The Blood Upon You

This subject is one that is often overlooked in the contemporary church. It’s one that is shunned as being barbaric & undignified. It has been described as ‘unsettling’ and ‘crude’. But it’s a subject that is intrinsically linked to life - both physical life and Spiritual life. We’re talking about ‘the Blood’.

Blood is necessary for physical life. There is no man, woman or child alive that does not have blood running through their veins. In fact, when a child is conceived, the first thing that develops is the cardiovascular system in week 4 on inception.

There is a reason for this: It’s because God Created man, and God places a high value on the blood!

Not only is blood necessary for physical life, it’s just as necessary to one’s Spiritual life.

This verse links both the Physical and the Spiritual together nicely: Leviticus 17:11 “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” ‘Flesh’ = physical, given for the ‘soul’ = Spiritual

The Bible mentions blood 475x in 375 verses. It’s in Genesis & Revelation and most of the books in between.

The Bible speaks on innocent blood, the bringing of…, the taking, the presenting, the offering, issues of, the place of, the revenger of, the shedding, the dipping, the sprinkling, applying, eating & drinking, the guilt of, the crying of, the concealment of, rivers & water turning into, the defiling of land by… It speaks of blood on the head, hands, feet, brow, side, back. YES THIS BIBLE IS A BLOODY BOOK - AND I MAKE NO APOLOGIES FOR IT!

As I mentioned, today concerning blood, I’m going to speak explicitly on blood that concerns you today. This book was written over the course of hundreds of years, completed near 2,000 years ago, yet it speaks of blood that directly upon you & I today!

The first blood upon you is the Crucifying blood

I. Crucifying Blood

This is the blood of Jesus Himself.

By the Result of our Sin

As we examine this Scripture we see a few things. The first that I want to point out is the fact that it was the sin of the people that resulted in the blood of Jesus being shed. (Mat. 27:20-23) The sin of the chief priests, the elders the people, Pilate himself - sin committed by everyone involved is what led to Jesus’ Crucifixion. They were all guilty of the sin of lying, murder, blasphemy, omission - you name it! They were all guilty - and so are we!

We’re all liars.

We’ve all blasphemed

We’re all guilty of murder

Some will say ‘No I haven’t’ and I say ‘Oh yes, you have!’ Matthew 5:21–22 “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.”

YOU ARE NO BETTER THAN THE PHARISEES THAT STOOD BEFORE PILATE THAT DAY! YOU’RE NO LESS INNOCENT OF THE BLOOD OF JESUS THAN THEY WERE! You can sit there high & mighty and say ‘Well, bless God, I would never have done that’ - BUT YOU HAVE DONE THAT! WE’VE ALL DONE THE VERY SAME THINGS! ‘Yeah, preacher, but that is different!’ HOW? HOW IS THAT DIFFERENT? HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT IN THE SAME TIME, PLACE AND SITUATION, YOU WOULDN’T HAVE DONE THE VERY SAME THING?

The only difference between them and you and I is just that - the time, place and situation - the sins are the same!

We are guilty of the Crucifying blood by the Result of our Sins

By Reason of His Sacrifice

The next thing that I want to point your attention to is the trade that happens. There’s a fellow by the name of Barabbas. This man Barabbas was a wicked man. The Bible tells us that he was an insurrectionist & murderer in Mar. 15:7; he’s described as a robber in Joh. 18:40.

But here’s what I want you to get: In order for Barabbas to go free, Jesus had to take his place. So the cost that bought Barabbas’ freedom was the blood of Jesus. There was no other option for Barabbas! He was destined to be that third man on Mt. Calvary! He was going to get what he deserved - BUT THANK GOD JESUS TOOK HIS PLACE!

Barabbas was guilty of the blood of Jesus, because Jesus died to take his place - and Jesus died to take ours as well!

The Bible declares (rightly so) that we’re all sinners

Romans 3:10–12 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

The Bible declares that sin brings forth death:

Ezekiel 18:4 “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.”

Romans 6:23a “For the wages of sin is death;”

The Bible declares that after death, there is a Judgment:

Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”

The Bible declares what happens in that Judgment:

Revelation 21:8 “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Hell is the destiny for all liars, murderers & idolaters - WHICH IS EVERY ONE OF US! That’s what we deserve, and there’s nothing we can do about it! So Jesus, did something about it - He died for us. That makes us guilty of his blood. He died to take our place!

Church, that sounds bad - but it’s actually good news!

Though we are guilty of the Blood of Christ, that same blood that is on our hands, if it’s applied to our hearts it become Cleansing blood

II. Cleansing Blood

This is blood that is on us by choice. We have no choice in the first - it’s on us. We’re guilty. But Christ shed that blood to cleanse us of our guilt!

The Bible speaks all about this blood.

Seen by Shadow

Though the Bible gives illustration of the truth of the coming Christ, it’s not seen as clearly until you get to Ex. 12.

At the beginning of the book of Exodus, the COI have become enslaved in Egypt. Then God calls Moses to go and by His ambassador and free His people. God uses Moses to bring 9 plagues upon the land:

Water to blood, frogs, lice, flies, pestilence, boils, fire from Heaven, locusts & darkness - yet Pharaoh STILL wouldn’t let the COI go. Then in Ex. 12, God gives Moses instructions. (Read Ex. 12:1-13) - Note:

It was a Special Lamb

It was killed by the Congregation

The blood was shed, but had to be applied (We’ll speak more on this later)

It was THE ONLY REMEDY to avoid Death!

So we see that an image of Jesus and His atoning Sacrifice is pictured here - but not only here. We see it in:

The Sacrifice in the Garden & of Able

The Arks of Noah & Moses

Abraham & Isaac

In all the sacrifices in the Tabernacle

In the Tabernacle itself

The Cleansing Blood is Seen by Shadow

Spoken by the Prophets

Jesus’ Sacrifice was spoken of throughout the OT:

Psalm 22:14–18 “I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint: My heart is like wax; It is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; And my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; And thou hast brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me: The assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: They pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: They look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them, And cast lots upon my vesture.”

Isaiah 50:6 “I gave my back to the smiters, And my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.”

Zechariah 13:6 “And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.”

(Read) Isa. 53:3-12

All throughout OT Scripture, Jesus is spoken of.

The Blood that was shed and atonement that was made was spoken by the Prophets

Shed by Christ

That which was prophesied of was accomplished by Christ

We all know how Jesus was taken, beaten and Crucified. Afterwards, the Bible tells us:

Acts 3:18 “But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.”

Hebrews 13:12 “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.”

1 Peter 3:18 “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:”

1 Peter 2:24 “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”

Galatians 3:13 “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:”

Jesus shed His blood so that it might cleanse our sins - the Just for the unjust. The innocent for the guilty!

Cleansing blood was Shed by Christ

Selected by Whosoever

This is where ‘choice’ comes in.

The Bible tells us: John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Romans 3:24–25 “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;”

John 3:18 “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

This cleansing blood has been shed - but it must be applied. It did no good for the COI to simply kill the lamb on the 14th day - they had to apply the blood to the door.

The Cleansing blood is selected by Whosoever

III. Condemning Blood

This third blood is another one by choice.

By the Rejection of the Saviour

The condemning blood that I’m speaking of is found in Acts 18:5–6 “And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.”

This condemning blood is blood that is your own.

As Paul preached Jesus unto these Jews in Corinth, the Jews rejected - not Paul, but Jesus! Then Paul made that statement: ‘YOUR blood be upon YOUR OWN HEADS’.

What Paul is saying there is ‘You have rejected Jesus, you are therefore guilty of your own damnation’.

One thing that we must understand - there is not a soul in Hell that doesn’t deserve to be there. In addition to that, there’s not a soul in Hell that didn’t CHOOSE to be there.

If you’re in this congregation and you lift up your eyes in Hell, it’s YOUR OWN DUMB FAULT! You have no one to blame but yourself.

The Condemning blood is your own for when you reject Jesus

We’ve examined the one blood on your that is there that you have no control over. You’re guilty of the Crucifying blood of Christ. Next we looked at two choices - to either choose the Cleansing blood or the Condemning blood. You will choose either one or the other. Lastly, another by choice is the Culpable Blood

III. Culpable Blood

Culpable (def) blamable. In other words, it’s the blood of others that you’re to blame for.

By a Lack of Warning

The Bible tells us in the book of Ezekiel: Ezekiel 33:1–6 “Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.”

This is the watchmen principle. Where God had given a task to warn those of the danger ahead - and if they warned them, then their blood was on their own head, if they didn’t their blood was on the watchman’s hands.

Church, God has given us the task of the watchman. Not one of us, or a few of us - but ALL of us. Let me ask you this: How much of the blood of others is on your hands? How much more will be before you see Jesus face to face?

This blood is too a choice. You’ll only have as much on there as you choose to have. You can either be a Lazy witness and fail to warn the lost - and watch as souls are cast into the lake of fire with that blood on your hands, or you can be a diligent watchman and be faithful to send out the warning.

Conclusion

So the question before you today is this: What blood is upon you right now.

Without question, you have the Crucifying blood. You’re sins have made you guilty. That you have - but what are you going to do about it?

You can either choose the cleansing blood - put your faith in Jesus’s Sacrifice that was foretold of, giving images of & testified of, OR

You can choose the condemning blood - your OWN blood upon your OWN head. You can choose Hell if you want, many before you have done the same thing.

Lastly - will you choose the Culpable blood - the blood of others.

Let me say this: Just as what the Jews testified in Matthew 27:25 “Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.” a lot of parents that will have the blood of their own children on their hands when they see Jesus. Is that you?

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