The Power of God’s Great Announcement Isa 55:1-7; Ps 116; 1 Cor 1:18-25; Matt 26:17-30
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elV8wBhoGTc
Introduction
Even though today is what we would normally celebrate as Psalm Sunday, our readings focus mostly on Christ’s impending death, which is a Passion Sunday theme. With the title of the sermon being, “The Power of God’s Great Announcement”, I want to contextualise a message about the power of Christ in relation to two great contending forces of our time. The first is a plague that most obviously infects younger people. It is a feature of the so-called “attention economy”. Technology demands our attention, phones, tablets and computers are relentlessly scanned for messages. Or, for older people, the TV or radio, is on listen to the ever-updating news about the most famous virus in history. The power of the “attention economy” is partly responsible for the progressive decline in serious Bible reading and persevering prayer in recent decades. The second force crying out for a message on the power of Christ is the COVID 19 crisis. Although Christians of all people should be rested, which isn’t the same as being asleep (Eph 5:14), in the apocalyptic trials of our day, many worldly-minded believers are sowing (Gal 6:8) fear, insecurity and uncertainty, or simply senseless in relation to what God is saying today.
A Strange Power
One of the problems we face understanding the power of God is that it isn’t like any other force. Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 1:18 witness to the strangeness of the death of Jesus to the natural mind, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” There is something about the story of Jesus’ death that is too incredible for the human mind to accept without the help of God. It is a mode of power unlike any other. It is ironic that the people most immune to the power of the cross are likely to be long time churchgoers and regular partakers of the Lord’s Supper. People who have long since ceased to be amazed by the gracious death of Christ for us and so unmotivated to daily live in gratitude and sacrificial service.
The Power of Blood
Let me quote some the most familiar words of Jesus, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matt 26:27-28). Whilst no one ever talks about the power of the body of Christ Christians have always exalted the power of the blood of Christ. I have friends who love to sing the old hymn with the chorus “There is power, power, wonder-working power In the blood of the Lamb. There is power, power, wonder-working power In the precious blood of the Lamb.” No matter how many times they sing it they still get excited. What is it that keeps them thrilled? What does the power of the blood do? Most importantly, is this emphasis biblical?
I’ll begin with some general observations about blood in scripture then zoom in on Jesus. In the Old Testament the many references to blood relate to animal sacrifices, like the blood of the Passover lamb (Ex 12:7-13) or the blood sprinkled on the mercy seat in the holy of holies on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16). Sacrificial blood somehow covered over the sin of the people and turned away God’s judgement. References to the “blood” of Christ are 3x more frequent in New Testament than to the “death” of Jesus. Something very important is being conveyed by allusions to “blood”.
A line from today’s psalm, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” (Ps 116:15), is echoed in Psalm 72:14, “From oppression and violence he redeems their life, and precious is their blood in his sight.” (Ps72:14). We might think of the profound impact the blood of the first Christian martyr, Stephen had on Saul, later Paul (Acts 22:20). Throughout scripture, climaxing in the book of Revelation the shed “blood of prophets/saints” is an index of covenant faithfulness (2 Ki 9:7; Matt 23:30; Rev 16:6; 17:6; 18:24). The comment in Hebrews (12:4) “In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”, means you haven’t had it that tough yet! (A timely word to us all.)
Jesus’ Blood
The New Testament lists an incredible array of benefits that flow from the blood of the cross : forgiveness (Matt 26:28; Eph 1:7; Heb 9:22), reconciliation (Col 1:20), redemption (Eph 1:7; Heb 9:12), propitiation/atonement (Rom 3:25) cleansing from sin (1 John 1:7), peace with God (Col 1:20), overcoming the devil (Rev 12:11) sprinkling (Heb 12:24; 1 Pet 1:2), a witness that cries out for mercy (Heb 12:24), ransom (1 Pet 1:18-19; Rev 5:9), freeing from sin (Rev 1:5), robes washed white i.e. righteousness (Rev 7:14; 22:14). These enormous benefits which together sum up our salvation flow from the fact that the new covenant relationship between God and humanity is in the blood of Christ (Matt 26:28 etc.; 1 Cor 11:25; Heb 10:29; 13:20). This great reality is expressed in an extraordinarily powerful way through Paul’s words in Acts 20: 28, “the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood”. God’s own life-blood was taken violently from him as our substitute on the cross. In Peter’s words, this was the shedding of infinitely “precious blood” (1 Pet 1:19). (Far more precious than any material things 1:18.) It is precious beyond price (1:18) because it bears the weight and power of Christ’s own eternity (1:20) yielded up for us. As Charles Wesley puts it in his famous hymn, “And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Saviour’s blood”, “’Tis mystery all! Th’ Immortal dies! Who can explore His strange design?” Wesley was surely moved by the Spirit to write such things because he had a revelation of the power of the blood.
This blood opened Jesus’ own grave for his resurrection (Heb 13:20) and has opened up heavenly access to all who put their trust in Jesus’ death (Heb 9:12; 10:19, 12:22-24). All the blessings of heaven flow from the blood of Christ. But how exactly? My understanding of this has been influenced by a pastor-theologian of another era, Andrew Murray. His insight is that the blood of the cross has unlimited power because it testifies that the inner disposition of Christ is the power of a pure love. Whereas the power of sin is self-will exercised in self-seeking and self-preservation, God’s action in Christ to sacrifice himself has broken down the power of sin. The blood speaks of unexcelled moral strength at the Lord’s own cost, the cost of death. This pure unlimited love was later expressed in his resurrection from the dead. The good news is that Jesus has turned the destructive selfish power of fallen human nature inside out in a way that can liberate our own hearts.
Conscience
The writer of Hebrews says, “we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus…. with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience” (Heb 10:19, 22). The blood of Jesus brings a revelation of the seriousness of our sin and that it is covered over by the grace of God. Such a revelation releases from the dreadful weight of guilt and shame and provokes worship, “how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds [dead works] so that we can worship the living God” (Heb 9:14). A grateful conscience is the motivation behind a thankful heart.
Knowing our need, the Lord has recorded this testimony in scripture. “one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.” (John 19:34). The flow of blood speaks of forgiveness and the flow of water symbolises the coming of the Spirit to testify of the power of Christ’s death to completely save us.
Following a comment in a meeting that in the eighteenth century it was the Evangelicals in revival (Wesleys etc.) who most frequently practiced the Lord’s Supper I’ve been thinking about the frequency of communion. Whilst weekly communion has become a habit for most Anglicans, our time of COVID19 enforced abstinence provides an opportunity to reflect that to partake of the Lord’s Supper is to participate in a blood sacrifice whose power sentenced to death our old nature and challenges us to an ever deeper dying with Jesus (Rom 6:3; Gal 6:14). Are we up for this?
Conclusion
Everyone who calls themselves a Christian will pledge that the blood of Jesus is precious to them. Such a profession is surely sincere, but how deeply is your conscience impacted by the blood of the cross. How powerful have our hearts been transformed by the gospel? When Jesus wanted to explain the absolute priority of God’s kingdom over everything else, he told a parable. He compared the limitless value of the kingdom of God to a precious pearl discovered by a man who found it and was so overcome that he rushed to sell all that he had to possess that pearl (Matt 13:45-46). The limitless preciousness of Jesus’ blood calls for all our time, talents and treasures to be placed in his service. A revelation of the ultimate cost to God of the shedding of his Son’s blood to save can grip us more deeply and lastingly than any other power; despite ourselves we will find the grip of the technological “attention culture” broken off our lives and the anxieties and fears induced by the corona virus scare evaporating. God’s ongoing apocalyptic war, against rebellious human nature, demons and disease, can only be fought successfully through the limitlessly self-giving love of the cross. The sacrificial power of the cross lived through us can change everything (2 Cor 4:7-12).