Some of these will be familiar, others not.

But each is divinely inspired of God.

And each adds vital Truth to the overall Doctrine of Blood Atonement as presented in God's Word.

Today we listen to Moses. But really, this Man of God is simply repeating what God has previously told him. So, actually, we are listening to God Himself: "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul." Leviticus 17:11

The enemies of God mock these words. They call them superstitious! Or the remaining vestiges of primitive religion! Uncivilized ritual! Or even stupidity! Yes, this and a lot more, even a lot worse, have been written by lost men and women, written about this sole Verse of Scripture!

But, after all is said, the Verse stands!

It stands as true!

The life of the flesh IS in the Blood!

Take the loudest atheist, remove his blood, or hers ... and, presto, that individual is DEAD!

No blood ... no life!

The noun for "life" is spelled "nephesh" and is also the Hebrew word for "soul or mind or heart or will or desire" or even "appetite!" The verbal root here is "naphash," meaning "to breathe!"

No blood, eventually, no breath!

Now Moses did not know that the blood in a human body carries oxygen to all its cells! But God knew! There's a direct link between my blood and the breath that keeps me alive!

The noun for "flesh" is "basar," meaning not only "flesh," but also "body, skin, self," and once, "nakedness." The background of "basar" is thought to be a verb that suggests "to show forth, to publish," even "to preach or give tidings!"

The word for "blood" is "dam," pronounced "dawm." And all 361 of its Old Testament appearances deal with blood in some sense. The root of our word here may go all the way back to "daham," a verb that reflects absolute "astonishment!" Is God telling us that the blood He created is amazing?

I remember the old Bible Teacher Dr. M. R. DeHaan, many years ago, teaching us that the blood God made serves us in a twofold way. It brings to each of the body's cells a fresh supply of "groceries," oxygen, every second we live. And then, simultaneously, the same vehicle that brought our sustenance picks up a load of our "garbage," carbon dioxide, and carries it away to our lungs to be exhaled! Think of that! Would you like your local garbage truck to deliver your bread or other food items too? I think not!

Go back to that root word behind "blood," yes, "astonishing!"

Next God says, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul."

Next the "altar" is introduced! "Mizbeach" is the noun for "altar," derived from a verb, "zabach," meaning "to slaughter, kill, sacrifice!" The altar being the place where such immolation is conducted. A violent, bloody scene indeed!

The verb "have given" is the standard "nathan." Over two thousand times in Holy Scripture "nathan" is used, better than half those times rendered simply "to give." Blood is a gift from God! For, among other things, a sacrifice! For worship! For atonement!

"To make atonement" translates "kaphar." Literally it means "to cover." Then it came to mean "to pacify, to propitiate." Other King James Version uses include "purge, forgive, cleanse, disannul and pardon." Here our Hebrew verb is a "piel" infinitive! Thus the action is intensive, vigorous! And on-going! The power of the blood is dynamic, not static!

But, what is being "covered?" Sin is being hidden! God and His awesome Holiness are thereby placated ... until Jesus comes and dies on the Cross to permanently "wash away" our sin!

The preposition "for" your souls translates "al" in Hebrew, "upon or above or over or towards." Covered by the Blood, in God's Eyes anyway!

The word "souls" here is still "nephesh," same as "flesh" earlier in our verse. It means one's very "life."

Then, as if the repetition suggests importance, we are told again: "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul."

"Don't miss this," God seems to be saying!

It's the Blood that saves!

Without Blood atonement sin is still an issue with Almighty God, a deadly issue!

Had medical science realized the truth and accuracy of this verse long before it did, thousands if not millions of lives could have been saved! Humans were historically "bled" when they were sick. Blood taken from their bodies! This, it was then believed, would return their health and strength.

It did not.

Why?

Doctors and surgeons and even barbers were dripping away the very thing that brought life to a human being! His or her blood!

History tells us that President George Washington died from complications from this procedure, being "bled" too much by his physicians! In December, 1799, at sixty-seven years of age, suffering only from a throat infection, the President's blood was "taken" from his body! Too much was drained! They removed two and a half quarts! And the human body only holds five quarts! The practice was called "blood-letting."

Yet the Bible had been clearly teaching for many centuries, "The life of the flesh is in the blood."

There's just something special about the Blood!

Sin costs!

It costs life!

I know, "For the wages of sin is death," and Paul wrote these words under the direction of God the Holy Spirit too. 

But the wages of sin, death, is in reality first of all ... the taking of life itself!

Jesus gave His Blood!

He laid down His Life!

He suffered a vicarious or substitutionary Death for you and me, for sinners to be saved!

Thank God for His Blood!

Just think, in answer to Paul's great question. "For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" Hebrews 9:13-14

I'll tell you how much more!

Infinitely more!

Eternally more!

Ineffably more!

Super-sufficiently more!

That's "how much" more!

Praise the Lord!

Today sometime, thank God for shedding His precious Blood that you might be saved!

                                                                         --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

This thought came a little later today, after driving a couple of hundred miles to preach in a Revival Meeting. Traveling time is good "thinking" time!

Our verse for today, Leviticus 17:11, beautifully connects the words "life" and blood." Here it is again, word for word: "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul."

I wondered down the expressway, "Do other Bible verses do the same, associate "life" and "blood" like this?

Well, here's the answer. Genesis 9:4 says, "But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat." Leviticus 17:14 is important, too: "For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off." And then Deuteronomy 12:23. "Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh." Obviously, all these are in the Old Testament.

But I mused, "Surely there is at least one New Testament instance. Jesus would have somehow linked 'life' and 'blood,' perhaps even on a higher level than did Moses." Well, I found it! "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you." John 6:53 links the two! Then, immediately, our Lord continues: "Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day."

Old Testament: Eat no blood! It's the life of the flesh! It is special, as if to say, it's reserved for a unique spiritual use some day!

New Testament: Here is Jesus, the Christ, God the Son! His Blood is life-giving indeed! Concerning it, all prohibitions are lifted! By faith, not literally now, but spiritually, we drink His Blood when we trust Him as our Saviour! When He saves us from Hell! When we are born-again!

Amen!

LESSON 2, VERSE 2, GENESIS 4:10

Today let's study one of the great "Blood Verses" of the Bible! To do so, we must travel to the Book of Genesis, its account of the very first murder. Where Cain killed his brother Abel, you remember.  "Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him." Then, "The LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not." Whereupon God asked Cain, "What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground." Genesis 4:10

Yes, Genesis 4:10, especially that last clause, where the Lord said: "The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground."

The Hebrew noun for "voice" is simply spelled "qol" and is derived from a root verb that means "to cry out loud!"

Blood crying out loud ... to God!

But this is not just any blood. It is "innocent blood," a term which Scripture uses twenty times.

It, this blood, is calling to God for revenge!

For justice!

For righteousness!

Probably Paul, in Hebrews 11:4, has this "blood crying from the ground" scenario in  mind: "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh."

Abel being dead, still speaks!

Via his blood!

This is why God expects the one who sheds innocent blood to be punished. "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man." Genesis 9:6 here is really the foundation for what today is called "capital punishment."

This requirement does not apply to animals' blood, just humans!

As far as we know, to this day, Abel's blood still is crying to Almighty God!

So is the blood of every other murder victim whose killer has not been caught and tried and punished.

Citizens of the United States of America, well over fifty million unborn babies have been aborted in our land since 1973. Killed! Innocent blood shed!

And all of it is crying out to God for judgment!

Often the Old Testament talks about the "guilt" of innocent blood!

Furthermore, God hates those who "shed innocent blood," according to Proverbs 6:17.

"Be merciful, O LORD, unto thy people Israel, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel's charge." Deuteronomy 21:8

A nation is "charged" by God, judicially so, for the innocent blood it sheds or allows to be shed!

And America has legalized it!

Blood is that "special" to God!

He "hears" it day and night!

Oh, one more example of Blood that talks!

The Blood of Jesus!

Let me tell you what the Blood is Jesus is saying!

That is, if you are saved!

If you  are "washed" in that Blood!

That Blood is saying, "Come! Come near! Come near to Jesus!" Want proof? "But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ." Ephesians 2:13

The Blood of Jesus is also calling, "Peace! Peace! Peace!" That's "Peace with God!" And "Peace of God" too! Read Colossians 1:20. "And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven."

The Blood also says, "Forgiven! Forgiven!" Maybe even "Miraculously forgiven!" Hebrews 9:22 illustrates this. "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission." Yes!

The Blood also says, "Forever! Forever! Forever!" It will never lose its Power! "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant." See it? "Blood" and "everlasting!"

Abel's blood speaketh!

Jesus' Blood speaketh!

Which is more efficacious?

"Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel." Now Hebrews 12:24 answers that for ever!

Better!

Thank God, the Blood still talks!

                                                                         --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 3, VERSE 3, REVELATION 1:5

The whole concept is ridiculed.

Not only do outright enemies of the Bible scoff at it, many so-called preachers belittle it too.

I heard one say that it's just a bunch of superstition!

What, Brother Bagwell?

The idea of a person being "washed" in the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what!

But Revelation 1:5, one of the truly great Bible Verses concerning the Blood, says this: "Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood ... be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."

See it?

Jesus "washed" us in His Blood!

This verb, "louo" in Greek, means "to bathe" something.

"Louo" is here written as an aorist verb. That means the action just depicted was fully completed at some time in the past. Presumably, this "washing" occurred at the very moment of salvation, the very second you were saved!

Not just any blood either! None else would do, none but Jesus' Blood! "His Own Blood," to be precise!

The preposition "from" is "apo" in Greek, meaning "away from." Literally, Jesus washed my sins away! And yours too if you're saved!

Now here are a couple of other Bible instances where our verb for "washed" is used.

Based on John 13:10, we see a slight difference between two Greek verbs for washing! "Jesus saith to Peter, He that is washed ('louo') needeth not save to wash ('nipto') his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all." This statement was made during Jesus' humble and yet very meaningful foot-washing incident, our Lord serving as a common household slave! "Louo" means virtually to bathe all over, completely! While "nipto" carries the idea of washing only a part of oneself, the hands or feet particularly.

So, when Jesus washed ("louo") me in his Blood, it was a total bath! Complete forgiveness!

How thorough would this "washing" have been? Here where, in Acts 9:37, they were preparing a human body for burial. "And it came to pass in those days, that she (Dorcas) was sick, and died: whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber." Yes, washed all over!

For those who foolishly wish to minimize Jesus' "washing" our sins away, please notice that our Text for today puts the "washing" right alongside the "loving!" Again, here's Revelation 1:5. "And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood ..." These two verbs, just underlined above, indeed have equal weight in the sentence, grammatically so.

No one wants to "tamper" with Jesus' great love for us!

Neither should we "edit" His washing or His purging us of all our sins via His Blood!

Let's let these dear old Bible word pictures stand!

And let's not alter our vocabulary either!

Anyone reading here today ever been "washed" in the Blood of the lamb?

Oh, one more illustration!

Using a different verb yet, "pluno" this time, we read: "And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Revelation 7:14

"Pluno" is apparently a derivative of "pluo," allowing something "to flow" over you! Saturated! By the way, here we have red Blood yielding white robes, emblematic of the very righteousness God has imputed to the saints, to His children!

Amen!

Barbaric, as our enemies say?

No!

Biblical?

Oh, yes!

When our verb "louo" is made into a noun, we get "loutron." The Titus 3:5 promises: "According to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost."

Yes!

Washed in His Blood!

Regenerated!

That means "born-again!"

Praise the Lord!

                                                                        --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 4, VERSE 4, 1st JOHN 1:7

Our Verse today is again about the Blood of Jesus. It is the third of seven "Blood" Verses that we shall analyze, the Lord willing. Probably the majority of Christians have memorized this one. "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." 1st John 1:7

That last clause centers on the Blood for sure. "And the blood of Jesus Christ God's Son cleanseth us from all sin."

Now this verse is not talking about salvation, about a person being born-again. Rather, it is written to folks who are already Christians. To people already "walking in the light!" To those who have much in common, hence being in "fellowship" with other Believers in Christ!

And to those special saints, to them alone, followers of Jesus who are already living godly ... is this promise given! "The blood of Jesus Christ God's Son cleanseth them from all sin."

Not only does the Blood save us!

The Blood of Jesus keeps us clean after we have been saved, too!

The verb "cleanseth" used here is a Greek word, "katharizo." It basically means "to clean from dirt or grime," like sweeping or mopping the floor! It also came to mean "to purify," metaphorically, as when a leper needed to be pronounced clean! But, even more so, it means "to rid" of sin! Hence, to be forgiven!

And maybe just as importantly too, "katharizo" is here framed as a present tense verb! That means this cleansing power, this effect, is on-going in our lives!

The Blood is constantly cleansing me!

Then, the Blood is still powerful and effective and necessary, even after a person has been saved fifty or more years!

It's still efficacious, as the old timers used to say!

Forgiven we are!

Not only from past sins!

But present sins too!

Moment by moment, cleansed by Jesus' Blood!

How could a person like that ever die and go to Hell?

He or she couldn't!

Praise the Lord!

                                                                          --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

This reminds me of something Paul said too. It's located at Romans 5:10. "For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His Life." This verse just clearly taught us that Jesus' Death on Calvary "reconciled" us to God. "Katalasso" literally means something like this: We were changed from being enemies of God to being friends of God ... because of the Cross! Glory to God!

But also the verse continues, "Much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His Life." There's something not only about the Death of Jesus, but His Life too, that contributes to our spiritual well-being! Paul worded it even more strongly, to our very "salvation!"

Just what about Jesus' Life, right now at the Right Hand of God in Heaven, is "saving" me? I believe it is the ever-present Blood of the Lamb, no doubt sprinkled there in Glory on the Mercy Seat by the Throne of Almighty God!

I am constantly protected from the Devil! My High Priest the Lord Jesus is sitting at that Throne praying and claiming the power of that precious Blood this very second! That's why He "ever liveth" says Hebrews 7:25, "to make intercession" for us!

That's why we can live in constant communion with our Lord! Because His Blood is unceasingly purifying me hour by hour!

That, at least, is the grammar of 1st John 1:7. Here it is again, Read it and shout! "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." If you sense this morning that you are clean and pure and in harmony with the God of Creation and the God of Redemption, One and the Same by the way, it's because of the never ending power of the Blood of the Lamb!

The "Blood" is the Price Jesus paid to break us out of the prison-house of sin! Paid to satisfy the awesome Righteousness of God the Father! This act of liberation is called "redemption" in the Bible. We shall thankfully remind Jesus of His great Deed for all of eternity, just like these already in Heaven are doing: "And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation." Yes, Revelation 5:9, redeemed by the Blood!

Yet the Blood has other uses still today! Here's one, part of the cleansing power of that precious Flow! "And they overcame him, the Devil,  by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony." Revelation 12:11 gives us the secret for overcoming Satan! It is through no power of our own! It's by the Blood of Jesus, here two thousand years after it was sacrificed on Golgotha!

The Blood is still active!

The more a Christian is "cleansed," the more he or she will defeat the enemy!

The more he is "cleansed," the closer to Jesus, in intimate fellowship, will he perennially live!

The more she is "cleansed," the more she will enjoy her life as a saved member of the Body of Christ!

Yes, again Romans 5:10b, "We shall be saved by His Life." By His Blood! Truly 1st John 1:7 runs much deeper than anyone has ever thought! "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." Written to the children of God, by John the Apostle, under the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God.

Amen!

LESSON 5, PASSAGE 5, HEBREWS 10:19-20

It has now been nearly two thousand years since Jesus shed His Blood on the Cross of Calvary.

Yet the Bible describes this Same Blood in an astounding way.

Watch how Hebrews 10:19-20 categorizes Jesus' Blood! "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us ...."

Look!

When we approach God in prayer, coming boldly before His Throne of Grace, we can only do so by means of the Blood of Jesus!

That noun "boldness" is interesting! It's spelled "parresia" and means something like "saying all" that's on your heart!

The infinitive "to enter" is "eisodos," meaning "into" (in Greek "eis") the "road" (in Greek "hodos"). That's the straight and narrow road, too!

The "holiest," spelled "hagios" in Greek, presents to our minds a picture of the Heavenly Temple! And we have just been invited to enter the Most Holy Place, the very Holy of Holies!

But how can I do that?

Or you?

Our Text tells us clearly, "by the Blood of Jesus!" It reads like this in the Textus Receptus, the Greek foundation for our King James Bible, "en to haimati Yesou." Translated, "in the Blood of Jesus!"

By Jesus' Blood, in Jesus' Blood, through Jesus' Blood we have entrance to Heaven itself!

But now, watch!

Here's why the Lord laid this Verse on my heart, I suspect.

The Blood of our Lord is not only described as giving me access to Heaven itself, but also is called the "new and living way" by which we may draw near to God!

The Blood is the "Way," the Way to Heaven! "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us ...."

The adjective "living" translates "zao" as a present participle. It means something that is alive in the highest sense! Quality life! Abundant life! Eternal life!

Now, we've just been told that Jesus' Blood is alive!

ALIVE!

Forever alive!

But also His Blood is "new!" Two thousand year old Love ... new?

The "new and living way" is just another expression to further teach us a few of the things Jesus' shed Blood has accomplished!

We've  just examined the verbal adjective "living," which is "life on the very highest plane," now let's analyze "new."

"Prosphatos" means "newly slain!" Yes, "sphazo" means "to slaughter, to butcher, or to kill." And the prefix, "pro," means "before or first or ever."

When God the Father sees Jesus' Blood there on the Altar in Glory ... it will not appear two thousand years old!

No!

It will not be stale!

It will appear "freshly slain!"

That's how important the Blood is to God!

Recently slaughtered!

Being armed with this information, I want to mentally and spiritually every day journey to Heaven, and watch all that City's blessed citizens, glorified saints of God, as they look over there at the Blood of Jesus!

Not dried Blood!

Not crusty Blood!

Not evaporated Blood!

Not decomposed Blood!

Instead, red and rich and glistening and powerful soul-saving Blood!

We sing, and rightly so, "When we all get to Heaven!" The hymn talks about some of the things we might want to do.

Well, after personally hugging and adoring Jesus, I shall visit that Celestial Temple, that Sanctuary, and behold that fresh Blood!

Gazing upon it!

Worshipping over It!

The world may marginalize the Blood of our Lord, but God's people will not! It, that precious Blood, will never be ancient history in Heaven! It will always appear as the "new and living way" to Glory!

Hallelujah!

                                                                            --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 6, PASSAGE 6, JOHN 6:53-54

It is perhaps the most mystical thing Jesus ever said. In fact, after He said it, John records: "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him." John 6:66

The words in view today, the words of our Lord, concern His Blood! Here they are: "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:53-54

Now remember, we are particularly involved in this Bible Study with anything outstanding the Bible says about Blood, especially the Blood of the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus. If a verse even "hints" at Jesus and His Blood, explicitly or implicitly, it should be pursued carefully.

Therefore, we shall not necessarily exegete every single word in these two verses, just the Blood-related ones.

The opening verb "said" is an aorist form of "lego," meaning "to speak." But it suggests that Jesus did not preach this specific sermon again and again. He often talked about His coming Death, but apparently not about drinking His Blood! Yet He certainly never made a mistake, even in His Preaching, and He furthermore talked about drinking His Blood twice in this short two-verse span, four times in the whole Paragraph!

Count them: "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him." John 6:53-56

Now Jesus had just been talking about bread, calling Himself the very Bread of Life! Both before and after our Lord's "Blood Drinking" words here, He references the Bread analogy. John 6:48, for example: "I am that bread of life." And then, afterward, "As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me." This is according to John 6:57. The reason Bread was the focus is that Jesus had just fed the multitudes with a little boy's lunch, bread for thousands! "Bread" back in those days was often used as a synonym for all solid food, meat included. The Greek word for "bread" is "artos," thought to be derived from the verb "airo," something that grows "upward" from the ground into the air, as does wheat! Wheat makes bread, as does barley.

So, it was somewhat startling that Jesus introduced these Blood words here. They are mentally and spiritually arresting!

Let's look at them again, our Text anyway: "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day."

The second "say" verb, "I say unto you," is "lego" again, but this time in the present tense. Its action is durative. While Jesus did not preach this particular sermon again and again, being near the end of His public earthly ministry, He did repeat these words that day to His Disciples, four times at least as we've already seen.

The two adverbs "verily verily" lend credence and importance and authority to Jesus' words. Loan words from Hebrew, "amen" without doubt means "truly" or "faithfully!" Even the Latin word for truth is "veritas!"

Now this upcoming Blood Statement is critically important! Again, focusing just on the Blood theme, " Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you."

Obviously Jesus is here equating drinking His Blood to being saved by His Grace!

But, wait just a minute! A very important thing needs to be said. This is NOT literal blood drinking. It is a spiritual act whereby we by faith accept Jesus' Death, His shed Blood, on the Cross of Calvary ... to wash away our sin!

In those olden days to "eat" or "drink" something could metaphorically mean "to ingest" it! To "believe" it! To "internalize" the truth being offered! To "accept" it!

The reason I so strongly want to deny any literal blood-drinking here is that some religious groups yet today teach that a miracle occurs when the Lord's Supper, Communion, is observed. And that the grape juice, the "wine," actually becomes real blood, the Blood of Jesus!

I do not believe that is what Jesus is teaching here.

When the Lord saved you, He gave you a "spiritual" meal of His Flesh and His Blood! He "entered" your very being by means of His Holy Spirit! "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" Paul asked this in 1st Corinthians 3:16.

Again, the verb "drink" initially used above is "pino," but as an aorist! Action that has transpired in the past, back when you first got saved. But the second time Jesus uses this verb He changes tenses. But more about that in a few paragraphs.

And, furthermore, no one is required to partake of the Lord's Supper to go to Heaven either! That would be adding "works" to Grace! The drinking, the internalizing, of Jesus' Blood happened the moment your believed on Him and in Him! Accepting him into your life! "As many as received Him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." John 1:12-13

Then our Lord immediately adds, "Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day." Jesus remarkably changes verbs on the "eating" side of this equation! Verse 53 uses "phago," meaning "to eat completely, to consume," while verse 54 switches to "trogo," meaning "to gnaw, to chew" on something. This suggests "meditation" on our Lord I suspect. Slowly in-taking His Truth and Essence and Person and Spirit!

But the "drinketh" word here in verse 54, while still "pino" in Greek, is also slightly altered by Jesus. He now uses not the aorist, but the present tense! Something that recurs! That first "drink" of Jesus' Blood, again spiritually speaking, happened when God saved you! The subsequent drinks occur day by day as we study Jesus and learn of Him and walk with Him and talk with Him and love Him and worship Him too!

Amen!

But, what are the blessings, the benefits, the side-effects of drinking this Blood?

They are twofold. "Whoso ... drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:54

First, eternal life! The "flesh eating" and the "blood drinking" are word pictures! They are euphemisms for being born-again! Believe on Jesus ... and He will give you everlasting life! "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." John 5:24

The second mentioned benefit is equally thrilling! "I will raise him up at the last day." Promised resurrection!

"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1st Thessalonians 4:16-17, what a day that will be!

Thankfully, I have had a divine encounter with Jesus Christ, God the Son, and His shed Blood!

Have you?

Amen!

                                                                        --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 7, PASSAGE 7, 1st PETER 1:18-20

This is the final selection, the seventh, in our series of Blood Verses. I can't imagine these words being omitted from any such discussion. Peter wrote them.

"Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you." 1st Peter 1:18-20

Let's take the major words of our Text and analyze them.

Starting with the adjective that modifies the Blood of Jesus, "precious" in Greek is spelled "timios." It means "dear, honorable, held in good reputation." Its background is the noun "time," pronounced "tee-may'," which is the "price" or the "worth" or the "value" ascribed to something. And even then, behind it all is a verb, "tino," that is, "to pay, to recompense." What a Price Jesus paid for sinners to be saved!

Just like Paul in 1st Corinthians 3:12 mentioned "precious" stones, diamonds and rubies and sapphires and such, so is Jesus' Blood said to be "precious!" Same Greek word! And still using "timios," marriage is said to be "precious" or "honorable" in Hebrews 13:4. The farmer's crops are called "precious" in James 5:7 too! And ironically, Peter calls "the trying of our faith" just that, "precious" also! See 1st Peter 1:7. Additionally, God has given us, His children, some "precious promises" by which to live! So says 2nd Peter 1:4.

Precious Blood!

With the financial background attributed to the Blood in this Text, it's not surprising that we also find the concept of "redemption." The verb translated "redeemed" is spelled "lutroo," to secure a captive's release by "paying a ransom!" Jesus "bought" me out of the prison house of sin! The Price? His very Own Blood! In Acts 20:28, Paul says of the Church, "The church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood." Wow!

Our Text strongly suggests that Jesus' Blood is incorruptible too! But it does so negatively. Since we were definitely not redeemed with corruptible things, the Blood by which were were redeemed is hence inferred to be "not corruptible!" The expression "corruptible things" translates "phthartos," which means "wilting, pining away, perishable!" So, Jesus' Blood will never perish!

Then, Jesus is compared to a "lamb!" In Greek "amnos" certainly means a lamb, that innocent little animal.  Yet here, even more so, this little noun identifies Jesus as the Subject of Isaiah 53! "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth." Also there is here linkage to John the Baptist's words about our Lord, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." John 1:29

Jesus and His shed Blood are said to be "foreordained" too! The word is "proginosko," that is, "something known ahead of time!" The Cross of Calvary, the Blood atonement, our Saviour's laying down His very Life, are NOT afterthoughts! God planned such from eternity past! "Foundation" is "katabole," that which is "placed at the bottom of a structure, its beginning point!" 

And "manifest," in Greek "phaneroo," means "made visible," often with bright light accompanying the revelation!

Jesus, as this aorist verb tells us, has already been to earth as a Sacrifice ... but He is yet going to be manifest again, as King of Kings and Lord of Lords this time!

What a Blood Text!

And, had we the time, we would continue to verse 21 also, 1st Peter 1:21, which uses the verb "believe" in reference to Jesus. Because of His precious Blood, we have "believed!"

That's how a person is saved!

By Grace through Faith!

An old hymn writer, a British cabinet maker, penned these very appropriate words: "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' Blood and Righteousness. I dare not trust a sweeter frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' Name!" Yes, on Christ, the Solid Rock, we do stand!

All because of His Blood!

                                                                           --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

WELL, UNEXPECTEDLY, LESSON 8, HEBREWS 12:20-21

Yesterday I thought we had completed our series of studies on the Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Seven different verses, passages really, have been analyzed.

In summary ...

There's life in the Blood, Leviticus 17:11.

Blood speaks, especially innocent Blood when treated wrongly, Genesis 4:10 being an example. Among other things, this Blood cries out for justice!

The Blood of Jesus washes away sins, Revelation 1:5 is speaking of the salvation of a lost soul!

Then, for the Christian, the Blood of our crucified and resurrected Lord cleanses us from sins, 1st John 1:9.

Next we learned, most surprisingly, that Jesus' Blood, in Heaven today, is viewed by God the Father as "freshly slain," Hebrews 10:19-20.

Drinking Jesus' Blood, a metaphorical term used in the New Testament, is virtually the same thing as being saved by God's marvelous Grace, John 6:53-54. Here's personal acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our Lord's Blood is precious, and incorruptible too, 1st Peter 1:18-20.

But last night I was taken by another Blood Verse!

This is something the Blood accomplishes in the life of the Believer in Christ, something with a degree of finality to it!

Let me show you. "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." Hebrews 13:20-21

Here God the Father is credited with raising Jesus from the Dead. The verb "brought again" is lovely, "anago" in Greek, "to lead up!" Jesus is furthermore identified as the Great Shepherd of the sheep! Great in Greek is "mega" as in English's mega-dose, mega-byte, mega-planet, among countless others.

Then comes the great Blood fact!

Something in this verse can "make us perfect!" The verb, "katartizo," means "to mend, to render fit, to put in order, to restore," even "to perfectly join!" It can also make us "well-pleasing" in God's sight, just meaning "acceptable," using "euarestos" in Greek. Proper! Fitting! Approved!

But what can do these great things?

"THROUGH THE BLOOD OF THE EVERLASTING COVENANT MAKE YOU PERFECT ... AND WELL-PLEASING IN GOD'S SIGHT."

The preposition "through" translates "en," which, when used with the dative case as here, means "in, within, among, on, at, or near." It's the Blood of Jesus that has not only saved me and kept me clean, but also will carry me to the very point of consummation in the Christian life!

To maturity!

To completion!

To glorification!

To Heaven!

And to ... only God knows!

The Blood, the Blood of the Lamb of God, the Blood of our Saviour!

Thank God for the Blood!

Past, present and future!

The Blood is all sufficient!

                                                                           --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

Thank God for the Blood of the Lamb!