Followers of Jesus* frequently speak, or sing, of being “washed in the blood.”  People outside the faith usually don’t understand what this means or why it is important to believers.  Very simply, being washed in the blood means that our sins have been forgiven.

But being washed in blood sounds disgusting, right?  Why would anyone want that?  Well, our sins are disgusting to God.  Any bad thing we do, whether it seems great or small, is an affront to Him.

I visited my old church this week (Trinity Chickasha), and my former pastor spoke about the ancient Jewish sacrifices.  In the Old Testament, God provided a means by which the Jews could atone for their sins through the sacrifice of certain animals, at specific times.  The writer of Hebrews explains that these sacrifices were not permanent.  They had to be offered every year.  Hebrews 10.4  says: “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”**  The only way for our sins to be erased is to trust in Jesus.  This was accomplished in the Old Testament by trust in God’s future plans.  The Jews did not trust in the sacrifices themselves.  These sacrifices were a temporary practice that foreshadowed the supreme sacrifice of Jesus.

When Jesus came and died on the cross, He was the ultimate, final sacrifice.  There are no further sacrifices needed because Jesus gave up His life for the sins of all who choose to believe in Him.  Being washed in Jesus’ blood is a way of saying that we are made pure by the sacrifice of His blood.

New Testament authors speak frequently about the blood of Jesus. 

Matthew 26.28: “For this is My blood that establishes the covenant; it is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins.” The context of this verse is Jesus speaking of the wine that represents His blood in the Lord’s Supper.

Romans 5.8-9: “But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us!  Much more then, since we have now been declared righteous by His blood, we will be saved through Him from wrath.”

1 John 1.7: “But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

These are only a few examples.  Also, many of the great, old hymns speak of Jesus’ blood: There is a Fountain, Power in the Blood, Nothing but the Blood.

The image of being cleansed by blood is powerful.  God allowed Jesus to take our place, our punishment.  Do you realize if Jesus hadn’t done this, we would have to pay the penalty for our own sins?  God didn’t have to allow this substitution.  He loves us and gave us a way to return to Him.  We, after all, are the ones who have turned our backs on Him.  We have a choice.  We can continue in our own way, doing whatever we want to do – and suffer the consequences ourselves.  Or we can accept the sacrifice of Jesus and give our lives to Him.  Jesus’ blood covers us so that God no longer sees our sins. 

Oh, precious is the flow that makes us white as snow. No other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

There is nothing more beautiful than being washed in the blood of Jesus, the Lamb.  Because of His sacrifice we don’t have to be separated from God.

Unashamed
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*I am going to try to not use the name ‘Christian’ as this term has been warped to basically mean a person who goes to church once in a while and says they believe in God.  A follower of Jesus is someone who has had a life-changing encounter with Jesus and has given their life over to Him.
**All references are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible unless otherwise noted.