(This sermon draws from material from various sermons by other ministers some from Sermon Central, the context and flow I have designed)
TITLE: THIS BLOODS FOR YOU
SCRIPTURE: HEBREWS 9:22
We continue our “MARCH TOWARD CALVARY” this morning as we continue to allow the Holy Spirit to minister to our hearts in preparation of “Holy Week” that culminates with the great celebration of Resurrection Sunday. I lift for your consideration this morning the thought – “THIS BLOODS FOR YOU.”
I would venture to suggest, most of us have a hard time with blood – especially outside of our own flesh. Most of us, with the exception of those who are emergency responders or in the medical field, get a bit queasy when we see a little blood.
• It doesn’t have to be Oozing
• It doesn’t have to be Gushing, or Pumping
• Sometimes just a little bit of blood can cause a grown adult to turn pale and drop like a rock
• Yes, Sis. Paulette, I know what you are thinking, there are others that don’t even have to see the blood, just imagined is enough to cause great anxiety
In the New Testament there are 290 references to the love of God - 290 times when God had declared His love for man. But in the same chapters and the same verses there are more than 1,300 references to the atonement – 1,300 assurances that salvation can be had through the blood of Christ.
• Good Works – Prayers - Weeping bitter tears, cannot save you
• It is the Blood of Jesus Christ
• His blood alone that has power to Redeem
• The Sacraments every First Sunday cannot save you
• Neither Baptism - Confirmation or Communion cannot save you
• Church membership - Philanthropy - Morality, has the slightest milligram of saving-power
• There is nothing in heaven or earth
• Nothing in all of eternity but the Blood of Jesus that can save
We have a wonderful connection to what Jesus has done for us. The blood of Jesus connects with us. When you think about it, the human body is one of the greatest creations to ever exist.
• Designed and created by the Creator
• Magnificent in Origin
• Flawless in Operation
• Amazing in study
• And with an eternal soul
• A soul that will live on forever someday
Blood - is the forgotten body system. Blood is an organ that we often do not acknowledge.
• A drop of blood just small enough to fill in the letter "o" in your Bible
• It contains 5 million red cells
• It contains 300,000 platelets
• It contains 7,000 white blood cells
Then there is the pump - the heart.
• It beats on an average of 70 beats per minute or over 100,000 times in 24 hours
• It ejects an average of 6 liters of blood every minute - 144 liters every day - 48,384 liters in a year, or in seventy years 3,386,880 liters
The heart requires no lubrication or maintenance. It never rests. It has an output that varies between .025 horsepower at rest and sleep and drives up to 1 horsepower in moments of stress.
• It’s valves open and close 4,000 to 5,000 times each hour
• Sixty thousand miles of blood vessels is that pathway that the blood is limited to
• Yet, the blood can be ejected from the heart and go to the heart and return in about twenty seconds
• It is blood that carries Oxygen - Nutrients - Waste products - and Fights Infection all at the same time
All of that did not just happen. I agree with David when he wrote PSALM 139:4 -- I WILL PRAISE THEE; FOR I AM FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE, MARVELOUS ARE THY WORKS; AND THAT MY SOUL KNOWETH RIGHT WELL.
• There was no Evolution from Apes
• There was no Big Bang Theory
• There was No Organism that evolved over millions of years
• Lord, you Scoped from the Dust of the Ground
• Breathed the Breath of Life into Man’s Nostrils
• Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
We have learned over the years through Science and Medical Technology that life is indeed dependent on blood. The Bible from its outset has always proved that blood is significant for life. Not so much the physical life but for eternal life.
• It is blood that has the power to cleanse sin
• EXODUS 12:13 -- AND THE BLOOD SHALL BE TO YOU FOR A TOKEN UPON THE HOUSES WHERE YE ARE: AND WHEN I SEE THE BLOOD, I WILL PASS OVER YOU, AND THE PLAGUE SHALL NOT BE UPON YOU TO DESTROY YOU, WHEN I SMITE THE LAND OF EGYPT
• The flight from Egypt
• The hustle to get ready in the dark
• The preparation of the Passover Lamb
• The blood applied to the door post
• The mark of the blood was necessary for the first born to be saved
• That is not without significance in my own life
• There must be a mark of Calvary somewhere if I am to be saved
• There must be mark of Calvary somewhere if you have been redeemed
We cannot look at the God of the Old Testament and not see there was a lot of blood involved. Sheep – Goats - Doves - Lambs – Bullocks were all sacrificed and burned on the altar as an act of worship continuously from the days of ABRAHAM to the times of JESUS.
• The tabernacle of Moses was a place of killing
• There was the shedding of blood
• As was the Temple of Solomon and the rebuilt temples of Ezra and Herod
The logical question to ask is why? Why so much Blood Shed? It all goes back to the GARDEN OF EDEN. Adam and Eve lived there in perfect harmony with God until they listened to the deceiver and ate of the TREE OF GOOD AND EVIL. The consequence of their distrust of God and disobedience of His word was death – the end of life.
++++If you remember they were forced from the Garden and God killed animals to give them clothing. And the first sacrifice was made so Blood is shed because all life is in the blood. LEVITICUS 17:11 “FOR THE LIFE OF THE FLESH IS IN THE BLOOD….” In GENESIS 3:21 we are told “THE LORD GOD MADE GARMENTS OF SKIN FOR ADAM AND HIS WIFE AND CLOTHED THEM.”
• Animals were killed because of the sin of men
• God instituted the sacrifice of animals in order that we would understand that it is sin that destroys life
• The priests of Levi have killed thousands of animals and split gallons of blood to mediate between man and God – but it was never enough – until the coming of the perfect sacrifice - Jesus
The preaching of the Blood of Jesus Christ is hated by the world. Liberal Theologians reject the idea of Christ’s blood paying for our sins. They accuse those who preach the blood of Christ as proclaiming a “Slaughterhouse Religion.” They deride any Christian who believes in a God who would demand payment for our sins. To them the preaching of the Blood of Christ is pagan.
Fifty years ago if a man preached a sermon without exalting the blood of Jesus, without mentioning the blood of Christ in the message, people said he wasn’t preaching. But today it is revised; it has changed altogether. Today if a man preaches on the blood of Jesus, he is preaching that which is offensive. Regardless of what the popular people pleasing preaching proclaimed in pulpits profess the Scriptures make it abundantly clear that it is the –
• Precious blood of Jesus Christ
• The blood of the Lamb of God
• That Saves
• That Sanitizes
• That Sanctifies
• And Secures those to whom it is applied
• Yes, This Bloods For You
Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice that brings us back into right relationship with God the Father. When Jesus came – everything associated with sacrifices changed.
• Jesus is more than an Angel – He is God the Creator
• Jesus is more than a Man – He is God in Flesh
• Jesus is more than a Messenger – He is the Message
• Jesus is more than the Sabbath – He is the Rest we seek
• Jesus is more than a Teacher of the Old Law – He is the New Law
• Jesus did not enter into Herod’s Temple to offer Prayers and act as a Levitical Priest – He came into the true tabernacle where God dwells as a Priest like Melchizedek – without Beginning or End
• Jesus is more than the giver of an Animal Sacrifice – He is the Sacrifice
• His blood was shed to pay the price for our sin
When I have a clearer view of Calvary, it is much easier to accomplish things in life that God has intended for me to fulfill. There is nothing that motivates me like the power of the Cross. As we mentioned last week, WE CANNOT TALK ABOUT THE CROSS WITHOUT GOING TO CALVARY AND WE CAN’T TALK ABOUT CALVARY WITHOUT GOING TO THE CROSS.
• This Jesus of Nazareth walked through life and forever changed His world
• He brought Sermons and Parables
• He brought Miracles of Nature
• He brought Miracles of Healing
• He overturned the religious world with their Pious Platitudes
• Yet that was how we received the Blood
Caiaphas and Annas, the religious leaders of the Pharisees and Sadducees, were at the point of attack. They first condemned Him among the people and then in the midst of Pilate and Herod. They won their battle, He had to go to Calvary. We often say that -
• Pilate Condemned Him
• The soldiers Mocked Him
• The crowd jeered at Him, forgetting that He went to Calvary for my sins as well as their sins
Let’s run to Calvary as I move towards a close this morning. Let’s look at Calvary like we never have before. Let’s make it personal.
• He stood trial in front of me
• I had no evidence of His wrongdoing
• There was nothing wrong with Him
• I stood back and could not find any fault anywhere
• No mars on His character
• Nothing concerning his ethics
• No dishonesty – nothing
But that crowd down there, what do they want me to do? So I will simply shift the blame and let them make the decision, besides it’s election year. I give them a choice, Barrabas or the Christ? I am shocked by their choice, they want Barrabas. He stood trial in front of me and I failed Him. Yet, He turns and looks at me with great compassion and says, "This Bloods For You."
Next, they push Him to the post. I grab His hands and tie Him to the post. I strip Him of His robe. I look at that back, broad and wide. Toughened by the work of being a carpenter. But it doesn’t matter to me, I have done this before. I reach over and take the whip, the one with the nine leather tails. In my spare time, I have woven in bones and metal so that I can really do my job well. I pop the whip once and then get down to business. The strips began to cut like razors through a thread-bare sheet. The blood is running and I am caught up in the heat of the moment. The rush of adrenaline flows while I punish this Savior. Then I am stopped dead in my tracks when He turns that noble head and gasps, not a curse, but a promise, "This Bloods For You " He stood before me a second time to be scourged and I failed Him a second time.
Now, we move on. We mock him and spit on him.
• Hey, Jew boy, save yourself
• We blindfold him and slap him, "Hey, prophet, who hit you that time?"
• His body is growing weary now and He stumbles and falls to the ground
• But He boldly looks at me again and says, "This Bloods For You "
• So now for the third time I have failed Him
Now, it’s time to go up the Hill. The place of the Skull, Golgotha. I am behind Him as He struggles up the narrow road. Carrying the Cross, His instrument of death. He slips and falls but gets up before I can kick Him again. Again, He turns and says, "This Bloods For You."
He goes on until He can go no further. I jerk a man from the crowd that I recognize from Cyrene, Simon by name and I tell him to haul the cross up the Hill. Then Simon speaks to me - I wait for him to lodge a complaint – But he says something strange – Simon looks at me and says -
--Must Jesus bear the Cross alone, And all the world go free?
--No there’s a cross for everyone, And there’s a cross for me.
--The consecrated Cross I’ll bear, Till death shall set me free,
--And then go home my crown to wear, for there’s a crown for me
I am not sure what Simon is telling me, this talk confuses me. I don’t want to hear about crosses and crowns. Simon, just stop your babbling and let’s get going. The fifth time, this Jesus of Nazareth, looks up with pain-filled eyes and says, "This Bloods For You."
• I can’t meet His eye anymore
• At this point now, I am too embarrassed
• But more than that, this pathway of blood is starting to get through to me
I lay Him on the altar and kick Simon out of the way and began the grisly task of nailing His hands and feet.
• I have never seen a prisoner like this one before
• No fighting and struggling with the squadron who is nailing Him to the Cross
• As we raise Him up to slip the Cross into the ground, He looks at me one last time
• This Bloods For You
I flee for the office back at the Headquarters, I am sickened by all that I have participated in today. My mind will never rest because there is a continuous voice, reaching, wailing, whispering, and somehow Caring. I don’t know about you but I thank God for Calvary.
Calvary keeps on reaching, regardless of what you are or where you have been. Jesus shed His blood for each and every one of us.
• His blood is for the leper - The man whose face is not even recognized because of the extent of his leprosy
• Sin may have scarred your life so badly that no one even recognizes who you used to be
• But there is a Christ calling you from Calvary
• His blood is for those like Peter - Fence-sitters. Men who cannot make up their mind which way to go
• Then once they do make up their mind, it always ends in failure
• Yet, Jesus met Peter after the Resurrection and washed all of those past failures away
• His blood is for those like Judas - The one who will betray Him for money
• His blood is for those who are spiritually blind, maimed, and deaf
• His blood is for those who are at a crossroads in their lives
• His blood is for those Incarcerated behind the jailers wall
• His blood is for those that received the bad report from the Physicians
• His blood is for those that have left the Church because of hurt
• His blood is for those that still have nothing good to say about anything or anybody
--What Can Wash Away My Sin
--Nothing But the Blood of Jesus
--What Can Make Me Whole Again
--Nothing But the Blood of Jesus
--Yes, Jesus Shed His Blood on Calvary
--And I can Hear Him saying today - This Bloods For You
