Was There Power in Jesus' Physical Blood?
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Ok, I admit it. I am a classic movie buff. My idea of a relaxing evening (apart of course, from Bible study, and other time well spent with the Lord), is sitting back, and watching an old movie from the ‘30s, ‘40s, ‘50s, or ‘60s. My favorite movie of all time is Ben-Hur.
One of the most powerful, though fictionalized, scenes in this 1959 epic takes place near the very end. As the movie has it, Christ has just been crucified. Three women (two of which have leprosy) are sheltering in a cave, due to a rainstorm that takes place after His death. As the scene plays out, we see Christ’s hand with the nail intact, and then His blood, mingled with the rain, flowing on the ground toward the cave. Moments later, in the cave, the two leprous women come to discover that their leprosy has been healed.
What just happened? The first time I watched the movie as a child, of course I did not understand it. But having now seen it many times, and especially as a Christian, I think I understand what the director or the producers were trying to convey through this scene: there is power in the blood of Jesus!
I know it’s only a “Hollywoodized” movie, with an ending meant to entertain, but the scene I described begs the question: Was there power in Jesus’ physical blood?
Several years back, a pastor from a country outside of the United States was accused of bottling and selling the blood of Jesus, which was said to have been extracted from Calvary. While this ridiculous claim was soundly refuted, and denied by the accused, what if someone was actually able to somehow find, extract, and disperse Jesus’ blood? Would His blood still retain its power?
This can be a tricky question, but let’s take a look at it.
The Power of the Blood and Salvation
We read:
“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7).
Through the blood of Jesus, we are redeemed and forgiven. But how exactly do we become the recipients of the riches of His grace?
“God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished” (Romans 3:25).
We receive this grace though faith in the shedding of His blood. I believe this powerful truth is not fully understood. When Christ died on the cross through the means of crucifixion, His blood was efficacious to bring about salvation to those who place their faith in it. We read from the book of Hebrews:
“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22).
Jesus’ physical blood that was spilled at the place called Calvary is the means by which men and women enter into relationship with Him. But speaking practically, we can agree that Jesus’ actual physical blood, that flowed from His body, has long since dried up. So does that mean that His blood’s power has also dried up? God forbid! While there was power in Jesus physical blood, the reality of His shed blood yet remains the most powerful element in the universe, and it has not dried up! It is the shedding of His blood that has delivered us, and it is His blood that continues to cleanse us from all sin, as attested to by the following verses:
“And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood” (Revelation 1:5).
“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 cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
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The Power of the Blood and Satan
What is the greatest event in human history? While there are many to choose from, it is the day that Christ died on the Cross that stands apart from all others. This is because His death changed everything. Christ’s death on the Cross, the shedding of His blood, effectively “turned the tables” on Satan. We read once again from the book of Hebrews:
“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death — that is, the devil — and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Hebrews 2:14-15).
Satan was summarily rendered powerless, as it pertains to the child of God, at the cross. The powerful blood of Christ is what keeps Satan at bay. He hates the blood because he cannot stand against it. “Satan the blood of Jesus is against you!,” resounds one popular refrain — and how true it is! How can one event which happened over two thousand years ago still retain its dominance over the forces of evil? It is because of the power of the blood!
“Having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:14-15).
Having been stripped of their power and put on display for the entire universe to see, no doubt had a jarring effect on all the principalities and powers involved (i.e., Satan and his emissaries). That jarring effect yet remains in place, because the blood of Jesus covers and protects His own.
The Power of the Blood and Sanctification
“Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him” (Romans 5:9).
Most of us understand that the power of the blood of Christ has made us righteous. But is that the extent of it all? The same way in which we are justified through faith in His blood, we are sanctified through faith and that same blood.
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
We are to live our lives daily by faith in Christ. The giving of Himself speaks of His death on the Cross. Having faith in Christ encompasses everything; it means having faith in who He is and what He has done – because we can never separate Christ from His work. While many have fallen from grace by trusting in their works to sanctify them, we read from the book of Hebrews:
“Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate” (Hebrews 13:12).
Because the blood of bulls and goats were not sufficient to take away our sins (Hebrews 10:4), Christ sacrificed Himself by shedding His own blood on our behalf. Peter says of His blood:
“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:18-19).
The blood of Jesus Christ is both precious and powerful, and it will remain so throughout eternity. Praise the Lord! The blood will never lose its power!
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