Why So Much Blood?

Why So Much Blood?

Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God.

Hebrews 9:13-14

Those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given me a body to offer.”

Hebrews 10:3-5

Those of us who have grown up in the era of supermarkets where we buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts wrapped in plastic have never had to deal much with the reality of animal slaughter. For most of us, the closest we come to dealing with the carcass of a dead animal is after Thanksgiving dinner. So it is difficult for us to accept and understand the sacrificial slaughter of thousands of animals described in the Old Testament.

We could estimate that there were more than a million animals sacrificed during the thousand-plus years of the Old Covenant. So considering that each bull’s sacrifice spilled a gallon or two of blood, and each goat’s a quart, it is mind boggling to think of all that blood and all those burning carcasses. If we’re honest, most of us would just rather not talk about all this blood sacrifice stuff. It seems too primitive. And certainly it is messy and unsightly. We wonder why blood was so important to God.

But all that blood served as an unavoidable megaphone, shouting about the seriousness of sin and reminding the people that sin both brings and demands death. The blood was like a constantly flashing neon sign in the window of the Israelites’ minds: Sin brings death. . . . Sin brings death. . . . Sin brings death. That megaphone of sacrifice also pointed to the need for a perfect sacrifice that would end the need for the animal sacrifices. Jesus was that perfect sacrifice. Our sin was dealt with by his death.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

What do you think it would be like to sacrifice a goat or lamb in an ongoing effort to deal with your sin?

Why do we no longer need to sacrifice animals as payment for sin?

In what way does sin both bring and demand death?