Why The Blood?

Why The Blood?

A friend of mine recently shared that he had a young man, who was a new believer in Christ, asked him, “Why all the blood?” My friend said the young man wasn’t questioning the existence of God or the fullness of Christ’s deity, but that quite simply the young man didn’t understand why our redemption in Christ had to be so gruesome, violent, and bloody.

My friend said that although he was raised in the Christian faith, although he’d taught Sunday school for many years, and although he’d heard hundreds upon hundreds of sermons in his life - the question caught him off guard and all he could think to say was, “Because God said so.”

My friend admitted to me that his answer to the young man was completely insufficient, but that he didn’t know what else to say in the moment. My suspicion is that many Christians fall into that same category of feeling ill-equipped to answer some of the most common questions that non-Christians or new-Christians have. That’s not a slam on anybody, but rather a critique that many of us are unprepared to do the very thing our LORD commanded us to do.

At the conclusion of Matthew’s gospel Jesus, God who triumphed over Satan and death, stands before His eleven remaining Disciples and says, “...disciple all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit by teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And in doing so - behold, I am with you always to the very end!”

What does it mean to “disciple?” Jesus answers that question with two ongoing processes: 1) baptizing, and 2) teaching.

First, “baptizing” is the process of total immersion, indoctrination, coaching, enlightenment, and cultivation into the culture and character of God. In short, baptizing is the manner of demonstrating “How we do things around here.” Baptizing is not so much about specific actions, or WHAT we do, but rather about the underlying driving principles of WHY we do, which determines HOW we do.

Since at the heart of God’s eternal character there is unbreakable unity, absolute altruism, and limitless love - THAT is the culture and character of God. God’s inherent and essential character of unity, altruism, and love is not only the “Why” we do, but also the “How” we do. Thus, demonstrating the spirit of God’s unity, altruism, and love is the heart of Jesus’ command to disciple by “baptizing...”

Second, “teaching” is the specific method Jesus used (and instructs His followers to use) in “baptizing” people. The rhythm of discipleship for Jesus was typically to tell His disciples something, demonstrate it out in the “real” world, and then encourage His disciples to do likewise.

In the well known story of “The Good Samaritan” Jesus points out that the one who obeyed God’s command to “love your neighbor as yourself” was the one who showed compassion and mercy on the man who was robbed and beaten half-dead. Jesus took that out of the stale classroom and made it REAL by showing compassion and mercy for humanity at the Cross; paying the ultimate price with His life for our ultimate sin of rebellion against God our loving Creator.

So what about “Why the blood?” When we truly realize the utter enormity, amplitude, vastness, and sheer deplorable depth of our sin of rebellion against this perfect, holy, loving, altruistic, and eternal God of Trinity - it then becomes clear that since the justice of God is also perfect the ultimate price was required for the ultimate trespass. But still, “Why the blood?”

The New Testament book of Hebrews addresses this directly in saying, “In the case of a will (covenant, contract, or testament) it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because a contract is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. This is why even the first testament was NOT put into effect without blood,” referring to the Old Testament’s religious system of never-ending animal sacrifices. See, blood isn’t the language of God, but rather the language of fallen, broken, sinful humanity. God speaks to us through the ugly language of violence, blood, and death because that’s the language we both created and thrive on.

I’ve often heard my Dad and other folks from previous generations talk about a wistful time when “a man’s word and a handshake was as good as a contract.” As with all things nostalgic - I’m willing to guess that if that dreamy utopia were truly the case... there would have never arisen a need for lawyers and written contracts. See, when push comes to shove we ultimately and invariably do what’s best for us. In our brokenness and sin we’re unreservedly and systemically selfish; but thankfully that’s not the culture and character of our God of unbreakable unity, absolute altruism, and limitless love.

Revelation 13:8 tells us the Lamb of God, Jesus, “was slain from the creation of the cosmos.” Before God spoke the cosmos into existence, before creating the heavens and the earth, before God made us in Their image and likeness, before breathing life into Adam, before Eve was tempted by the Serpent, and before the epic rebellion in Eden... Jesus resolved to die and pay the ultimate price for our rebellion at our hands.

“Why the blood?” Because humanity is anything but humane. We are blood-thirsty, selfish, greedy, war-mongering, megalomaniacs. Blood and violence are our language and we speak fluently.

King Jesus, God incarnate, came and surrendered Himself to our savagery and barbarism because that is the unyielding manifest character and culture of God: a selfless, altruistic, boundless love that desires community, fellowship, and reconciliation with us so completely and perfectly that not even submission to the beating, flailing, torture, torment, ridicule, and the Cross of Calvary could dissuade or deter Jesus.

“Why the blood?” Because that’s what we sadistically demand from our Creator in order that He prove His love to (and for) us. So that’s exactly what Jesus willingly provided.

Blessings,

-Kevin

@KMKelley1968