Life Is In The Blood!

John 6:53: " Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink of His blood, ye have no life in you."

When I was a teenager, I gave blood to someone who was seriously ill.
Giving blood was called a blood transfusion.
This was the method of transferring blood from one person to another.
In this physical process there is literally a transference of life.
So, when we think of a blood transfusion, we should understand how blood should be associated
with the spiritual life given to us through the atoning death of our Lord.

I have read that the blood in an average human being circulates through the body twice every minute.
As the heart pumps the blood through the arteries, capillaries and veins, every cell in the body is
continually supplied and cleansed.
No part of the body can live without being in contact with this throbbing stream of blood
throughout the body.

An average adult contains five to six quarts (roughly 4.7 to 5.7 liters) of blood, which consists of plasma,
red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.
Also, the digestive system works with the circulatory system to provide the nutrients the system needs
to keep the heart pumping.

Every cubic millimeter of the blood (which is a spec the size of a pinhead) has in it
approximately 5,500,000 living cells.
The cells live 110 to 120 days.
To replenish those cells which have fulfilled their life function, the body manufactures
almost 2,000,000 new cells every second.
It is amazing!

So, it is evident that the blood is the essential ingredient of our physical life.
In a very real sense life becomes visible through the blood.

The bible speaks of the " blood of your lives," or " lifeblood."
(Genesis 9: 5; cf., 1 Chronicles 11: 19, RSV; Isaiah 63: 3, ASV)
There are occasions when the words, "blood" and "life", can be used interchangeably.
We see this in Leviticus 19:16 when we read not to " stand against the blood" of our neighbor.
There the blood clearly refers to the man's life, and is translated that way in some versions,
such as the Revised Standard Version, and the New American Standard Bible.

The heart is the center of the blood circulatory system.
The heart is used in this way throughout the Bible to designate the total personality of man.
The Bible says in Matthew 15:19 that out of the heart proceeds evil thoughts.
Joel 2:13 says that sinners should rend their hearts.
Romans 10:10 declares that we must believe with our heart.
Ezekiel 11:19 declares that God will take away the stony heart and give a new heart.

Dr. Christian Bernard relates the story of one of his heart-transplant patients asking to see
the removed, diseased heart.
So, the doctor went to the laboratory and brought back a large bottle which the old heart
had been placed.
As the man looked at the big muscle which had pumped life to his body, Dr. Bernard realized
that this was the first time in human history that a person had ever seen his own heart.

But for the patient the sensation must have been even more moving for the old heart was worn out.
If it had not been replaced, life would soon have ended that man.
After a long pause, the grateful man looked up and said,
" I'm glad that I don't have this old heart anymore."

We are no better than our heart whether it refers to the body or the soul.
When the heart is weak and the blood diseased, life is fragile and in danger.
But where the heart is strong and the blood is pure, life is full of health and joy.
Our great and gracious God wants to everyone to know that.

" What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Oh! Precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus."

The New Testament has much to say about the blood of Jesus Christ.
We must give this phrase its full meaning.
To us blood indicates death, and certainly the blood of Jesus Christ speaks of his death.
But to the Hebrews the blood stood for the life.
That was why the orthodox Jew never would eat anything which had blood in it (Gen.9:4).

When the New Testament speaks about the blood of Jesus Christ, it means
not only his death but his life and death.
The blood of Christ stands for all that Christ did for us and means for us in his life and in His death.

The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)
The blood of Jesus Christ makes expiation for us (Rom.3:25), and it is through His blood
that we are justified. (Romans5:9)
Through His blood we have redemption. (Ephesians1:7)
And we are redeemed with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish
and without spot. (1 Peter1:19)
Through his blood that we have peace with God. (Colossians1:20)
His blood purges our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. (Hebrews9:14)

Jesus' life and sacrifice gave to the blood it's real meaning.
So, we must not take it lightly.
The blood actually flowed in the veins of Jesus.
And more than 2000 years ago, that same blood drained out of His body on the cross.

S. D. Gordon in his " Quiet Talks" wrote:
" God gave His breath to man in creation, and His blood for man on Calvary.
He gave His blood because He had given His breath.
Each was His very life."

Life given through the blood is taken in the shedding of blood meaning that life is brought to an end.
It is finished.
It is drained out of the body, and no blood in the body means death.

Jesus says, " He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life;
and I will raise him up on the last day.
For My flesh is true food and My blood is true drink.
He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in Me, and I in him." (John 6: 54-56, NASB)

Jesus dismisses any illusion that there can be salvation apart from His atoning death.
" Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves."
(John 6:53, NASB)

Some might ask the question: " Why did He invite us to drink His blood?
How can this be done?
And wasn't it true that the drinking of blood was strictly forbidden by the law?"

The answer to those questions bring into focus the ultimate meaning of the blood in our experience.
It is a way of objectifying the spiritual principle -- a truth that was seen faintly in every sacrifice,
but fully disclosed in the personal ministry of Jesus Christ.

Blood is the symbol of His death for us.
To drink of His blood is to take into our heart the life-renewing power of the cross.
It is to receive the grace of God.
Only Jesus who died as our perfect sacrifice could offer us the privilege of union with Himself.

There is an actual partaking of the divine nature as seen in 2 Peter 1: 4.
Jesus does not give us a mere philosophy of life or a code of ethics.
He gives us Himself.
The Christian life is not a creed or a dogma.
It is participation in the very life of Him who loved us and gave His blood for us.

The figure of eating and drinking conveys the idea of a feast.
And experiencing the transforming life of the Son of God is an occasion for celebration.
And since we continually feed on Him, there is no end to this joy.

Faith is the means by which the Spirit makes it happen.
It is to the soul what eating and drinking is to the body.
In this analogy, we see that saving faith is simply taking Christ at His word and living by His flesh and blood.
Here is the secret of life, real life, resurrection life, life now and life forever.
We must pray that we might drink deeply from this cup.

Charles Wesley wrote:
" Jesus, at whose supreme command
We now approach to God,
Before us in Thy vesture stand,
Thy vesture dripped in blood.

Now, Lord, on us thy flesh bestow,
And let us drink Thy blood,
Till all our souls are filled 'below
With all the life of God."

A small boy was told by his doctor that he could save his sister's life by giving her some blood.
The six year old girl was near death.
She was a victim of a disease from which the boy had made a marvelous recovery two years earlier.
Her only chance for life was a blood transfusion from someone who had previously conquered the illness.
Since the two children had the same rare blood type, the boy was the ideal donor.

The doctor asked, " Johnny, would you like to give your blood for Mary?"
The boy hesitated.
His lower lip started to tremble.
Then he smiled, and said, " Sure, Doc, I'll give my blood for my sister."

Soon the two children were wheeled into the operating room.
Mary was pale and thin.
Johnny was the picture of health.
Neither spoke, but when their eyes met, Johnny grinned.

As his blood flowed into Mary's veins, one can almost see new life come into her sick body.
The ordeal was almost over when Johnny's brave little voice broke the silence.
" Say, Doc, when do I die?"

It was only then that the doctor realized what that moment of hesitation and
that trembling of Johnny's lip meant.
Johnny thought that in giving his blood to his sister he would be giving up his life.
In that brief moment he had made his great decision.

Back in eternity God determined to give His Son.
And Jesus said, " I will die for sinful man."
There is life in the pure blood of the Son of God.

If, for any reason, you have not received this divine blood transfusion from the Son of God -- receive it now!
Give yourself to Jesus, even as He has given Himself for you.
And in this holy outpouring of life, your heart will feel the throb of the heart of God.

" Just as I am, without one plea,
But that thy blood was shed for me.
And that Thou bidd'st me come to Thee.
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!

Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!"

Sermon adapted from several sources by Dr. Harold L White