BIBLE STUDY OUTLINE

APRIL 2013

SUBJECT: THE BLOOD OF JESUS

INTRODUCTION:

This Bible Study Preparatory class for Cell Leaders held on the 13 th of April. The Outline has

been developed for all leaders of the Cell Ministry to serve as a guide for our Bible study

meetings in the month of May. The subject is ‘The Blood of Jesus’ as taught by our Man of God

during the class.

As clearly stated by our man of God at the beginning of the study, this subject is very important,

as it is a fundamental element of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Therefore, having a clear

understanding of it would help us build a solid Christian foundation without which we would

experience instability, or probably live as non-Christians. So, in teaching your members, do your

best to ensure you help them understand better, the Word of God on the subject, just as you

were taught.

This outline is in 4 parts. Part 1 throws light on what makes this subject important and what it

means to us; the significance of blood in atonement, and also gives us insight into the various

sacrifices offered in the Old Testament for atonement. Part 2 sheds light on Jesus being our sin

offering and High Priest, and importance of His blood. In Part 3 we learn of Jesus as our

Passover sacrifice and the significance of the communion; while in the concluding part, we’ll be

looking into 7 things the blood of Jesus does for us.

Kindly ensure your members have their Bibles; all the Scriptures in the outline are read during

the meeting; and the members look into their Bibles while the Scriptures are read.

TABLE OF CONTENT:

1. Blood: the atonement for sin………....…………………………………………………………………..Page 3

2. Jesus: our sin offering and High Priest……………………………….……..……..…..….........….Page 15

3. Jesus: our Passover Lamb………………….………………………………………………………………...Page 21

4. Seven things the blood of Jesus does for us………………………………………………..……....Page 28

- PART 1 -

Introduction:

At the end of this chapter, each member should:

1. Understand the importance of blood and its role in atoning for sin.

2. Be enlightened about some of the different offerings given for atonement in the Old

Testament and their significance.

This subject is very important, as it is a fundamental element of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Therefore, having a clear understanding of it would help us build a solid Christian foundation

without which we would experience instability, or probably live as non-Christians.

What is Blood?

We’ll begin our study by clarifying some very basic things; the first being: What is blood? To

understand the blood of Jesus, this needs to be clarified, because we need to determine

whether in referring to the blood of Jesus, the Bible is speaking in generic terminology, or if it’s

referring to something specific. Is it dealing figuratively, or is it being specific of a particular

substance?

Scientifically, blood is defined as the fluid consisting of plasma, blood cells and platelets, that is

circulated by the heart through a vertebrate’s vascular system, carrying oxygen and nutrients

to, and waste materials away from all body tissues. Functionally, similar fluids in animals, other

than vertebrates, is also called blood. It means, we’re dealing with a substance: the fluid in our

bodies and in animals, often red in colour. This is simple to understand because it’s something

common to every one of us. So, when we talk about the blood of Jesus, we are talking about

this fluid that goes through the body. Now, how important is the blood and what does the Bible

really say about it?

We would begin from the book of Genesis:

Genesis 9:1 – 4: “And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.”

At that time, God had taken action against the world and destroyed it; all of mankind was

destroyed except Noah and his family; and the Lord blessed them after they came out of the

Ark. This blessing was very similar to the blessings and instruction He gave Adam at the

beginning. He gave them every moving thing as meat, and every green herb; however, He said

in verse 4, that they couldn’t eat ‘flesh with the life thereof, which is blood. God gave us a very

definite understanding there, that as far as He was concerned, the blood is the life of the flesh.

This understanding in verse 4 above, was unveiled before the law of Moses was introduced.

Blood: the atonement for sin:

Now under the law, in Leviticus 17:11, the Bible says: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

This is remarkable! In Genesis, He made it clear that the blood is the life of the flesh. Now,

coming to the law, He brings in the subject of atonement, saying, the life of the flesh is in the

blood, and I’ve given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls.

Atonement means appeasement; propitiation; to satisfy the claims of justice. This refers to

compensation for wrongdoing. He was telling them that if they did wrong, they had no way of

satisfying the claims of justice, or the divine claims, so, He gave them blood as the atonement

for their souls – the blood of the animal upon the altar. This meant with the blood of an animal,

God could overlook what they had done and look at the blood as their representative. But this

was going to be a definite animal chosen by God, and it was to be carried out in His prescribed

manner. Moreover, there were only to offer sacrifices in altars designated by the Lord.

The First Sacrifice for Sin:

The first sin in the world was committed by Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. The Bible

records that after they sinned, they hid themselves and tried to flee from God, but God called

out, ‘Adam where art thou’. His response to God, was that He was hiding, because he was

naked. But God said, ‘who told you that you were naked? Have you done what I told you not to

do?’ Of course he had done something wrong, and he and his wife covered themselves with

leaves (Genesis 3:8-11). However, God did something: He called them and killed an animal,

spilled the blood of that animal, and used the skin of the animal to cover their nakedness,

instead of the leaves they had used. Observe that He killed an animal, spilled the blood of that

animal and made atonement for them (Genesis 3:21; Hebrews 9:22).

As we progress on this study, always remember what God did right there in Genesis, from the

very beginning. The first time man sinned, God killed an animal, sacrificed the blood of that

animal and covered their nakedness with the skin of that animal.

A Spiritual Law:

Let’s look again at Leviticus 17:11: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”

This shows us a spiritual law, meaning there is no other way to make atonement for the soul

except with blood. This is God’s divine order; His divine principle and law, that’s why He

instructed them not to eat the blood of an animal, which they killed.

You know, man may get all the elements together and try to create artificial blood, but it will

never give life. God hid the life in the blood; that’s where God put the law of the human/animal

life. The blood of the human body has the life of that body.

Over in the New Testament, Hebrews 9:22 agrees perfectly with what we read above: “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission”

Sin cannot be wiped away without the shedding of blood; it’s a spiritual law. So relate this with

what we read in the latter part of Leviticus 17:11 – the blood makes atonement for the soul. He

didn’t just say for your soul, but for the soul, letting us know this is a spiritual law.

Different types of Offerings:

There were different kinds of special offerings, which God called for in the Old Testament. The

five major ones were:

1. The burnt offering

2. The grain offering

3. The peace offering

4. The sin offering

5. The trespass offering

These were very important offerings, and you’d find them explained in the book of Leviticus.

Now, because we are dealing with the blood of Jesus, we would be looking into the offerings

that had to do with blood, and their significance.

The Law of the Burnt Offering:

Leviticus 1: 1 – 4: “And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock. If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD. And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him” - This is the law of the burnt offering.

The burnt offering referred to here was a personal free will offering. Notice the Scripture above

says, ‘…he shall offer it of his own voluntary will, at the door of the tabernacle of the

congregation…’ If a man wanted to give an offering, he was to take of the herd or of the flock,

and offer it of his own voluntary will. He was required to put his hand on the burnt offering, and

it was accepted to make atonement for him. Notice here that it had nothing to do with whether

or not the man had done something wrong.

Noah also offered a burnt offering even before God gave instruction about the blood in Genesis,

and it wasn’t because he had done something wrong.

Genesis 8:19 – 21: “Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark. And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.”

He got a blessing there, because he did what pleased God. This would not be the first time a

man would offer a burnt offering. The Bible tells us Abel evidently offered a burnt offering unto

the Lord.

The burnt offering typically represented what we call an acceptance offering. It was an offering

of dedication and acceptance, which meant on the man’s side, when he offered a burnt

offering, he was dedicating himself; and the Lord’s instruction was that the whole offering

should be burnt, so everything on the altar would be accepted. From the man’s perspective, it

was an offering of dedication, and from God’s perspective, He accepted the man.

Notice Leviticus 1 Verse 4 above says, “…and it shall be accepted for him to make

atonement for him. The man hadn’t done anything wrong, yet the Bible says the burnt

offering shall be accepted to make atonement for him. Meaning even in their relationship with

God, they needed to have atonement/an appeasement, to come before God and be accepted

of Him. They didn’t have to look around to know if they had done anything wrong, as far as God

was concerned, they were unclean in themselves. God was so holy; He required a burnt

offering.

The Sin and Trespass Offerings:

The sin and trespass offerings also required the shedding of blood. If you sinned knowingly and

willfully, you were expected to give the sin offering. But, there were certain sins categorized

under trespasses, and these were sins committed unknowingly.

These offerings - the sin and the trespass offerings were given as atonement for personal sins

and guilt. In each case, an animal or a bird was killed, and that became the atonement for their

specific sins. They always had to go before the priest with this animal, and the priest who was

designated would take the necessary action; he’ll kill and offer the animal in the prescribed

manner, and then burn whatever part God said should be burned in the prescribed manner.

And this continued every time a man sinned. If you study the whole of Leviticus 4 and 5 you’d

see this covered all kinds of sins. You either had to offer the sin offering or you offered the

trespass offering, depending on what category the sin belonged. But this provided covering or

atonement for the time being.

National Offerings:

In addition to the offerings made for personal sins, guilt, trespasses and dedication, was the

national offering. This is a very significant aspect, where God charged Israel as a nation with sin.

They were not the only nation that did wrong; other nations and people sinned too, but the

beauty about Israel’s situation was that God provided a means to come out of their

predicament through the Abrahamic covenant, which they had with Him. But the rest of the

world didn’t have a way out; they lived in complete condemnation, that’s why the Bible says

they were strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world

(Ephesians 2:12). But these chosen people of God, the Israelites, were given a particular way to

come out of their trouble, when they sinned against God.

As a people, every year, they had to offer a special sacrifice by which God was appeased over

them and their sins, so that they could walk before Him, and enjoy all of His blessings for the

next one year. However, at the end of one year, it was brought to mind; their sins were

remembered again. Why? Because the Bible says it was not possible for the blood of an animal

to completely take away sin. For this reason, it had to be done again and again. Remember, the

Bible shows us that sin is actually a nature. When Adam sinned against God, he took on himself

the nature of satan; the very nature of sin. The Bible tells us that disobedience brought sin

(Romans 5:18). When he disobeyed, he sinned against God and that sin brought spiritual death,

which is separation from God. And so, in order to cover his sin for the time being, God killed an

animal, but that couldn’t cover his nature. Man was still a miserable offender and sinned again

and again; therefore God allowed these sacrifices to go on and on.

The Great Day of Atonement:

On the great Day of Atonement, the High priest was to offer sacrifices to make atonement for

the people as a nation. The national offering was given on this day.

Leviticus 16: 1 – 3 (NIV): “The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the Lord. The LORD said to Moses: Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die. For I will appear in the cloud over the atonement cover. This is how Aaron is to enter the Most Holy Place: He must first bring a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.”

In this Scripture Moses was given specific instructions as to when Aaron should enter into the

Most Holy Place. The Holy Place was were the priests functioned, but only the high priest was

to come into the Most Holy Place, and he was to come once a year, he’s therefore explaining to

him in Leviticus 16:3, how to come, with – “… a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for the burnt offering”

Leviticus 16:4 goes on to say, “He is to put on the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments next to his body; he is to tie the linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are sacred garments; so he must bathe himself with water before he puts them on” This is talking about his dressing; his

regalia.

Verse 5: “From the Israelite community he is to take two male goats for a sin

offering and a ram for a burnt offering”. Now this is for, and on behalf of the people.

So there are 5 animals altogether: one bullock and one ram for Aaron, and two goats and one

ram for the people.

Verse 6: “Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement

for himself and his household.” This is the high priest, and he can’t offer for the people

till he first offers for his own sin. He first offers a sin offering for himself and his household.

Verse 7 - 10: ”Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the

LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. He is to cast lots for the two goats – one lot for the LORD and the other for the scapegoat. Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the LORD and sacrifice it for a sin offering. But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat”

Now remember, he was to sacrifice one bullock for his own sin offering – to make atonement

for himself. Then he takes one goat here, which is the one that falls to the Lord, and kills it as a

sin offering. But the other goat, which is the scapegoat, is used for making atonement in a

special way.

Verse 11 – 14 “Aaron shall bring the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household, and he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering. He is to take a censer full of burning coals from the

altar before the LORD and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense and take them behind the curtain. He is to put the incense on the fire before the LORD, and the smoke of the incense will conceal the atonement cover above the tablets of the covenant law, so that he will not die. He is to take some of the bull's blood and with his finger sprinkle it on the front of the atonement cover; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the atonement cover.”

Let’s pause here for a second. These verses above show us the method through which Aaron

was to carry out this service; how he was to approach God – this was God’s prescription. In the

latter part, observe what he does with the blood - he sprinkles it on the atonement cover

before God, which is the mercy seat.

Verse 15 – 16: “He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and take its blood behind the curtain and do with it as he did with the bull's blood: He shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover and in front of it. In this way he will make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been…”

Imagine this, he sprinkles this blood over the Most Holy Place. This is supposed to be the Most

Holy Place, yet he sprinkles the blood, and what does God say about it? “…He shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover and in front of it. In this way he will make atonement for the Most Holy Place…” He’s making atonement for the place! How

holy God is; even the place of sacrifice had to be sanctified. There had to be an atonement for

that place before it could be used for God.

Verse 17 - 18: “No-one is to be in the Tent of Meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Most Holy Place until he comes out, having made atonement for himself, his household and the whole community of Israel. Then he shall come out to the altar that is before the

LORD and make atonement for it. He shall take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on the horns of the altar”

No one was to be there from the time Aaron went in till he came out, and he shall make

atonement for the altar, by taking some of the bull's blood, that was his own, and some of the

goat's blood, which was the one for the people, and put it on the horns of the altar.

Verse 19: “He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it and to consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites” Here he cleanses the altar to consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.

No wonder the Bible says all things are purged with blood (Hebrews 9:22). The altar, the

vessels, the Holy Place, were all purged with the blood of an animal.

Verse 20 - 22: “When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites – all their sins – and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task. The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness”

So now we’ve got 3 animals left, the live goat, which is the scapegoat, the ram, which is for the

burnt offering for the people and Aaron’s ram for the burnt offering. Two have been killed

already. Aaron the high priest then lays both hands on the head of the live goat. God is specific

here. He didn’t say on the back of the goat but on the head of the live goat. And then notice, he

confesses over it all the sins, wickedness and rebellion of the people, and sends the goat away

by a man appointed for the task.

No name is mentioned of who takes the goat; it just says: one qualified for the job. This man

takes the scapegoat and lets it loose in the desert. That goat is called the sin bearer, and

figuratively bears the sins of the nation of Israel. And so for a whole year, their sins were gone;

borne by the scapegoat, the sin bearer.

Verse 23 - 24: “Then Aaron is to go into the Tent of Meeting and take off the linen garments he put on before he entered the Most Holy Place, and he is to leave them there. He shall bathe himself with water in a holy place and put on his regular garments. Then he shall come out and sacrifice the burnt offering for himself and the burnt offering for the people to make atonement for himself and for the people”

When he (Aaron) returns, he changes his clothes, puts on his regular priestly garments, and he

sacrifices the burnt offering for himself, and the other for the people. What’s the significance of

this? Their sins are borne away to the desert by the scapegoat. But even though their sins are

gone they need another sacrifice, which is the burnt offering, to be accepted by God. As we said

earlier the burnt offering is the offering of acceptance. So he kills these animals, first, one for

himself; the blood is shed, and so blood is brought again before the Lord for the high priest to

be accepted. Then, he takes the one belonging to the congregation and does the same thing, so

that the congregation of Israel might be accepted before the Lord.

There’s another significant thing here from Verse 25 – 27: “He shall also burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar. The man who releases the goat as a scapegoat must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterwards he may come into the camp. The bull and the goat for the sin offerings, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken outside the camp; their hides, flesh and offal are to be burned up.

Now remember, the blood ministration were done inside, but for the remains of the animal,

God said, carry the rest of it outside the gate. This is all significant because the Bible tells us that

this was the reason Jesus suffered outside the gate (Hebrews 13: 11-12).

Note 3 important things in atoning for sins:

1. God had to give instruction on the kind of animal to be used for atonement.

2. The altar had to be designated by God.

3. The offering had to be administered by a priest called of God.

So the High Priest carried out this ministry on the great Day of Atonement. Next, we’ll begin to

relate this with Jesus, His blood and what He did for us.

Discussion Question:

What was the significance of Aaron’s sacrifice for himself and his household? Is it related to us

as priests in the New Testament? In other words, is it related to leaders’ personal offerings?

Answer to discussion question:

No, the purpose was for his own sins and acceptance, as we already saw. However, those

offerings were sacrifices for sin but the offerings we give today, whether as leaders or members

are not sacrifices for sin.

- PART 2 -

Introduction:

At the end of this chapter, each member should:

1. Know Jesus as our High Priest and the One whose blood was given to make atonement

for our sins once and for all.

2. Understand the importance of the blood of Jesus Christ.

Jesus: our sin offering and High Priest:

We concluded part 1 by looking into God’s requirements for making atonement for the nation

of Israel for their sins and acceptance. Now, we would begin to relate some of this with Jesus.

Hebrews 9: 11 – 28, “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us”

First, he tells us that Christ is an High Priest. Remember Aaron was the high priest as we saw

earlier, now Jesus Christ has become our high priest. These are two testaments: the old one

and the new one; Jesus comes as the High Priest of the New Testament, but here He doesn’t

come with the blood of an animal, but by His own blood, he entered in once, into the Holy

Place. Aaron had to enter in once every year, on the Day of Atonement, but Jesus came in once

for all time. Glory to God!

Verse 12: “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” Notice that this Scripture doesn’t say He entered to obtain eternal redemption. No! It says,

He entered, having obtained eternal redemption for us. This Holy Place being referred to is the

real Holy Place in heaven; the very presence of God, not the earthly tabernacle where Aaron

ministered. Remember, after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Mary came looking for His body

and saw that the body had been removed from the grave. Then she saw a man, and thinking He

was the gardener, said, ‘sir, where have you laid Him?’ But Jesus called her by name, and she

turned saying rabboni, having recognized his voice. She ran towards Him, but Jesus said, “…

don’t touch me because I have not yet ascended to my father…” (John 20:17)

At that time He had become our High Priest and He was taking His own blood to heaven, before

the Father. He then said to her, “…go and tell my brethren, I ascend to my Father and your

Father, to my God and your God…” This was the first ascension; it was not the ascension

recorded for us in Acts chapter 1. This was the High Priest’s ascension, where He takes His

blood to heaven, to the mercy seat, before He came back, and appeared in the midst of His

disciples (Matthew 28:9; John 20:19)

Notice what the writer, Paul, said, ““Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” This means He went in with His blood, and had obtained

eternal redemption for us. The word redemption used here is ‘lutrosis’, which means to deliver,

save, and bring you out of trouble, out of sin. He had obtained eternal redemption and He did it

before the resurrection. Remember, when He died on the cross, we died with Him and that was

where the redemption took place, by His death, not by His resurrection. That’s why it says He

went with His blood into the Most Holy Place having obtained eternal redemption – deliverance

from sin, evil, and from all things that were inconsistent with God’s dream for man. All this

happened before the resurrection; He obtained it by His death on the cross.

Now the new creation in Christ became a reality not at the cross, but at His resurrection. The

cross made it possible for Him to give eternal life to those who would believe. Now the use of

words here has been a problem for many and that’s why we started by clearly stating what the

word redemption used there meant. We were redeemed from sin at the cross and His blood

became the currency with which He paid for the sins of the whole world. Then He was buried

and on the third day God raised Him from the dead with a new life; He was the first of the new

creation. So now, He gives eternal life to those who believe in Him.

The Bible calls us the purchased, and here’s where a lot of people are mistaken in their

understanding. In Revelations 5:9 the Bible says, “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;…” Isn’t this wonderful; this has not happened

yet but the Bible says, from every nation, not just Israel, glory to God! Now the word redeemed

is wrongly translated here. It means purchased. It’s not the same word we saw earlier in

Hebrews. The word here is ‘agorazo’, and what he’s referring to here when he says ‘thou hast

redeemed us to God by thy blood’, is to buy /make a purchase. This is not ‘lutrosis’ as we saw

earlier, but ‘agorazo’. It means to go to the market and make a purchase; to buy something as a

gift to give to someone. You are not buying it back but making a fresh purchase. With His blood,

He purchased us and gave us as gifts to God.

Several translations will actually give you a proper rendering of that Scripture. The NIV (New

International Version) says, “And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and

language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth”

The Living Bible puts it this way, “They were singing him a new song with these words, you are worthy to take the scroll and break it seals and open it, for you were slain, and your blood has bought people from every nation as gifts for God.”

You are a gift from Jesus for God; you were bought with a price. This is not that redemption;

this is ‘agorazo’, fresh, you belong to God. So you understand when we say we are not the

redeemed. Man was delivered from the devil when Jesus died on the cross, but when God

raised Jesus from the dead, we became new creations, superior to satan, not being delivered

from the devil, but born superior to satan by the second birth.

Difference between Christ and the Old Testament Priest:

Let’s look at the difference between Christ and the Old Testament priest. Remember the old

testament priest had to come in with two animals, a young bull and a ram for himself; he had to

offer the bull for his sin offering then later on offer the ram for his burnt offering. This had to be

done before he could do what he did for the people, he had to cleanse himself first; in addition,

he had to do it every year. But let’s look at what the Bible says of Jesus.

Hebrews 7:26: “For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;  Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself. For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the

word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.”

Hebrews 8:3 - 6 (NIV): “Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.”

Let’s read Verse 6 from the King James Version: “But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises”

Jesus entered the Holy Place with His blood, once for all time. He didn’t need to sacrifice first

for Himself as Aaron did, using the blood of animals. His sacrifice took away the sins of the

whole world, and His blood still works for us today. His ministry was superior to that of Aaron’s;

He is the mediator of a better covenant, established on better promises.

- PART 3 -

Introduction:

At the end of this chapter, each member should:

1. Understand the significance of the Jewish Passover and how it is related to Christ.

2. Have more insight into the importance of the communion.

Jesus: Our Passover Lamb

We’ve seen Jesus as our high priest; we’ve looked into the giving of His blood as an offering, but

how did this all come in? Why Jesus?

The background is given to us with the children of Israel in bondage in Egypt. The Bible tells us

they’d been there for more than 400 hundred years, and it was time to be set free according to

God’s oath to Abraham. He was going to bring them out through a man named Moses, and He

said to him, I want you to go to Pharaoh and tell him to let my people go. Again and again

Pharaoh said no, but God actually told Moses that He knew Pharaoh won’t let them go except

he was compelled with a strong hand. The Lord said to Moses, I’ve got one more sign, and after

this, he’ll surely let you go.

Let’s read from Exodus 12, from verse 1 – 8.

“And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side

posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it”

The Lord was about to take them out of Egypt and He tells them to sacrifice this lamb, strike

their door posts with its blood, roast it over fire, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter

herbs. The bitter herbs would remind them of the bitterness of bondage they had been in Egypt

for 400 long years, and now they’re leaving, and will never forget what happened.

Verse 9 - 13: “Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD's Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.”

God didn’t say, in this Scripture, when I know how clean you are, or when I know your family

name; neither did He say when I know how many you are behind the door, no, He said, the

blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will

pass over you. He looks for the blood.

The only condition was the blood. He didn’t ask them to write all the good things they had

done; it didn’t matter whether they were good Israelites or bad Israelites, He said when I see

the blood; what matters here is the blood.

Verse 14: “And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.” This was forever, and if God says it’s forever, that means it’s

forever. There may be changes on how things are going to happen but it’ll be forever; He’s

going to alter the rules with time, but it’s going to be forever.

Now 1 Corinthians 5:7 says: “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us” Glory to God! Jesus is our Passover.

The Last Supper:

John 13:1: “Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him; Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean. So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you”

Feet washing was a Jewish tradition where the servants washed the feet of their masters or the

master’s guests when they came home.

Here, Jesus takes the place of a servant and washed their feet. He was teaching them to honor

one another, not the physical washing of the feet. He was talking about us taking the role of the

servant and serving one another; that’s why Paul and the disciples taught humility, they all

taught us humility, humbleness of mind esteeming others better than yourself, condescending

to men of low estate. So we don’t need to start going into feet washing services, as some

people say we should. That’s not what Jesus was talking about; it was about humility.

In the book of 1 Corinthians 11:23 - 24, Paul gives his account of the last supper as was

revealed to him. “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.”

In Genesis 3:21, The Lord killed an animal and used the skin of that animal to cover their

nakedness. Now Jesus says this is my body broken for you. Do you know what that means? It

means that when His body was broken for us, as it were, as the nakedness of Adam and eve

could no longer be seen, being covered with the skin of the animal God had slain, we were

covered with the body of Jesus that was broken for us. When God looks at us now, He doesn’t

see anything but Christ; we are covered with Him. That’s why the Bible says we are in Christ.

When you are born again you are baptized, immersed and dipped into the body of Christ; you

are covered with Christ, and God doesn’t see you with all of your wrongs, He sees Christ.

Verse 25 – 26: “After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he comes”

Jesus said to them, do this in remembrance of me, for as often as you drink this cup and eat this

bread, you do show the Lord’s death till he comes. Remember that the blood makes

atonement. In the Old Testament and its priesthood, It was the blood of an animal that was

given, and with that blood they made atonement for their souls, but that was not good enough.

God had a plan because we are eternal beings; He made us to live forever and those animals

being sacrificed for man will never live forever. So they kept killing them over and over, until

God said I’ve got one last lamb. And this was going to be the Lamb of God, which the Bible says

was slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). He was slain before the world

was made, which means in the mind of God He already did it. He offers His Son, and His body is

given for complete covering for every one of us forever. Through His blood the world was

redeemed (Titus 2:14), and by His blood, we were purchased and raised as new creations

forever. His blood was enough; His blood did it all.

Discussion Question:

Is it okay to say I sprinkle the blood?

Answer to discussion question:

You can’t sprinkle the blood of Jesus; it’s not your job to do that. He told us what to do with the

blood; He asked us to break the bread and drink the cup. That’s what you do with the blood. As

often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you show the Lord’s death; you proclaim the

Lord’s death till He comes. That’s what you’re supposed to do with the blood.

- PART 4 -

Introduction:

At the end of this part, each member should:

1. Have an understanding of 7 key things the blood of Jesus does for us.

2. Become acquainted with more scriptures on what the blood of Jesus did for us.

Seven things the blood of Jesus does for us:

1. Remission: The blood of Jesus gives us remission. Now it’s important at this point to

bring clarity to the issue of remission and forgiveness.

Luke 24: 46 – 47: “…And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And

that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” Note those two words:

repentance and remission.

Acts 5:31: “Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and

a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.”

The Scripture says here ‘repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins’. But in Luke 24,

Jesus said ‘repentance and remission of sins’ should be preached in his Name amongst

all nations beginning at Jerusalem. So He used the term remission of sins. Now we come

to Acts 5 here, and we find some translators using forgiveness of sins and not remission,

and here’s where we need to make the correction. In fact, the two words - remission

and forgiveness, are translated from the same Greek word – ‘aphesis’. However this is

not enough to conclude, we now have to check the context in which the words are used,

when they are used. When two or more words, interpreted from the same word in any

language are applied differently, the way to know what is meant at any time is in the

context of their application.

What Peter said is in consonance with what Jesus said. They were exactly the same

thing, so why change one from remission to forgiveness, when it’s exactly the same, and

in the same context.

The point here is that if you sin against God as a Christian, you don’t just get forgiveness

(which is coined less that remission as though you are getting a pardon), no, the

wrongdoing does not exist anymore in the same way your sins were removed at the

beginning, when you came to Christ; there is no record of them anymore. The remission

of sin that you have at the beginning is the remission of sin that you get, if you sin, after

you are born again; there is no record of it anywhere, not in God’s book. This means the

blood of Jesus Christ works for you before salvation, and after salvation it provides

remission of sins completely. He said a new testament, will, covenant, order, will I give

to them, and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. That’s because it is

completely removed (Hebrews 10:16-18).

1 John 1:9:“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us

our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. Forgive here means

to take away and to cleanse us from all righteousness. The sins are completely remitted,

with no records kept. It’s not a pardon; it’s blotted out; as though it never existed.

1 John 2:1: “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only,

but also for the sins of the whole world”. This settles it! It works for us as it

works for the whole world. He is our propitiation. And every time you read it, it’s the

same word used. Sinning is not compulsory for the Christian; you don’t have to sin, but

if you do, there is remission, a complete blotting out. God has no record of your

mistakes or errors because the blood of Jesus completely washes them out of existence.

Hallelujah!

Hebrew 10:14 says, “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them

that are sanctified” There is no more sacrifice for sin; by one offering he has

perfected us forever. Glory to God!

2. Justification: the blood of Jesus makes justification possible. Through His blood, we are

justified, declared not guilty by God, with no record of the past. Acts 13:38 -39 says,

“Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses”. This Scripture should also have read remission,

but it says forgiveness.

3. Redemption: the blood of Jesus brought us redemption; that is, agorazo – the purchase.

We were purchased by the blood of Jesus and given as gifts to God.

Revelation 5: 9: “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.”

1 Corinthians 6:20: “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s”

Acts 20:28: “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the Church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”

4. Access: The blood of Jesus gives us access to God. Praise God; we’ve got access! We

have access by Christ unto the Father. He is the way. We enter into the most Holy Place

by the blood of Jesus. So every time you break that bread, remember the new and living

way, which He consecrated for us through the veil, which is His flesh.

Ephesians 2:18: “For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father”

John 14:6: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Other Scripture References: Acts 4:12; Hebrews 10:19.

5. Fellowship: We have fellowship with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We’ve come

into partnership, communion, a sharing together with Him. We are in His class, because

of the blood of Christ.

Ephesians 2:13-14: “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometines were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;”

Other Scripture Reference: Colossians 1:20

6. Cleansing: The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all unrighteousness.

Hebrews 9:14: “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who throught the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead workd to serve the living God?”

1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us

our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

7. The will: the blood gives us the will; the testament.

Hebrews 9:15-16 (NIV: “And for this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance – now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it,”

Acts 26:18: “To open their eyes, and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified

by faith that is in me.

Other Scripture Reference: Romans 8:16.

In Conclusion:

God said the life of the flesh is in the blood and gave the blood on the altar for the atonement

of the soul. The blood of animals offered year after year, though covering sin for a while, could

not completely wash away sin. But Jesus, who was without sin, became sin for us and obtained

eternal redemption through His precious blood. Now there is no remembrance of sin; we are

new creations without a past, purchased as gifts for God, because of the precious blood of Jesus

Christ.

Lessons Learned from this Study:

1. The blood is the life of the flesh and God gave the blood for the atonement of the soul.

2. Atonement means appeasement; propitiation; compensation for wrong doing; to satisfy

the claims of justice.

3. The first sacrifice for sin was when Adam and Eve sinned, and God killed an animal,

spilled the blood to cover their sin, and used the body of that animal to cover their

nakedness.

4. There is no other way to make atonement for the soul except by blood.

5. The burnt offering was an offering of dedication and acceptance.

6. On the great day of atonement, the high priest offered sacrifices to make atonement for

the people as a nation.

7. Jesus was our Passover lamb.

8. Jesus was given as the sacrifice for sin, and He entered into the most Holy Place in

heaven with His blood, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

9. The new creation in Christ became a reality at the resurrection of Christ and not at the

cross.

10. Having paid the price for our sins, Jesus purchased us as gifts to God.

11. The blood of Jesus gives us remission, justification, redemption, access, fellowship,

cleansing and the will or new testament.