There is a scene in the movie, The Passion of the Christ, where Mary the mother of Jesus takes white towels and wipes up Jesus’ blood from the floor following a beating before His crucifixion. That one act forever left its impression in my heart. I remember crying and thinking, “Oh, that precious blood! One drop is worth more than the entire world.”
Following the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, God instructed Moses on how to build an appropriate altar. “Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you (Ex. 20:24).
In the Old Testament, we see how important the blood is in animal sacrifice. Leviticus chapter four outlines the procedure for the sin offering where blood is sprinkled and then poured out at the base of the altar. Leviticus 8:30 describes how Moses sprinkled blood on Aaron and his sons to consecrate them for the Lord’s service. They became holy because the blood of sacrifice was holy.
The blood of Jesus was splattered and sprinkled before He was nailed to the earthen altar of the wooden cross. The rest of His precious and holy blood drained slowly from His body down the cross—poured out at the base of the altar.
I find it impossible to fully comprehend the power in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son. He is and always will be the perfect sacrifice for sin. As Christians, we are who we are and where we are today because of Him. We should praise His Name with every breath!
“In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Heb. 9:22).
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
“For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5).
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).
“Oh, the blood of Jesus! Oh, the blood of Jesus! Oh, the blood of Jesus! It washes white as snow. What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” (Robert Lowry, 1826-1899)