The Life is in the Blood

 

For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.  --Leviticus 17:11

For is is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.  --Hebrews 10:4

It is a fairly common theme in literature for an outcast to be shown grace by the finding of a new will and testament from a benefactor.  Whether set in a family situation in which the black sheep of the family is redeemed by the reading of an elder's will after their passing, or an orphan who is adopted and granted access to the family fortune, we all enjoy stories of people who get what they don't necessarily deserve by right or by heritage.  It is the picture of grace that warms our hearts.

In today's study of Scripture we see this very theme played out for all mankind.  In our last study, we saw Jesus prepare for and partake in a seder or a Passover meal, which had originated in Jewish tradition to show God's hand in the lives of the Jewish people.  For thousands of years Jews have commemorated their peoples' redemption from slavery in Egypt by the very hand of God by participating in a celebratory meal.  We will see in the following passage the institution of a new celebratory meal, not limited to Jews only, but one that has been commemorated by Christians for two millennia.  

Luke 22:20 says, "Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you'." (emphasis added, but I'm getting ahead of myself.)

And as they were eating, He took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, "Take; this is my body."  And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank of 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 not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."  --Mark 14:22-25

Many theological arguments occur over this passage, because people get caught up in whether "this is my body" means that the bread somehow becomes the actual body of Jesus, or whether "this is my blood" means that the wine somehow changes into the actual blood of Christ.  Without wading in too deep into the argument of transubstantiation versus consubstantiation versus pure symbolism, I want to point out that this is the point at which God provides a new will and testament, so that all of us, whether Jew or Gentile, can approach God and be accepted by Him.

We know that all of those in attendance at this last Passover meal and first Christian communion were Jews, with strict dietary laws.  Levitical law strictly forbade consuming the blood of any animal, much less human blood.  Jesus was not calling them to cannibalism.  Rather, He was presenting them with a new covenant, based on His blood which would be shed on the cross when His body was broken for them.  It is the covenant that is important here.  The Greek word for covenant diathēkē can be translated, "A disposition or arrangement of any sort which one wishes to be valid; the last disposition which one makes of his earthly possessions after his death; a testament or a will." (See Strong's Concordance).

In the arena of estate planning, all are encouraged to leave a last will and testament, a record of one's desires for the distribution of property among family or charities, as well as instructions on how to dispose of one's body.  It was Jesus's express will that His followers (His family, if you will) engage with one another in partaking of this remembrance in the form of communion.  By identifying with Him and with one another in this way, we become members of His Body, the Church.  Unlike the Jewish Passover, in which many lambs are slain in commemoration of the exodus of a specific race of people from slavery in Egypt, the will of Jesus was that we commemorate His death as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

Thank God for a New Testament, a new expression of God's will.  Where we were excluded, now we are included.  Where we were condemned, now we are redeemed.  Where we were dead, now we are alive.  "Thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere." (2 Corinthians 2:14)

We've all heard the expression "blood is thicker than water."  We use that saying to justify family loyalty over friendship.  The origin of the phrase, however, is much different.  It is derived from the phrase, "The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb," meaning when you covenant together with those for whom you would shed blood then you forsake your family.  A squad of soldiers who have been through a deadly battle together share a bond that is closer than mere family.  The Christian life should be like that.  Jesus said, "Everyone who has left houses or bothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for My Name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life." (Matthew 19: 29)  Not only is the blood of the covenant thicker than the water of the womb, but the life is in the blood.