Behold, The Blood! :: Exodus 24:3-11

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And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the scroll of the covenant and proclaimed it in the ears of the people. And they said, ‘All that YHWH has spoken, we will do, and we will keep. And [Moses] said, ‘Behold, the blood of the covenant that YHWH cut with you on the basis of all these words’ (vv 6-8).

[Introduction]

Have you ever thought about how much blood there is in Scripture? 

It is amazing how much there really is. It’s not quite everywhere in Scripture, but it’s close. In the Old Testament, we see blood 360 times in 295 verses of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges ... Samuel, Kings, Chronicles ... Job, Psalms, Proverbs ... Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (... it’s all over Ezekiel ...), Hoshea, Joel, Micah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Zechariah. Not to be outdone, the New Testament talks about blood another 90 times: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians ... Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians. ... Hebrews, and the epistles of [1] Peter, [1] John, and Revelation. 

Behold, blood covers almost everything we do and say. 

Underscoring the point: The blood will be a sign, YHWH told Israel before the Passover. I will see the blood, and I will pass over you (Ex 12:13). I have given it on the altar to make atonement for you (Lv 17:11). ... Because of the blood of the covenant, YHWH will set you free (Zec 9:11) ... You who were far off have been brought near by the blood (Eph 2:13). ... He makes peace through the blood of the cross (Col 1:20). ... This blood of Jesus, whom God set forth as the atoning sacrifice for your sin, is to be received in faith (Rm 3:25). ... [It] is poured out for the many for the forgiveness of sins (Mt 26:28). ... There is no forgiveness of sins without the shedding of blood (Hb 9:22).

1. Therefore, make no mistake: We need blood because no matter how you may want to sugarcoat it, sin stinks to high heaven. 

Sin ... not blood ... is the most unpleasant reality of mankind. Not only does sin hurt, sin destroys, it kills. The blood cries out from the earth (Gen 4:10). Adultery, fornication, uncleanness kills ... idolatry, sorcery, hatred kills ... contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries and the like (Gal 5:19-21) ... The wages of these sins, iniquities, and transgressions is ... death. 

That’s the primary lesson of all the Old Testament sacrifices. Oxen, bulls, rams, goats, sheep, lambs, pigeons, doves were slaughtered on account of sin. We cut these animals in half. We burned them. We shed their blood for burnt offerings, sin offerings, peace offerings, trespass or guilt offerings. We did this to express thanks to God for his blessings and pardons. The blood and fat of the animal was used for purification. There was one occasion recorded in 1 Kings 8[:63-65] during the reign of King Solomon when 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep were sacrificed in the temple at Jerusalem. Can you imagine how red the river Jordan ran that day with all the blood shed? 

2. Behold, without the blood we have no life.

Covenants are legal, binding agreements. And the Sons of Israel knew this when Moses sprinkled the blood upon the people. Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of YHWH and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice, and they said, All the words that YHWH has spoken, we will do (v 3). 

As the first mediator between God and Israel, Moses had just received a whole series of laws, ordinances, and instruction from God in the three previous chapters of Exodus. These laws, ordinances, and instructions ... beginning with the Ten Commandments ... reminded God’s people that YHWH has chosen you to be different from the world. They reminded God’s people that ... through this covenant ... YHWH would bless them and keep them, that YHWH would make his face shine upon them and be gracious to them, that YHWH would lift up his countenance upon them and give them peace (Nm 6:24-26). 

So, of course, the people heartily agreed. Besides, when you read the laws, ordinances, and instructions, you can immediately see that they are good for you ... because God is good! After proclaiming these words to them, any rational man can agree that this Torah was good, right, and salutary ... they show us YHWH wants to bring all men to the knowledge of the truth that sin will kill ... but YHWH gives life. 

So Moses wrote all the words of YHWH. Then he rose in the morning and built an altar under the mountain and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young sons of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offering of oxen to YHWH. And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the scroll of the covenant, and called out in the ears of the people. And they said all YHWH has spoken, we will do ... only this time they added ... and we will keep (vv 4-7). 

Of course, they didn’t do that. And neither do we.

They died as result. And so do we.

3. But behold, the blood: God doesn’t desire the death of a sinner; therefore, he has provided a new covenant with his own blood.

The New Covenant was not like the Old Covenant ... the covenant God made with the sons of Israel at the base of Mount Sinai. As YHWH tells us in Jeremiah 31: He writes the Law on our hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. A man will no longer teach his neighbor and his brother, saying, ‘Know YHWH,’ because they will all know me (vv 33-34a).

They will know him because of Jesus. They will know him because they will see the cross of Christ ... and the blood and water flowing from his side. They will know him on account of baptism. They will know him when Jesus breaks bread in our midst and fills our cup of the new covenant that is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. They will know him when we hear his word of absolution that our sins are forgiven.

All of your sin, all of your iniquity ... or we could say immorality, and all of your transgression ... that is rebellion ... it has all been forgiven on account of Christ, who took on a heart of flesh and lived without sin, becoming the perfect sacrifice for all men. Sin, death, and the devil have been conquered by his blood ... the blood of the Lamb (Rv 12:11). Jesus carried our sin to the cross where he was crucified and his blood was shed. By his stripes we are healed. 

This is how God forgives iniquity. This is why he remembers your sin no more (Jer 31:34).   

4. Now behold the blood of the New Covenant Christ announced through Paul: Jesus always remembers you (1 Cor 11:24, 25).

God’s covenant with his people is not a lease that will expire. God’s covenant with his people is not a take-it-or-leave it affair ... a nice to have but I don’t really need it agreement. God’s covenant with his people is not an agreement we enter just in case. We need God’s covenant because through it, Jesus remembers you. 

Whereas we forget Jesus ... we forget why we need to receive the fruit of the new covenant ... Jesus never forgets us ... he never forgets why we need his Supper. As Luther teaches us to say seven times in the catechism: The Lord’s Supper is for the forgiveness of sins. This Supper is the New Covenant. Jesus enacted it with his blood. He always remembers you need this.

If you are a sinner ... and I hear you confessing this truth regularly ... then you need the forgiveness of sins. If you are the chief of sinners ... and I hear you confessing this, too ... you need the forgiveness of sins. If you have saving faith, you know you need the forgiveness of sins. You never stop sinning. That’s why you need the forgiveness of sins. 

So come to the supper and receive the blood of the new covenant. Jesus shed his blood for you on the cross to deliver to you the forgiveness of sins. Jesus died for those sins. And Jesus rose from the dead to demonstrate that in him you have eternal life. You can never receive the forgiveness of sins too often.

On the night he was betrayed, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it, he broke it, and he gave it to the disciples, and said: Take, eat, this is my body which is given for you. Do this in the remembrance [that is] mine. In the same way, also, after supper, he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them saying, Drink of it, all of you, this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many into the forgiveness of sins. Do this whenever you drink of it in the remembrance [that is] mine (Mt 26:26-28; 1 Cor 11:23-25).,

BEHOLD, THE BLOOD: JESUS ALWAYS REMEMBERS YOU

[Conclusion]

It’s his promise. He can’t change or revoke his promise. His covenant rests entirely upon his grace and his justice: It is solid and sure. And so he continues to pour forth His Spirit into our hearts so that we will recognize and accept this covenant and live lives accordingly. 

So come now ... Take and eat. Take and drink. 

Eternal life is yours in Jesus’ name.

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