Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 1 Peter 1:18-19 (ESV)
I suppose that people who have attended church for some period of time have gotten very familiar with the death of Jesus. The account of Jesus’ death is recorded in all four gospels of the bible and we have heard numerous sermons about Jesus shedding his blood and dying on a cross. It could be that we have become so familiar with the account that we have grown cold to it and simply take it for granted. Really, how often do we spend time in thanksgiving to Jesus for the blood he shed for us?
The writer of Hebrews penned , Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. (Hebrews 9:22 ESV) At Passover Jesus told his disciples that his blood was poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:28). As Jesus breathed his last breath on the cross he cried out “It is finished!” (John 19:30) meaning that the debt we owed to God for our sin against him was “paid in full.”
So, we have the forgiveness of our trespasses through the blood of Jesus (Ephesians 1:7), which is glorious, but there is something more. Jesus didn’t merely pay our debt, he paid for US! His blood redeemed us, ransomed us, and bought us. We were enslaved to darkness, doomed for an eternal hell, abiding under the wrath of God. For us to be freed from the consequences of our sin a ransom had to be paid; God demanded it for the sake of his righteousness (Romans 3:25). And the only price that God would accept was blood. So the eternal Son came in the likeness of sinful flesh (Romans 8:3), apart from sin (2 Corinthians 5:21), to shed his blood to purchase God’s elect for God. In doing so he secured for them an eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:12).
God accepted the ransom price Jesus paid; his wrath was abated (Romans 5:9). Now we who once were far off from God have been freed from our sins and brought near to God by the blood of Jesus (Ephesians 2:13; Revelation 1:5). There is no further price to be paid. Jesus paid it all. Nothing can be added to it. Jesus was the once for all time sacrifice (Hebrews 9:26).
Charles Spurgeon once said, “There is not . . . the slightest atom of saving power anywhere but in the blood of Jesus. That blood has the only power to save, and anything else that you rely upon shall be a refuge of lies.” To be saved and have eternal life one must eat of Jesus’ flesh and drink of his blood (John 6:53-56), meaning that one must believe and trust in the precious blood of Jesus.
The Greek word Peter used for precious in 1 Peter 1:19 means valuable, costly, honored, esteemed and beloved. Do those words describe our attitudes and feelings toward the blood of Jesus? When we think about the blood Jesus shed for us do we feel a fondness toward him? Does the thought of Jesus shedding his blood for us stir up any emotions in us? To quote Spurgeon again on the blood of Jesus, “You cannot put an estimate upon it that would so much as reach to a millionth part of its preciousness.”
How precious is the blood of Jesus to you? Have you believed in his blood?
Scriptures for meditation:
Colossians 1:20
Hebrews 13:11-12
1 John 1:7
Revelation 5:9