The Crucifixion by Patricia C. McGlennon, author of Last Call for the Church
Have
you ever wondered why blood is so important to God? Well, He is the creator of
life, and blood is the force, which sustains it. It is a mysterious substance given
by God to the body of man to nourish itself. Leviticus 17:11 KJV tells us
without blood there is no life, "For the life of the flesh is in the
blood." When God created Adam, He breathed into his nostrils, and Adam
became a living soul (Genesis 2:7). Satan and the angels had never seen blood
before God created man. They are spirits and as such, do not possess physical
bodies. Blood has always been highly valuable to God and an entity of
transformation. He required it to cover sin from the very beginning. Through
the Immaculate Conception, Jesus, the Son of God, was born of a virgin woman
and without any attachment of sin to His bloodline. His blood was flawless and with
it, He paid a very painful and humiliating mohar or bridal price for all who
believe in Him.
Do you
appreciate how much it cost Him to purchase you from sin, and offer eternal life? It is vital you know exactly what Jesus did for you with His blood, so
you might understand and be fully equipped to live out your position in His
body. The Bible fills us in on seven different, but unmistakably significant
places where Jesus shed His blood. As you might have already noticed by now,
the number seven is like God's signature on everything. The number
seven forms the foundation of His word, and encompasses the creation of all
things. In Hebrews 9:22 KJV, God declared in His word the only means of
atonement for the forgiveness of sin is by way of blood. "And almost all
things are by the law purged with blood, and without shedding of blood there is
no remission." Jesus did not just die on a cross for us. He fulfilled the
Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 53:5. He suffered wounds for our transgressions
and bruised for our iniquities. He endured chastisement for our peace, and the stripes
He received on His back offer healing. Jesus was wounded and lost blood, but
where at and what was the significance of each of the seven places He bled
from?
The
first place Jesus shed His blood was in the Garden of Gethsemane, located at
the foot of the Mount of Olives. We see this take place in Luke 22:44 KJV,
"Being in anguish He prayed more earnestly and His sweat was as it were
like drops of blood falling to the ground." I mentioned to you in an earlier blog perhaps that was due to Him having second thoughts about the purchase price of
the church, with His life. Even so, this first account of His blood loss renders a sneak peak
at the human side of Jesus. In this particular garden scene, with blood oozing
from His forehead like sweat, He redeemed your willpower. The shed blood from
His brow was targeted determination to stay the course set before
Him. It was a mind over matter moment. Adam gave up his willpower to say no to
disobedience in the Garden of Eden, when he ate of the fruit from the tree God
had forbidden him to touch. Jesus restored willpower back to you in another
garden or a feast of victory by saying no to His flesh. When His obedience was
tested, He prayed, "Father if thou be willing, remove this cup from me,
nevertheless not my will, but thine be done," Luke 22:42 KJV. Jesus’ blood
gives you the willpower to say no to sin and determination not to give in to
temptation.
The
second time Jesus shed His blood was after His arrest when the Romans whipped
him. Blood poured from the open flesh wounds He received on His back from a
gruesome beating. How many times did the Roman soldiers strike His back with a
whip? I do not know. The apostle Paul writes in 2Corinthians 11:24 NIV,
"Five times I received from the Jews the 40 lashes minus one." Why
did Paul not just say on five separate occasions that he himself had gotten 39
lashes as a punishment? Ancient Israel was a legalistic society, and there was
a directive in the Mosaic Law which reads, "If there is a dispute between
men and they come into court and the judges decide between them, acquitting the
innocent and condemning the guilty, then if the guilty man deserves to be
beaten, the judge shall cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence
with a number of stripes in proportion to his offense. 40 stripes may be given
him, but not more, lest, if one should go on to beat him with more stripes than
these, your brother be degraded in your sight," Deuteronomy 25:1-3 ESV.
This was an ancient Jewish law of fairness, and most likely Jesus got 39 lashes
as well, because 40 lashes must have been sufficient to kill or impair a man from
standing and walking away afterwards. This is an exciting figure, because there
are only 39 root diseases in the world of which you could ever be sickened from
in any one of the many categories. Glory to God! Every stripe laid on His back
was at the root of a disease you could ever possibly come across. He took a
beating on His back for your health, and broke the curse of sickness off you,
"By whose stripes ye were healed," 1Peter 2:24 KJV. By faith, you
have the right to pray for your healing, and believe you have received it by
way of the precious blood shed for you.
The third
place Jesus bled for you was internally. He was "bruised for our
iniquities" (Isaiah 53:5). Being bruised means that He bled inside and that
liberates you from the sins of any past generations. By His blood, you can be
free from any physical or emotional ailments in your bloodline. Values and
mindsets are the very footholds of a family and blindly transferred to
children. They either set you back or propel you forward. Iniquity, however, is
a bent version of the truth. It is usually a lie that goes against God’s word. It
originates from somewhere within the family, and is so easily handed down. It is
distinct from a transgression. Iniquity is a root lie that sparks abusive
behavior. Generational lies like the iniquities of alcoholism, drug addiction,
anger, poverty, spousal abuse and racism present significant challenges for future
generations. Whether uniquely genetic or environmentally passed on, they all go
against God’s word. The internal bloodshed of Jesus allows you to be physically
and mentally free from the spiritual bondage of negative or destructive
behavior.
Jesus
shed blood at a fourth site as the Roman soldiers shoved a crown of thorns onto
His head. Matthew 27:29 NIV tells us a "braided crown of thorns was placed
on His head," and they mocked Him saying, "Hail, King of the
Jews!" Bleeding from the thorns pushed into His head, Jesus restored your
peace of mind. Remember? "The chastisement of our peace was upon Him"
(Isaiah 53:5 KJV). The blood Jesus shed from the prickly thorns is capable of
releasing all the strongholds of your mind. Things that would otherwise hold
you back, and keep you in confusion and weighted down, Jesus took care of all
of them before He ever got to the Cross. Praise God! You were always on His
mind. He knew there would be times you were going to need Him to lead you to
victory on the battlefield of your own mind, and against yourself.
The
fifth place Jesus bled from was His hands. Pierced through with nails, His
hands bled for your transgressions. "He was pierced for our transgressions,"
Isaiah 53:5 NASB. He bled from His hands, so you could prosper. His blood broke
the curse from the work of your hands, so your labor would not be in vain but
profitable. This is a genuine blessing indeed, because Genesis 1:26-28 tells us,
God placed all dominion and authority into the hands of Adam and Eve. From the
very beginning, they lost our ability to enjoy God’s provision. Since then, we
have always had to work for our food and shelter. With the blood-covered hands
of Jesus, you are able to take back what belongs to you. The blood of Jesus is
not just your source of redemption, but your freedom as well. The blood of
Jesus releases you back to a life that should have been your inheritance all
along. His blood is powerful. Ask with faith for the reaping of a bountiful
harvest in all your good and faithful work. You do not have to sit idly by and
let Satan continue taking without end. Jesus’ blood offers a new way of living.
The
sixth wound Jesus bled from was His feet. His feet were nailed to the cross
"for our trespasses," Colossians
2:13 ASV. To trespass means you are on someone else's property. Satan is called,
"the ruler of this world" (John 12:31 ESV). Imagine that! This world
does not belong to you, but you have the authority to defeat Satan's influence
in your life by claiming the blood of Jesus. With your feet, you can take
dominion over every place the sole of your foot touches (Deuteronomy 11:24). By
shedding blood from His feet, Jesus equipped the church to fulfill the Great
Commission of spreading the gospel message in a world that did not even belong
to us. Hallelujah! Glory to God! The church, filled with the Holy Spirit, will
complete its’ assignment. Jesus gave the lost dominion back. You have the
authority to bind Satan out of your life in Jesus’ name (Joshua 1:3). I hope
this gives you a courageous new heart, and a warrior-like spirit.
With a
dying breath, Jesus spoke His last words, "It is finished" (John
19:30 NASB). As the perfect sacrifice for sin, His mission to Earth was
completed. He had finished all His Father had required. The seventh place Jesus
bled was from His side. A Roman soldier thrust a spear into His side to make
sure He was dead. "Blood and water flowed out" (John 19:34 NIV). By
this time, Jesus was now dead. He died in unbelievable suffering from the hefty
price tag of human sin. Mark 15:34 NIV records Jesus as saying while He was
hanging on the Cross "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Jesus literally bled out and emptied Himself on the Cross: to wash away sins, iniquities,
trespasses, transgressions, diseases, and to give you a pure thinking mind that
embraces dominion. In the awful moments before His death, He was obliviously
feeling the weight of sin, and experiencing separation from His Father for the
very first time. He cried out to God, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?"
Mark 15:34 NIV. In other words, "Where are you?" God was absent from
Jesus in those final moments. Why? Jesus was the only ‘One,’ who could accomplish
the removal of sin’s death curse by exchanging His perfect and life giving
blood. The blood of Jesus still cries out on your behalf, so you can own the
hope of an eternal life. Glory to God! He is Risen! Happy Easter!
