Salvation: The Necessity of Blood

Have you ever pondered the reason behind bloodshed for the propitiation (appeasement) of human sinfulness?  Of all things created, why blood?  I grew up Baptist where the stress on the importance of the blood of Christ was paramount and reflected in many hymns. For example, songs with verses such as, “There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Emmanual’s veins,” and “There is wonderworking power in the blood of the Lamb,” were sung nearly every Sunday.  Second nature to me, I was amazed one day some years ago when a co-worker scathingly said, “Christianity is a barbaric religion full of blood and cannibalism.”  The certainty of her conviction, betrayed by her ignorance, still made me wonder about the blood. What I had long accepted as a matter-of-fact tenant of Christianity, her animosity urged me to dig deeper.  Why did God, who is Love, require animal sacrifice from the Hebrews, and then culminate with the ultimate blood sacrifice of his only begotten Son, Jesus?  For nonbelievers, as well as those who simply do not understand, the necessity of shedding blood is a macabre, if not repulsive aspect of salvation history.  Yet, as with all things God, there is a good reason behind the requirement.

While there have been gods throughout history who have required human sacrifice, the One True God never did.  Prior to Christianity, our God, the Yahweh of Israel, denounced such offerings as pure wickedness. To him, the blood of both animals and humans is sacred, for that red liquid that runs through the veins of every living creature is called “the life of the body.” As the life of the body, God – who is the Author of Life – regards it as sacrosanct. (It is interesting to note that, when Cain killed his brother Abel, God did not say to Cain, “Your brother has cried out to me,” but “Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground!”)

Bloodshed, as atonement for sin, is first recorded in the story of Adam and Eve.  Prior to their sin, there was no death as we know it, but after their direct disobedience to the will of God we are told that God provided them with “coats of animal skin,” to cover their newfound nakedness.  It was a heavy cost for their sin.  Later on, when God selected Abraham to be the father of his chosen people (the Hebrews), he tested Abraham’s faith and obedience by ordering him to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac; but it was only a test of Abraham’s faith, for God ensured that Isaac was unharmed.  Centuries later, when Moses rescued the Hebrews from Egypt, God ordained laws for his people and among them were some pertaining to animal sacrifice for the atonement of their sins.  This necessity for blood is stated clearly by the author of the Book of Hebrews who wrote, “…the law (Mosaic) requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”  Now, one might ask and rightfully so, why – of all things – blood?  Why not money?  Why not some form of servitude, like working off a debt?  In the case of Adam and Eve, it was just a piece of fruit – right?!  But that is our logic, and we seldom sync with God in our thought process.   

Original sin resulted in death, as the scripture says, “The wages [or penalty] of sin is death.”  And just as sin caused death, so blood in the biblical sense represents life.  In Leviticus 17:11, we read, “For the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the LORD. It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible.” God derived absolutely no pleasure in seeing his creation die, but the Hebrews (who were known for their chronic stubbornness, and perhaps represented humanity as such), needed a severe lesson to drive home the immense gravity of sin.  Therefore, God required blood (life) in exchange for the forgiveness of sin (death).  The lawlessness of sin demanded a costly quid pro quo to teach the people - quite literally - how deadly serious disobedience to God is.  

Ultimately the animal “sin offerings” under the Law of Moses, which had to be repeated, would stop; but the need for blood atonement did not.  These imperfect and temporary animal sacrifices prefigured the definitive and eternal sacrifice of Jesus Christ; the perfect “Lamb” of God.  Only with the shedding of a perfect sacrifice could we hope for perfect atonement.  We created the problem of physical and spiritual death by disobeying God, yet it was God who provided the answer – at the cost of his only Son’s blood. 

That is the definition of LOVE.