The title to this blog was a reply to a Christian’s post on social media. Although the person’s reply was condescending, I wasn’t offended. Rather, I thought to myself, “For someone who’s never actually read the Bible, it’s a reasonable reply. I can totally see why they would think this way.'” After all, the Bible says…

“In him (Christ) we have redemption through his blood,… But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” – Ephesians 1:7; 2:13

Hebrews, chapters 9-10 are full of passages describing salvation being offered to mankind through the imagery of Jesus’ blood.

In John’s first letter, he writes,

“…the blood of Jesus cleanses

And in Revelation 12:11, John recorded,

“They defeated/triumphed over [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony;…”

The most graphic of all Jesus’ words are found in John 6 where Jesus warns only those who “eat my flesh and drink my blood” will be considered righteous in God’s sight. (I’m guessing the person who wrote the reply cited above had read this passage. So I’ll offer biblical context for this passage in the comments.)

So, yes, I can understand why a Christian could interpret Jesus as some sort of “blood god.”

And that’s why Paul offered some explanation when he wrote to the early Christians in Rome,…

“God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith.” – Romans 3:25

That’s what “saved by the blood of Christ” means – it simply represents Jesus’ death i.e. his shedding of his own blood on the Cross.

So, what does “Christ as a sacrifice of atonement” mean? It means “taking our place to receive God’s wrath over sin.” (Cf. 1 John 2:2) Jesus willingly chose to offer his own life for us so that, upon placing our faith in him, we might, following our final breath on earth, stand faultless, sinless, holy, and worthy before Almighty God.  This is what Paul meant when he wrote,…

“Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.” (Colossians 1:22)

The graphic image “saved by his blood” is used frequently in the New Testament to emphasize the price that was paid for our salvation (sort of like when, every Memorial Day, we talk about “the blood that has been spilled by those who’ve fought for our freedom in the United States.”)

I would be remiss if I didn’t answer the question, “So why did Jesus have to die in the first place?”

The Bible is clear:

“The wages of sin,” Paul wrote, “is death.” (Roman 3:23)

Sin separates us from God in this life – and the next. But God’s love for you and me is so strong, even though sin carries a death sentence, God came to earth in Jesus Christ and “died our death”.  John, the disciple and eyewitness of Jesus, put it this way,

“God so loved the world (you), he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16

The author of Hebrews,…

“But now, [Christ] has appeared one time,…for the removal of (our) sin by the sacrifice of himself.” (Hebrews 9:28)

This what John meant when he wrote,

“…the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)

So, when we sing “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus”,  the graphic imagery  of “blood” represents not a “blood god”, but Jesus’ tortuous, sacrificial death – a death he chose and endured for you, and for me.

Jesus loves you, nw