What does Jesus’ sacrifice mean for us?

Major James Bryden reflects on the courage, power and cleansing found in the blood of the Lamb.

‘This is the kind of life you’ve been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived. He suffered everything that came his way so you would know that it could be done, and also know how to do it, step-by-step’ (1 Peter 2:21 The Message).

In the year 2000 my wife, Helen, and I were privileged to be sent to Atlanta as delegates to the International Congress held there. John Gowans had only recently been elected as the 16th General of The Salvation Army and his sermon was unforgettable. He asked these words: ‘Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?’ We don’t hear so much of that phrase these days, and rarely sing those words.

The Bible speaks of the holy significance of blood and sacrifice as a means of forgiveness and saving. It was the blood of a lamb smeared on the door frames of Hebrew homes that saved them from God’s destroyer angel (see Exodus 12:21–30).

Fast forward to the Tabernacle and later Temple sacrificial ceremonies, where the priest placed his hands upon a pure, healthy animal before sacrificing it. The act symbolised the transference of the sins of the people to the innocent creature, as a gesture of God’s forgiveness (see Leviticus 1:1–4). These historical events were a precursor to the crowning prophecy of Christ spelt out for us in Isaiah where we read: ‘He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins... The Lord laid on him the sins of us all’ (Isaiah 53:5 and 6 New Living Translation).

This same message of the sacrificial lamb is proclaimed by John the Baptist who, on meeting Jesus at the start of his mission of God’s Kingdom, cries out: ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ (John 1:29).

Once the power of the blood of Christ touches us, we can’t ever be the same again. In 1 John 1 we are urged simply and profoundly to walk in the light of God. ‘But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purges all our sin’ (v7 MSG). When you experience the effects of the cleansing blood of Christ, it means you’re living a transparent and transformed life. Nothing to hide, everything to shout about!

Today’s Church, as always, has to deal with those who think we should keep our religious views private. The very word ‘sin’ has melted from everyday speech and the big search is on to ‘fix it’ by multiple schemes – scientific, psychological and social. While these disciplines are not without merit, they often ignore, or are ignorant of, the invasion of sin on the planet and in every person. Many are blind and deaf to who God is. Others deride his offer of salvation.

People washed in the blood of the Lamb have this great plus in their day-to-day living. It is nothing less than the power of the blood of the Lamb of God. It imparts a heavenly strength. It energises, empowers and enables the believer to live a life of holiness.

What shape does the life of holiness take in today’s world? Quite simply, it boils down to our response to the Holy Spirit – how we act, think, speak, feel. It is a challenging matter of how we live out our faith, how we treat our nearest and dearest, how we behave when no one can see us. The art of holiness is where God comes first and each person is invited to mirror his love and beauty. To know him is to show him, love him and live him.

Some claim they have fellowship with God and believe they can be holy, yet neglect to go to the cross of Christ for cleansing and forgiveness. This Easter, the cross of Christ – his shed blood, the way of life opened wide – brings us all face to face with a question only you can answer: are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?