Life is in the Blood

“Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 

Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 

He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. 

As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.” John 6:53-57

When blood flows through your veins it is like gasoline in a car. The gas comes out of your gas tank, travels through the fuel lines all the way to the front of the vehicle until it reaches the engine. The spark plugs in the engine then spark to ignite the fuel and the engine then runs. In a way, it is “alive.”

The other day we had gone and gotten a few supplies from town, and on the way back home our truck ran out of gas. It is an older truck and a wire that sends the signal to the fuel gauge is broken so I couldn’t tell how much gas was left in the tank. When the engine runs out of fuel, it no longer runs. It sputters as the last of the gas fumes are burnt, and then it “dies.” Because our truck has two gas tanks, I switched over to the other tank and the gas flowed back into the motor and started back up and we made it back home.

In much the same way, when someone loses too much blood, their bodies will die. The heart pumps the blood through the entire body via the veins, delivering oxygen to each part of the body. But if someone is in an accident and loses too much blood, the body will start to shut down and become weaker until it dies. 

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood…” Leviticus 17:11

The life of the flesh is in the blood, so it makes sense that because we are mortal and Jesus is immortal, and that our mortal bodies contain mortal blood, that when we partake of the body and blood of Christ through Communion our souls can continue to live, even after our earthly bodies pass away. 

I have written about this before, but when the plagues went through Egypt, the Hebrews were commanded to put the blood of a Lamb on the sides and top of the door of their house. When the firstborn of the people of Egypt where killed, the Hebrews were protected by the blood of the lamb, and were saved. And for the thousands of years leading up to the arrival of Christ, every year the Jews would observe the Passover and thank God for delivering them from bondage.

When Jesus came, He gave us His blood so that we too can be saved. As the blood of the lamb protected the Hebrews in Egypt, the blood of Christ protects and saves our souls from destruction. We observe His great sacrifice to us when we have Holy Communion. 

“And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrace of me. 

After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.” 1 Corinthians 11:24:-26

So the next time you partake of Holy Communion, remember what it means. Through the blood that Jesus shed for you on the cross, you can have everlasting life. Through the blood of Christ, you can live forever.

In Christ,

Andrew