We talked about the Passover lamb in the eighth installment of this series, and today’s connection between the Old and New Testaments will relate to the blood that the lamb provided for both the Israelites in Egypt and for those who are chosen in Christ.
During the recent Lenten season, the elders in my church focused on the importance of the blood. New Testament writers emphasized the need for blood to be spilt so that the debt of sin might be paid. Our connection today is made by the writer of the book of Hebrews. This wonderful book is full of bridges between the two testaments and points to the supremacy of Christ over angels, the Law, Moses, the High Priest, and so much more. As we will see today, not only is the Lord Jesus supreme in these ways, but the covenant he ushers in through his death and resurrection is supreme to the old covenant.
The need for blood.
The old covenant required a lot of blood. The Law established specific sacrifices to cover sins for both the people and the High Priest himself. They never stopped, because men kept sinning, and God’s wrath could never be fully satisfied until a sacrifice was made to cover all sins—past, present, and future.
For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow, sprinkling those who are defiled, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works so that we can serve the living God?
Hebrews 9:13-14 CSB
Christ accomplished what the sacrifice of animals never could. He cleansed our consciences from dead works, paying the price for our sin, that we might truly serve the living God. In that one act of blood sacrifice, a new covenant between man and God was established.
The will of God.
The writer of Hebrews takes us back to Exodus 24:8, in comparing the concept of covenant with that of a will. What is a will? It’s a document of trust that takes place only when the person who is offering the trust dies. Well, since God was not dead, he used the blood of goats and sheep to establish that will or covenant with the descendants of Abraham.
Where a will exists, the death of the one who made it must be established. For a will is valid only when people die, since it is never in effect while the one who made it is living. That is why even the first covenant was inaugurated with blood. For when every command had been proclaimed by Moses to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll itself and all the people, saying, This is the blood of the covenant that God has ordained for you.
Hebrews 9:16-20
So, not only do we have the blood sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin, but for the establishment of a covenant.
The mediator.
In modern times, we usually hire a lawyer to draw up a will and then to mediate that will to those who are to inherit at the time of the person’s death. The lawyer or advocate acts as the go-between between the two parties. Moses served as the first mediator of God’s will and established the covenant for us with the sacrifice of an animal and the sprinkling of blood. Nothing is done without reason in God’s Word, and we see that as Christ serves as the mediator of the New Covenant.
Therefore, he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance, because a death has taken place for redemption from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.
Hebrews 9:15
While a death did occur that the New Covenant might be enacted with mankind, I’m pleased to report that God’s Not Dead, but the One who died to serve as mediator of the will of God lives to tell the story! Hallelujah, what a Savior.
Grace and Peace
If you missed the last Learning from the Past post, click HERE, or start the series from the BEGINNING.
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