This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

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LoveYeshua

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" This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. "
(Matthew 26:28)

The concept of blood as a means of atoning for sin has deep roots in the Bible, beginning with the earliest accounts of human sin and God's provision for its remedy. After Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, their eyes were opened to their nakedness, and they attempted to cover themselves with fig leaves. However, in God's mercy, He provided a more lasting solution: He made garments of animal skins for them. In order for God to clothe Adam and Eve in these skins, an animal had to be killed, which represents the first instance of bloodshed in Scripture. While the text doesn’t explicitly say this was for atonement, it can be understood as a foreshadowing of the need for a sacrifice to cover sin. The shedding of blood to cover the nakedness and shame caused by sin becomes a theme that runs throughout the Bible, pointing forward to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

We see that the shedding of blood becomes a key element in the Levitical sacrificial system, which God instituted to maintain a relationship with His people and deal with the problem of sin. In the Book of Leviticus, God specifically commands the Israelites to offer animal sacrifices, and in Leviticus 17:11, He explains the significance of blood: "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life." In this context, the blood of sacrificed animals becomes a symbol of life given in exchange for the sinner's life. The animal's death was a substitute for the sinner, acknowledging the principle that sin brings death, and only by the shedding of blood could there be forgiveness and reconciliation with God.

One of the most significant rituals involving blood in the Old Testament is the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), described in Leviticus 16. Once a year, On this day, the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies, the innermost part of the tabernacle or temple, and sprinkle the blood of a sacrificial animal on the Mercy Seat—the cover of the Ark of the Covenant. This act symbolized the covering of the people's sins and the restoration of their relationship with God. In Leviticus 16:15-16, we read: "Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat." The high priest performed this ritual on behalf of the entire nation of Israel, seeking God's forgiveness for their sins and the restoration of peace with Him.

The Ark of the Covenant itself held great significance in Israel's worship. It contained the tablets of the Law, the manna from the wilderness, and Aaron's staff that budded, serving as a reminder of God's provision and His covenant with his people. The Mercy Seat—the golden cover of the Ark—was the place where God's presence dwelled. It was here, above the Mercy Seat, that the high priest would sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice, signifying that the people's sins were covered by the blood, allowing them to be in right standing with God. The blood that was sprinkled on the Mercy Seat acted as a symbol of God's mercy, covering over sin and preventing His judgment from falling on the people.

In the New Testament, Jesus Christ fulfills and transcends the Old Testament sacrificial system. In Matthew 26:28, during the Last Supper, Jesus speaks of His blood as the "blood of the covenant" that is poured out for the forgiveness of sins. This moment is a direct reference to the New Covenant He was about to inaugurate with His death. Just as the blood of animals was used to cover sin in the Old Covenant, so now the blood of Jesus would be shed once and for all, securing forgiveness and reconciliation with God for all who believe in Him. Jesus' blood is the ultimate atonement, fulfilling what the blood of animal sacrifices could only symbolically accomplish.

This connection between Jesus' blood and the blood sprinkled on the Mercy Seat is significant. In the Old Testament, the high priest's sprinkling of blood on the Ark symbolized the temporary covering of sin. However, Jesus' sacrifice—His blood poured out on the cross—provides the final and perfect covering for sin, not just for the Israelites but for all people, once and for all. The writer of Hebrews makes this point in Hebrews 9:11-15, where he explains that Jesus entered into the heavenly Holy of Holies, not with the blood of animals but with His own blood, securing eternal redemption for humanity.

"But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made by human hands, that is, not of this creation. He did not enter by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more then will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! 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."
(Hebrews 9:11-15)

In the Old Covenant, blood was used to symbolize life and to temporarily cover sin. But in the New Covenant, Jesus' blood is the true and final atoning sacrifice. His death on the cross, marked by the shedding of His blood, opened the way for permanent forgiveness and eternal reconciliation with God. Where the blood of animals could only provide temporary atonement, the blood of Jesus provides a once-for-all solution to the problem of sin.

Through the sprinkling of blood on the Mercy Seat, the Day of Atonement rituals pointed forward to the ultimate sacrifice of Christ, whose blood would not only cover sin temporarily but would take away sin forever. Jesus' blood, poured out on the cross, serves as the fulfillment of everything that the sacrificial system of the Old Testament foreshadowed. His sacrifice opened the way for all people to be forgiven, reconciled to God, and brought into a new relationship with Him, secured by the blood of Christ.

Thus, the act of sprinkling blood on the Mercy Seat in the Old Testament finds its ultimate fulfillment in the blood of Jesus, who, through His death, provided the final atonement for sin and established the New Covenant in His blood, making eternal redemption available to all who believe in Him.


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source of image:The Ark of the Covenant