The Crucifixion - A Holy Week Reflection

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!