“And they sung a new song, saying, ‘Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.” (Revelation 5:9)
When God was to deliver the people of Israel out of Egypt, delivering them from their slavery to Pharaoh, He would do so in a very unusual and unique way. It is true that He would raise up Moses to confront Pharaoh with the command: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me.” (Ex. 7:16) This Pharaoh would not do this, and so the Lord began applying pressure upon him and the Egyptians, so that they would yield, and let the people go. The last and final thing the Lord did to persuade Pharaoh to let the people go, was to bring about a plague whereby all of the first-born sons of families would die, unless they obeyed God specifically. To make the distinction between God’s people and those of Pharoah, He instructed the children of Israel to take a lamb, “without blemish, a male of the first year,” and kill it. The blood of the lamb was to be taken and “struck” on the two side posts, and on the upper door post of the houses.” (Ex. 12:7) The Lord then told them that on that specific night, He would pass through Egypt, and all of the firstborn in the land would die. However, God promised Israel: “And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.” (Ex. 12:13) That which we see and need to grasp here is that there is only one thing that spares the firstborn sons of the children of Israel. It is the blood of the lamb. Why? Simply put, it is the only thing that God puts such a value upon, that can be applied for the saving of a soul, and the deliverance of a people.
In the book of Revelation, we find the great congregation of the redeemed of all ages, standing before the throne, and worshipping the perfect, unblemished Lamb of God. They are specifically declaring and proclaiming to Christ His great worth in the sight of the Father, and by the Spirit. That supreme worth, revealed in the Person and finished work of Christ, is revealed to every individual there before the throne who has been “redeemed” by blood of Christ. Only as the blood of Christ has been applied to each one can they proclaim such worth, for only by His blood are they reconciled to God. As in Egypt when only the blood was the means of saving the people, so today, and forever, the testimony of Christ in the salvation of all men who have believed, is the application of the blood of Christ essential and effective to save. How did this act and perpetual work of redemption occur?
On the eve of Jesus’ crucifixion, after the last supper with His disciples, He took the cup and said: “This cup is the New Testament in My blood, which is shed for you.” (Luke 22:20) In that declaration, this Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world, expressed the absolute and total commitment of God to men to provide for them a way by which they would be saved. It would be in the form of a declared covenant based wholly upon the blood of Christ.
When Christ died, and rose again, “…by His own blood, He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” (Heb. 9:12) It is because of this fact, and means, that God tells us: “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Heb. 9:14) This is Salvation.
Dear Father, Apply Thy Son’s blood. In Jesus’ name, Amen.