesis and continued through to Isaiah! Pretty good- I thought. While I was reading I noticed there was a lot of sacrificing going on- a lot of animals were being killed. And I questioned why so much bloodshed?
The questions I had about the sacrifices led me to wonder- why did God need blood? What was it about blood that made it so symbolic?
Well I was putting my 2 year old, Martin, down for his nap the other day and I was searching my memory for a new worship song to sing to him and the Lord brought to mind:
It’s your Blood
By Michael Christ
“It’s Your blood that cleanses me,
It’s Your blood that gives me life,
It’s Your blood that took my place,
In redeeming sacrifice.
Washes me whiter than the snow, than the snow,
My Jesus, God’s precious sacrifice.”
The very first line of the song inspired my thoughts “It’s your blood that cleanses me”. Blood cleanses! In our bodies blood has a lot of different functions- one of them is cleansing. Blood is intended for automatic cleansing of a wound; your body wants to try to flush out whatever might be trying to penetrate through an open wound.
Why did Jesus’ blood symbolize cleansing of our sins? Well… one thought could be because blood acts as a cleansing agent to wounds and brings nutrients to every cell in the body.
Similarly the death of Jesus on the cross- the shedding of his blood- symbolizes the cleansing of our sins. Blood was necessary to cleanse us.
Just a thought.
