And with tears of blood he cleansed the hand. The hand that held the steel: For only blood can wipe out blood, And only tears can heal. —Oscar Wilde
Can you imagine walking into church on a Sunday morning and seeing the pastor with a rag in his hand, wiping down the auditorium with blood? You’d bolt for the front door, and I’d join you.
Yet, for generations this is exactly what the Israelite priests were commanded to do: The law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22).
No blood, no forgiveness.
But why blood? Why couldn’t God choose something less squeamish and less costly? After all, in order to sacrifice blood, something living has to die.
In Leviticus 17:11, He answers the question for us: “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.”
Life is in the blood. For God, life and blood are synonymous. His economy of forgiveness isn’t just a Blood Economy. It’s a Life Economy. When we are given the blood of Christ, we receive the life of Christ. Jesus, in His blood, washes us clean and replaces our death with His life.
Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many … (Hebrews 9:28)
It is enough. The blood is enough. So you can stop agonizing over whether or not your apology is good enough. Instead, depend upon the blood of Jesus, the once-and-for-all sacrifice. His blood is enough to save you from all acts leading to death—past, present, and future.
Jesus shed His blood for you and is never going to do it again—it’s done. So you are totally, absolutely, irrevocably, indestructibly, and thoroughly forgiven. How forgiven are you right after you sin? Completely.
You are made perfectly clean by the blood of Jesus.
Lord, only You could take the pouring out of blood from a human body and make it an invitation into a divine life with You—forever. I accept the gift of indestructible forgiveness. Thank You. Amen.