Why Can There Be No Forgiveness without the Shedding of Blood?
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“In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22).
For so many years growing up, I asked “why?” I was raised Roman Catholic, and I could not for the life of me understand why God couldn’t just forgive those who asked for forgiveness. Why did Jesus have to die on the cross so that we could be forgiven? I just didn’t get it.
The entire concept of blood being essential for the forgiveness of sins is central throughout the Bible – deeply ingrained in our Judeo-Christian faith. The roots go all the way back to the very beginning of all things. When Adam and Eve sinned against God, and then hid naked from Him, what did God do?
“The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21).
Even then, an animal had to give its life – its blood – so that Adam and Eve would no longer be naked. Blood was shed because of their sin.
An Early Example
Then we jump ahead some 2,000 years to Abraham, to an event 2,000 years before the coming of the Messiah. Before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Before the Ten Commandments were given. A testing of Abraham that Paul taught was the definition of faith (Romans 4:3).
In Genesis 22, the Lord commands Abraham to take his son Isaac, his “only son” – and “Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering…” (v. 2). The Lord wanted Abraham to offer Isaac as a blood sacrifice. Isaac was the son of the promise made to Abraham in Genesis 15. We can be certain that Abraham spent a tortured, sleepless night, only to ultimately conclude “…that God could even raise the dead” (Hebrews 11:19).
Ultimately, we know that God did not require Abraham to go through with the sacrifice, supplying a ram, instead. But, as they were climbing to the altar, Isaac asked where the lamb was for the sacrifice. “Abraham answered, ‘God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’” I once learned from Bill Creasy, Logos Ministries, that the original Hebrew could also be read, “God will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, Himself.”
There is no denial that thousands of years before Jesus, His personal blood sacrifice was God’s plan. But to understand why - to comprehend at all why an all-knowing, all-powerful God would require a blood sacrifice – the lesson must be critical. And indeed it is.
The entire principle of a blood sacrifice underscores the gravity of sin and the absolute holiness of God, thus necessitating a life-for-life exchange in order to atone for transgressions.
“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).
No Forgiveness without Pain
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the renowned German theologian, was known to have made the statement that there can be “no forgiveness without pain.” He penned these words based on his experiences during the Nazi era. Bonhoeffer’s theology holds that forgiveness requires a willingness to bear the suffering that rightly belongs to the offender.
Perhaps we can think of it this way. Suppose you are robbed; to forgive the thief, you must still live without what was taken. Even if the money is returned and legal justice is served, it is a violation that extends far beyond material loss. You still must live with the feeling of invasion of your personal space. You may very well be left with an on-going emotional repercussion. Forgiving the thief will require you to make that payment for the offender.
If someone you love says or does something hurtful, you may forgive, but the pain of what was said or done remains. Trust in that person you love has taken a hit. The more often we are hurt the more difficult and painful forgiveness becomes. The closer we are to the offender – the greater our love for them – the greater the pain of the betrayal.
Bonhoeffer made a distinct point between what he called “cheap grace” versus “costly grace.” Cheap grace is that forgiveness that comes without cost or consequences. His point being that cheap grace is ultimately meaningless and worthless because it entirely fails to address the damage done by the offense.
Costly grace, on the other hand, demands suffering. It requires the forgiver – the one offended – to accept the suffering the offender should bear. Costly grace thereby releases the offender from their burden of guilt. The price, the pain, the suffering has already been accepted by the forgiver.
We are but humans. We know that we are imperfect and sin. We know that we will say or do things for which we must ask forgiveness. And when we receive that forgiveness, it helps us to feel…well, not quite as bad. When we are the forgivers, we know the hurt that comes with it. But we are willing to accept that hurt because of the love and forgiveness that has been shown us.
When we sin, we sin against our Creator, who made us in His image. The emotions we feel we have because He has them – only so much more. The love He has is so much greater than anything we could possibly have. When Adam and Eve disobeyed in the garden, knowing that all of creation would be impacted – at that very moment it meant there was a price to be paid. And cheap grace would never be enough.
“Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins” (Hebrews 10:14).
Precious Is the Blood
“For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life” (Leviticus 17:11).
If you’re as old as I am, then you likely remember watching old westerns. We’d see the hero cowboy and the hero American Indian chief become friends and offer to become “blood brothers.” They’d use a knife to cut their palms and then shake hands. Now, I have no idea if this ever happened, but a little research will tell us that there are cultures which recognized a “blood oath” where two people, unrelated by birth, swear loyalty to each other. As kids, we’d make a slight mark on our fingertips and push them together. My blood brother was my best friend, Steven.
Throughout history, blood has been symbolic of life. The “shedding of blood” and the term “bloodshed” all represented the taking of life. In the book of Leviticus, we are taught that the life of a creature is in the blood.” In fact, God gave specific instructions to the Jews not to eat the blood of animals for that very reason. The “life blood” is often used to express the importance of something or someone. Blood has pretty much always represented life itself.
Countless cultures and civilizations have engaged in rituals involving blood sacrifice since the very dawn of humanity. Often, these even involved other humans. The link between blood and life is as old as humanity itself; the sacrifices of ancient cultures acknowledge the extraordinary value of blood.
However, the sacrificial system of the Israelites absolutely stood apart from the others in its connection to a very personal and Holy God, and to His Covenant promises.
When Jesus was on trial, Pilate tried unsuccessfully to have Jesus released, finding Him innocent of the charges being brought against Him by the Jews. Failing, Pilate wanted nothing to do with the entire affair:
“When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood,’ he said. ‘It is your responsibility!’ All the people answered, ‘His blood is on us and on our children!’” (Matthew 27:24-25).
Quite obviously, both Pilate and the crowd knew they were referring to Jesus’ life. Pilate seemed to believe that by symbolically washing his hands he became blameless. And the crowd, urged on by their religious leaders, willingly accepted responsibility for Jesus’ death – for His blood.
“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus” (Hebrews 10:19).
The Need for Atonement
“Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!” (Romans 5:9).
Genesis 2 gives us a good outline of what life was like in the Garden of Eden – of the close relationship between Adam and God. Even in Genesis 3, we read, “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day…” (v. 8) My goodness, we can only imagine how warm and personal that relationship was.
And yet, the serpent lied to Adam and Eve and convinced them, “You will not certainly die…” And they didn’t – physically, anyway. That would come later. No, their death was worse; they died spiritually. They violated God’s trust. They betrayed the Creator. They broke the close, personal relationship. And there would be a penalty for that.
It is emphasized throughout Scripture that God is holy and pure. Isaiah tells us, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3). By definition, holiness cannot be indifferent toward sin. Sinful humans, in their sinful state, could not approach a perfect and holy God while remaining in that state. A price had to be paid to restore the relationship. To restore the sinner from spiritual – and physical – death. That price is blood for blood. A life for a life.
But God also needed to impress on all humanity the seriousness of sin. This, then, is one of the first key points of the first covenant made with the Israelites: sin is not just a minor offense. It is not just a “slight mistake” to be overlooked. Sin is an absolute breach of humanity’s relationship with a divine God – and the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
Moses, in fact, sealed that first covenant by sprinkling blood over them.
“This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words” (Exodus 24:8).
Thus, the entire Jewish sacrificial system was built on the life for life cost of humanity’s sin. Since human sin leads to death, an animal sacrifice became the outward demonstration of the innocent taking the place of the guilty. An animal’s life was shed for the sinner’s penalty – with a “scape goat” released to seal the deal (Leviticus 16:22).
But as we know, “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4). God’s grace was to be very costly. Costly enough that He would never remember our sins. He would remove our transgressions from us.
“…as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).
And Then, Jesus
“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28).
Today, almost without thinking about it, we accept that Jesus shed His blood for us. Who has watched The Passion of the Christ and not cringed or looked away. But as bad as the physical aspect of the crucifixion was, Jesus was not the only man to endure it. Two thieves were subjected to the same torture, on either side of Him. However, it’s critical for us to remember that the spiritual death Jesus suffered was the most painful. His words called out to the Father, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).
Does anyone believe that Jesus would have uttered those words had He not felt abandoned by the Father? If His death was only physical, then Jesus would have known where He would be in moments and not felt that abandonment. What caused Jesus to sweat blood in Gethsemane was that He knew He was about to suffer the spiritual punishment for every sin of all of mankind. He was about to feel all of the hurt and the betrayal and the violation. All of it. And He knew the Father was about to turn His back on Him and choose to not hear His words. This was a costly grace.
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, their spiritual death was immediate. Their physical death came years later. God’s warning to them was this: “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die” (Genesis 2:17). God knew then that He would not want mankind to live eternal physical lives while remaining spiritually dead, so He removed them from the Garden and from the Tree of Life.
“He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever” (Genesis 3:22).
Adam suffered spiritual death first. When Jesus died on the cross, His first payment for us was our spiritual lives. Our reconciliation to a Holy God. Through His resurrection, Jesus offered us salvation for our physical lives in eternity – allowing us to live eternal lives physically, as well as spiritually.
When we step out into eternity, into the new heaven and new earth, we will again see the Tree of Life. Thanks be to Christ Jesus for shedding His blood for us.
“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:1-2).
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Photo credit: ©Getty Images/jchizhe
Greg doesn’t pretend to be a pastor, a theologian, or a Bible expert, but offers the perspective of an everyday guy on the same journey as everyone else – in pursuit of truth.
Greg can be reached by email or on Facebook @ Greg Grandchamp - Author.