“And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it (i.e. the passover lamb).” Exodus 12:7
It is in one of Charles Wesley’s hymns that we read the following: “Behold Him, all ye that pass by, The bleeding Prince of life and peace! Come, sinners, see your Saviour die, And say, ‘Was ever grief like His?’ Come, feel with me His blood applied: My Lord, my Love, is crucified.” What is Wesley seeking to communicate here? Is it not first and foremost the essential imperative of the believer needs to stop, and gaze upon this One who loved him, and died for him? Is it not to grasp something of the love of God revealed in the terribleness of the sacrifice for sin, to redeem the sinner at such a cost? And finally, is it not a call to appropriate the truth and power of the blood of Christ to save from sin and death, to shield the soul from the condemnation and accusations of the enemy, but and present the believer whole, and complete before the Father? That precious blood of Christ, in some ways very similar to that of the unblemished sacrificial lamb of the Passover in Egypt, was to be a “token,” a visible evidence, not only of the presence of a holy God, but of His provision for sin and uncleannes, so that in His holiness He would pass over, and the judgment for sin would be avoided. The ultimate reason and means by which sin would be dealt with completely, would be only by the work of the Eternal Lamb of God, taking upon Himself the sins of the world. Hence, because of the worth of the sacrifice, one solitary sacrifice, there would be the “passing over” of judgment for sin. This would apply to the one who would truly believe God, and obey Him. It is imperative to note that the blood of the passover lamb in Egypt was to be “applied” in a very deliberate manner. Scripture tells us that the believing Israelites were to “…take the blood, and strike it on the two side posts, and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat.” (Ex. 12:7) The the blood must be applied by faith. The whole of the teaching concerning the blood of Christ, and its cleansing, life-giving, and justifying power for the individual believer, hinges on the application of it by faith. For the Israelite, it must be struck upon the lintels and doorposts of the homes. For the believer today, as Wesley put it, “…Come, feel with me the blood applied…” By whom? It is by the Spirit of Christ at the moment when faith takes hold upon Christ as the sole Savior of men from sin and death. It is also to be applied on a daily basis for cleansing from sin. This is borne out in John’s writings when he speaks of “…walking in the light as He (Christ) is in the light.” It is then that we have fellowship one with another, and there is the promise is: “…and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin.” (1 Jn. 1:7) In the confession of sin, John confirms us the power of the blood by writing, “…He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 Jn. 1:9) How important is this? And what is this power associated with the “applied” blood of Christ.
Throughout Scripture, especially since the fall of man, God has revealed His only way of dealing with sin and death. It is the unique sacrifice of a perfect, unblemished lamb. Pictured in the Old Testament as a physical lamb, He is revealed as its fulfullment in the New Testament, as the “Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. Being justified by the blood, kept clean to have fellowship with God, there is the power to overcome daily the accuser of the brethren.
Dear Father, Justify and cleanse us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.