Why is the blood?

Some people have complained, "Christianity has too much blood in it”, why is that? “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrew, 9:22). Why is blood such an important symbol in the Holy Bible?

It may not seem a very pleasant image at first, but the blood of Christ can speak eloquently to us.

Christ's blood is a symbol of life. "For the life of a creature is in the blood. It is the blood that makes atonement for one's life” (Leviticus.17:11). In some respects Christ's life was more important than His death. If it weren't for His sinless life, the cross would serve no purpose. And had He not lived after He died, His death couldn't save us. As the Apostle Paul said, "If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith" (1st. Corinthians 15;14). When Jesus spilled His most precious blood from the cross, He was pouring out His life for humanity; He was offering up His perfectly obedient life as a substitute for our failures.

 Christ's blood is a symbol of His death. When Jesus shed His blood on the cross, He was paying "the wages of sin"- death, eternal death. He experienced the agony of complete separation from God the Father. God the Son stepped into history to take on Himself the full results of sin and to demonstrate how tragic wrong doing really is. He could then forgive sinners without trivializing sin.

 Christ's blood is a symbol of the suffering heart of God. The cross reveals how much pain sin has brought to God. The Holy Bible says, "The wages of sin is death." (Romans.6;23). He is not blood thirsty deity demanding a sacrifice- He Himself was the sacrifice. When the Father and the Son were torn apart at Calvary, the Father turned away in anguish and the Son died of a broken heart. Christ's blood represents the whole drama of the atonement, that amazing act which enabled God "to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross." (Colossians.1;20).

 Christ's blood in the cross is a forgiveness of sin. "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; He took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, trumping over them by the cross." (Colossians.2;13-15).