This week we are looking at why it was necessary for Jesus to shed his blood. Why couldn’t God have simply let our sins and offenses go? Why was it necessary to die? And why is the blood so important?

On the one hand, we’ve seen that blood represents the harsh side of our brokenness: guilt, shame, stain. And it reveals the depth of just how messed up we really are. But on the other hand, blood also reveals the power of God’s solution. Because blood also represents the positive side of life. Because there’s no life without blood. And when someone spills their blood for another, it’s moving and powerful.

On the heels of showing us how all the religious observances in the world can never take away the guilt and stain of our sin, the author now takes us back to the tabernacle as proof. And he reminds us there that the priests had to continually offer the same sacrifices over and over again. Because, though they were required to be offered in order to temporarily atone for the sins of the people, their sacrifice could never take away the actual guilt or stain of the offense. And so it had to keep going. Every day. Non stop.

This week the author of Hebrews is talking to us in chapters 9 & 10 about the necessity of a blood sacrifice to atone for our sins. A lot of modern people struggle with the whole idea of a God who demands blood sacrifices. It seems primitive and overly harsh. And especially in a day where grace and forgiveness are the more popular messages, the whole concept of blood sacrifice seems regressive and old fashioned.