Nov 12
11
Consider Jesus– in His Atoning Blood
“The blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from every sin.” 1 John 1:7
The blood of Jesus is everything. It is the central doctrine of our faith, the present and eternal life of our souls. There is no pardon, no salvation, no heaven but by blood–the blood of the Lord Jesus. Were we to relinquish every other revealed truth, and concentrate upon this one our supreme and lasting study, resolving all our knowledge of the Bible into an ‘experimental and personal acquaintance’ with ATONING BLOOD–as, like a purple thread, it runs from Genesis to Revelation, it would not be a too exaggerated view of this vital and momentous subject. The blood is everything to us–it is everything to God. He provided it, is satisfied with it, beholds it, and when He sees it on the soul, that soul becomes a living and a lovely soul in His sight. May our meditation on atoning blood exalt our views of its dignity, increase in us its power, and endear to our hearts the preciousness of Him who shed it!
The blood of Jesus is DIVINE. It is the blood of God’s Son, the God-man Christ Jesus. In this consists its sovereign virtue. The Divine nature of Christ rendered His obedience and death an offering and a sacrifice to God of a sweet-smelling savor.
The blood of Jesus is ATONING. It was shed for sin, it has made to Divine justice a full satisfaction for sin, it puts away sin. Is sin your burden, O my soul? Is it for your sins you do moan and weep, and are cast down? Behold, the sin-atoning blood of Jesus; believe, and weep no more. Here is that before which not a sin can stand.
The blood of Jesus is CLEANSING. It “cleanses us.” Oh, this is what you do so deeply need, my soul! Sin-forgiving, guilt-removing, heart-cleansing, conscience-purifying blood. All this is the blood of Jesus to you. Wash in it, and you shall be whiter than snow. “He that is washed is clean, every whit.” And mark the tense of the wonderful words on which this meditation is based–it is the present tense. The blood “cleanses.” It has cleansed, it will cleanse, but, as touching our daily walk as believers in Jesus, we have to do with its present cleansing. In our Christian travel through a sinful world the feet are apt to slide, prone to wander, and are constantly contracting fresh defilement, needing the daily washing in the blood. What a sweet thought, O my soul! that the fountain is open, and the blood cleanses, even now cleanses us, from all sin.
The blood of Jesus SPEAKS. “The blood of Christ that speaks.” Oh, what a voice has the blood of Jesus! What sweetness and majesty, what gentleness and power! It speaks, and the troubled conscience is at rest; it speaks, and the broken heart is healed; it speaks, and the tormenting doubt is hushed; it speaks, and the trembling fear is quelled. It speaks, also, within the veil. The voice of Jesus’ blood is heard in glory, sweeter and louder than the voices of all the minstrels round about the throne. My soul, the voice of Jesus’ blood pleads louder for you in heaven, than all your sins can plead against you on earth.
It is sprinkled blood–that is, APPLIED blood. Therefore it is called, “the blood of sprinkling.” The blood of Jesus practically will not avail us unless applied to the conscience, just as the blood of the Paschal lamb had availed nothing to the Israelite, when the first-born of Egypt was slain, had it not been sprinkled upon his house. And so God said, “When I SEE the BLOOD, I will pass over you.” O my soul! look well to this. Why is it that you are so doubting and fearful? Why are you not walking in a full sense of your pardon and acceptance in JESUS–basking in the sunshine of a present and assured salvation? Is it not because you are stopping short of the applied blood? Oh, come to the blood, the blood of sprinkling! Keep no guilt upon your conscience, no anguish for uncleansed sin in your heart; but wash daily in the precious blood of Christ, which cleanses from ALL sin. Octavius Winslow
NUMBERED WITH THE TRANSGRESSORS
by Spurgeon–
Lo, he bears the transgressor’s scourging!
He is tied to the whipping-post,
his back is marred and scarred;
the ploughers make deep furrows,
and the blood flows in streams.
He is numbered with transgressors, for he bears the felon’s
cross; he comes into the street bowed down with the
weight of his own gibbet, which he must carry upon his
raw and bleeding shoulders; he goes along to the place of
doom.
He comes to Calvary– the place of a skull-
and there, hoisted upon the cross,
hanging in mid-air,
as if earth rejected him and heaven refused him shelter,
he dies the ignominious death of the cross,
and is thus numbered with transgressors.
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Calvary’s stupendous scene!
(Henry Law, “Family Prayers”) “It is finished!” John 19:30
Holy Father,
The heavens, the earth, and all that are therein, proclaim Your wondrous goodness. But Your love shines forth in surpassing luster–at Calvary’s stupendous scene! At the cross we see Your heavenly grace removing the tremendous load of our iniquities from us–and heaping them all on Your beloved Son! We see Him standing as a transgressor in our place. We see Him, who knew no sin–made sin for us. We see Him, the all-holy One–accounted as a curse! We see Your justice leading the spotless Lamb to the slaughter–and rigorously demanding the full payment for all our sin-debt!
The avenging sword enters into His very heart!
The stream of sin-atoning blood flows!
Full recompense is meted out!
Divine Justice can ask no more.
Charges against us are all obliterated.
The debt-book is cancelled. If our sins are searched for, they cannot now be found!
The spotless Lamb is devoted to all anguish–that we may be inheritors of all joy.
He is cast off from You–that we may be brought near to You.
He is treated as Your enemy–that we may be welcomed as Your friends.
He is deserted by You–that we may be received to Your everlasting favor.
He is surrendered to hell’s worst–that we may attain heaven’s best.
He is stripped–that we may be clothed.
He is wounded–that we may be healed.
He thirsts–that we may drink of the water of life.
He is in darkness–that we may rejoice in the glories of eternal day.
He weeps–that all tears may be forever wiped from our eyes.
He groans–that we may sing an endless song.
He endures all pain–that we may rejoice in unfading health.
He wears a crown of thorns–that we may receive a crown of glory.
He bows His head in death–that we may lift up our head in heaven.
He bears earth’s reproach–that we may receive heaven’s welcome.
He is tormented–that we may be comforted.
He is made all shame–that we may inherit all glory.
His eyes are dark in death–that our eyes may gaze on unclouded brightness.
He dies–that we may escape the second death, and live forevermore.
O gracious Father, thus You spare not Your only begotten Son–that You may spare us! All our sins are cast behind Your back–all are buried in the ocean of reconciling blood! We can only fall low and cry, “We adore You for the gift of Your Son as our substitute; for the death of Your Son as our ransom!”
Blessed Jesus, we have been standing beneath Your cross. The sight constrains us to the deepest humility. Our vile iniquity–is the cause of Your shame! We cannot fathom the sins which plunged You into such depths of unutterable woe! We cannot estimate the burden of wrath which thus crushed You. We cannot deny that the sins which stain us are evils of infinite malignity, since nothing but Your blood could wash away their guilty stains! As transgressors, we abhor ourselves before You.
While we humbly gaze–may we anxiously ponder, “Why, blessed Jesus–why did You thus die?” May His precious answer sound through every part of our hearts and souls,
“I die–that you may not die.
I lay down My life–to purchase your life.
I present Myself as a sin-offering to–expiate all your sins.
My blood thus streams–to wash out all your guilt.
The fountain is thus opened in My side–to cleanse you from all impurity. I thus endure your curse. I thus pay your debt. I thus rescue you from all condemnation. I thus satisfy divine justice for you!”