Tag Archives: Blood

What God Gave Up for Lent – Day 30

30. Poured Out

poured out

And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.” (Luke 22:19-20)

The Greek words for pour have a very specific use, and with the exception of one verse (in John 2:15), the words have to do with either the pouring out blood, the pouring out of God’s wrath (bowls of judgment of Revelation 16) or the pouring out of the Holy Spirit.

And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. “Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” (Mark 14:24-25)

All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered, “Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?” And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days. (Acts10:45-48)

Then I heard a loud voice from the temple, saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.” So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth; and it became a loathsome and malignant sore on the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image…Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done.” (Rev 16:1-2,17)

Not only are the uses of poured out significant and life changing, but the English word is nowhere near as potent as the Greek definitions: gush, rush headlong, and spill. One of the reasons for such a forceful word is that it represents an impact of cataclysmic and life changing proportions. Think of what the blood of Christ has accomplished. What the pouring out of the seven bowls will bring to pass. And consider the change when the Holy Spirit is poured out in our lives. These are immense. One of wrath, one of sacrifice, one of transformation. If our God pours it all out with passion and utter commitment, should we not do likewise?

Finally, not only is this New Covenant new, it is huge. The Jews, long before they were Jews, were taught: Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. Surely I will require your lifeblood; from every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every man’s brother I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man. These are the words of the LORD to Noah. Note how it was implemented into Jewish law:

‘For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.’ “Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘No person among you may eat blood, nor may any alien who sojourns among you eat blood.’ “So when any man from the sons of Israel, or from the aliens who sojourn among them, in hunting catches a beast or a bird which may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth. For as for the life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its life. Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘You are not to eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off.’ (Leviticus 17:11-14)

So we learn in God’s design, there are only two uses for blood. The first is for life, and the second for sacrifice. And it is only in Christ that both are realized.

What God Gave Up for Lent – Day 20

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20. He Himself

Jesus Reaching Down

Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5)

As we mentioned a couple of days ago, griefs can also be translated as sickness and disease. So you could just as easily say that He bore our sickness, or He bore our disease. But we’re not talking about physical disease—we’re talking about the spiritual disease of sin; a disease which is completely and utterly fatal, both temporally and eternally.

I’m not a big fan of grammar, but the phrase He Himself, is called an intensive pronoun, which is used to emphasize the subject. In this case, Christ is the subject, and by emphasizing Him, we learn He alone was capable and worthy and had the sole authority—and chose—to bear our griefs. There neither is, was, nor will be, another. This phrase reveals the urgency, the necessity of what Christ Himself did, and only He could do. We know from Scripture that the blood of bulls and goats does not cut it: For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. ( Heb 10:4) It took the Lamb of God, it took God’s Son to bear our sins.

There are several meanings within the word bore that deserve consideration: to carry off, to take away, to forgive, and even to be swept away. So when Christ bore our sins to the cross it was not merely a matter of bearing our sins, but He carried them away, and took them to the grave with Him. Is there any doubt of how thoroughly involved God is in your life? He took the worst of you so that He could make the best of you.

This is the first of the substitutions: They were our griefs, but He is the One Who carried them.

Singing with the King (101) – Accept No Substitutes

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My life is poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, melting within me. My strength has dried up like sun-baked clay. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead. My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs; an evil gang closes in on me. They have pierced my hands and feet. I can count all my bones. My enemies stare at me and gloat. They divide my garments among themselves and throw dice for my clothing. (Psalm 22:14-18)

When you read those lines from Psalm 22, what do you see? If nothing comes to mind, let me give you another passage from the same Psalm: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” Yes, those are the words of Jesus hanging on the cross. Now you can see how the above five verses describe the events surrounding the crucifixion. King David wrote these words about a 1000 years before Christ hung on the cross. You and I see it, but why didn’t the Old Testament scholars of the day (i.e. – Sadducees and Pharisees) see it? Well their authority was challenged, their way of life threatened, and they kinda got distracted.

I did a study a few years back on distractions. I talked about how life is filled with interruptions, and there’s nothing really we can do about that. The question was, do we let interruptions become distractions? Then do distractions become detours? Then do detours become dead ends? And by the time we get to a dead-end, it’s pretty tough to get out. And all along that downward-spiraling path, we miss what God is doing.

I don’t know who we can blame for these holiday distractions, but it’s really not so much about the blame as it is the effect. For instance, holiday used to really be holy day, as it was tied only to religious holy days, like Christmas and Easter. But then these distractions came along: Santa Claus, snowmen, reindeer, trees, lights, and presents. But Christmas—that holy day— is about the birth of Jesus, God becoming man. And more distractions came along: bunnies and eggs… and chocolate! What’s not to like about chocolate? But Easter— that holy day— is about the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

With all the marketing and media blitz focusing on these distractions, it’s tough to remember the truth behind these holy days.

But then there’s Good Friday. As far as I know, nobody has been able to come up with a substitute or a distraction for that. But it’s kinda tough to come up with a distraction for something that deals with death and dying, torture and blood and sacrifice. And then you got that whole sin thing. What kind of cute things can cover up stuff like that? You can’t. So the next best thing? You ignore it. But you can’t do that either, because even though most Christians would prefer to fast forward to the resurrection of Christ, you can’t have the resurrection without the crucifixion.

After Jesus had risen, he spent some time walking along the road to Emmaus with some disciples. And he asked the question: “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:26) It was necessary.

“Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” (Heb 9:22)

Did Jesus Christ die for you? Are you forgiven? That’s what the crucifixion is all about. That’s what Good Friday is all about. There ARE no substitutes. Only…

He died for your sins.

Singing with the King (23) – Ends of the Earth

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All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. ( Psalm 98:3b)

You are Here

God could have done a quiet work of salvation, for He chose a small, even insignificant, people, in a remote part of the planet. They had many huge and notable empires nearby: Egyptians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, etc. But there was tiny Israel, always with another conqueror breezing through, and making them a (remote and inconsequential) part of an “intergalactic” empire. But one of the reasons God chose a small people was to ensure that they would never (try though they must) get the credit for their salvation. This was very much a God-thing, and could not be confused for anything else. So when All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God, they were seeing the salvation of our God.

Now the question needs to be asked: Why? If this was an “Israel only” to-do, why should all the earth see it.

Well, Israel may have been God’s Chosen people, but all earth’s peoples were made by Him—all had His image stamped upon them.

There were those who were aliens who would recognize that the God of Israel was indeed the Lord of all. In the context of this Psalm, it was because they had seen the salvation of our God.

The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God. ( Leviticus 19:34)

So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 10:19)

God had spoken to Israel on many occasions, reminding them they were aliens; Perhaps the greatest thing about the New Covenant—all of us aliens can now draw close to the Lord God through the shed blood of Jesus.

But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:13)

After all, We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. (1 John 2:2)