ENTERING BY THE BLOOD -- Monday:
"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus . . . Let us draw near . . . " KJV (Heb 10:19-22)
The "blood of Christ" is not a magical substance, as some suppose. This is a term denoting the life of Christ, poured out as an offering to God. It involved his very "blood," but was not confined to its chemical substance. Scripture makes clear that "blood" stands for the individual. As it is written, "And [God] hath made of ONE BLOOD all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth" (Acts 17:26). That "one blood" was Adam, from whom the entire human race, with the exception of Jesus, sprang. Suffice it to say, "blood," as we will use it, stands for the Person and life of Christ.
Of old time, God established that "blood" stood for "life"; "For the LIFE of the flesh is in the blood" (Lev 17:11). The "blood" of those ancient lambs stood for their lives -- lives of innocent victims, required because of the guilt of another.
The "blood of Christ" equates to the willing forfeiture of His life on the behalf of the fallen human race. His death was "by the hands of lawless men," but according to the "foreknowledge and determinate counsel of God" (Acts 2:23). He was "murdered" (Acts 7:52), yet no man took His life from Him. he laid it down of His own volition (John 10:18).
This blood is of a victim freshly, or newly, slain. The blood of the substitute victim could not be stored up, to be used at a more convenient time. Valid blood was that of a newly-slain victim; one whose sacrifice was still in vivid memory. This is the significance of John's vision of the Lamb of God; "And I beheld, and, lo . . . a Lamb AS IT HAD BEEN SLAIN" (Rev 5:6). The immediate association of God's Son with His death attended the sight of Him. There is too much talk these days about "two thousand years ago," and not enough of the "Lamb AS it had been slain." God does not view the Son in a mere historical sense, and neither can we.
Entering the holiest by the blood of Jesus speaks more of a consciousness than of a routine or procedure. The recognition and persuasion of the effectuality of the blood, not the recitation of a formula, gains access to God. Some suppose that shouting "in the blood of Jesus" will get them through to God. It is, however, the recognition of the effectiveness of Christ's death that ushers us into the very Presence of God, where mercy may be found, and grace to help in the time of need (Heb 4:16).
There are frequent references to the vicarious, or substitutionary, nature of Christ's death. A few of them will confirm the meaning of "the blood of Christ." Jesus "became a curse FOR US" (Gal 3:13). God "made Him to become sin FOR US" (2 Cor 5:21). Isaiah declared the vicarious Lamb "bore OUR GRIEFS" (Isa 53:4a) and "carried OUR SORROWS" (Isa 53:4b). The Father "laid upon Him the iniquity OF US ALL" (Isa 53:6). It was "for the transgression" of the "people" that He was "stricken" (Isa 53:8). All of this was done willingly by our Savior. His "soul" was made "an offering for sin" (Isa 53:10), and He "poured out His soul unto death" (ISa 53:12).
ENTERING THE HOLIEST BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS IS COMING TO GOD WITH A LIVELY AWARENESS OF THESE THINGS. IT IS APPROACHING GOD PERSUADED THAT JESUS HAS CLEARED THE WAY FOR US TO COME.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You that I have not been redeemed with corruptible things, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot.