The Blood of Christ in the New Testament
Four aspects of Blood of Christ These are taken from the texts of the New Testament, excluding the Gospels, which will be discussed in the next article.
1-The Blood of Christ is a source of life.
•In Letter to the Romans, The blood of Christ is presented as the life force that will save us at the end of time, just as the blood of the Passover lamb saved the Israelites from death.
•Node Apocalypse, The same theme is developed when speaking of the martyrs: "they conquered by the blood of the Lamb".
2- The Blood of Christ frees us from slavery.
In the New Testament, many texts attribute the liberation from slavery to the Blood of Christ, referring to the liberation from Egypt:
•In letter of Saint Peter, It is said that this liberation was not bought with silver or gold, but "with the Precious Blood of Christ," meaning that He gave His own life to redeem, not a few, but all.
•In Ephesians, We are invited to praise God, for through the Blood of Christ we have attained liberation from evil and death.
•Node Apocalypse, Beyond the concept of liberation, it is said that God, with the Blood of Christ, bought men from every tribe, language, or nation, because it is not limited to a few, but extends to the whole world; a liberation that is not political, but that redeemed us from a slavery to evil: it freed us from our sins.
•In Letter to the Romans, The Blood of Christ "atoned" for our sins and became our justification; that is, we were sinners and, through the Blood of Christ, we became righteous before God. This is what the letter to the Hebrews calls "justification," meaning that through the Blood of Christ the people were sanctified.
•In First Letter of John, The Blood of Christ, by purifying us from our sins, becomes the mediator for the people.
3- The Blood of Christ, instrument of forgiveness
Another aspect of the Blood of Christ is that Jesus, by shedding it, reconciled us with God; therefore, it is the blood of the new covenant.
•In Romans, The Blood of Christ has achieved reconciliation with God for us.
•In Ephesians, Christ abolished enmity in order to reconcile us to one another through the cross.
•In Colossians, Jesus reconciled all things, making peace between heaven and earth through his blood on the cross. The blood of one condemned to death became a source of peace and reconciliation for the whole world; this is the greatest expression of love.
4- The Blood of Christ is the blood of the new covenant.
At the Last Supper, Jesus said that his blood was the blood of the new covenant, therefore it has the character of a sacrifice, just like the blood of animals that were sacrificed in the Old Testament to come into contact with God. The difference between the blood of animals in the Old Testament and the blood of Christ in the New Testament is that the high priest used the blood of animals many times; Christ offered himself in obedience and docility to the Father's will to achieve solidarity among us, and he did so only once. Therefore, the Blood of Christ is the sign of the covenant between God and his people and draws us closer to God, purifying our consciences and sanctifying us, something that the blood of animals in the Old Testament cannot do.
Challenges
Devotion to the Blood of Christ asks us to:
1- To be in solidarity with others, but not only with posters and demonstrations (which are also important), but we must suffer with those who suffer and rejoice with those who rejoice, be with them and put ourselves in their place.
2- The Blood of Christ is the expression of the greatest surrender and love, because He gave Himself entirely, expecting nothing in return, reserving nothing for Himself, not a single drop of blood (of life); therefore, He asks us to be generous and not only give to others, but to give ourselves totally to those who need us, without expecting reward or applause from others.
3- We cannot enslave anyone, neither with our words nor with our vision of reality; we must let others be themselves and not try to influence them to speak and act "in our image and likeness," thus negating their personality, their feelings, and their way of thinking.
4- To be instruments of forgiveness, remembering that we are all "sinners" and that we can make mistakes, just like them, thus avoiding revenge and retaliation for something they did to us.
5- To be instruments of reconciliation, seeking what unites us (which is much) and ignoring what can separate us (which are few things and sometimes insignificant, but to which we give capital importance, as if our lives depended on it). Only with reconciliation can there be unity and peace in our Communities and in the Family.
(P Paulino, CPPS)
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