Three Witnesses to the Blood (Part 5 of 7)

Part 5 of 7 · Without Shedding of Blood: The Old Testament Foundation

In Part 4 we saw how the Passover lamb, the sin offering, the high priest, and the mercy seat all find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

Paul wrote, “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established” (2 Corinthians 13:1). On the question of how sin is put away, God has given three witnesses, and they agree. God speaks in the law in Leviticus 17:11. Jesus Christ speaks at the Passover table in Matthew 26:28. The epistle to the Hebrews states the rule in Hebrews 9:22. All three point to blood, and not one of them says a word about water.

God Speaks in the Law: Leviticus 17:11

God Himself explained why the blood makes atonement.

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” (Leviticus 17:11, KJV)

This verse gives the reason behind the blood sacrifices of the law. Paul says “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), and God says the life is in the blood. When the blood of a substitute was shed, a life was given in the sinner’s place. God names the blood twice in this one verse, and He says plainly that it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul. Water can cleanse the outside of a man, but it cannot stand in his place and die for him.

Jesus Christ Speaks at the Table: Matthew 26:28

Many centuries later Jesus Christ sat down with His disciples to keep the Passover, the feast that began with blood on the door posts. Matthew shows that the Lord’s supper was given at that very feast.

“Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples. And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover.” (Matthew 26:17-19, KJV)

At that table Jesus Christ took the cup and spoke the words that fulfill Leviticus 17:11.

“For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:28, KJV)

Jesus Christ named His own blood as the sacrifice of the new testament, shed for many, for the remission of sins. The life that Leviticus placed in the blood was now His own life, poured out in the place of sinners.

Hebrews States the Rule: Hebrews 9:22

The third witness is the verse where this series began.

“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.” (Hebrews 9:22, KJV)

Leviticus 17:11 gave the principle, and Matthew 26:28 named the blood that fulfills it. Hebrews 9:22 states the rule with no exception. It also gathers Exodus 12, Leviticus 4, and Leviticus 16 into one sentence, because the blood on the door posts, the blood before the vail, and the blood on the mercy seat all taught the same lesson.

The verses just before Hebrews 9:22 make the point even sharper. When Moses dedicated the first testament, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled the book and all the people (Hebrews 9:19). Water stood right beside the blood. Three verses later Scripture credits remission to the blood alone.

How the Three Witnesses Agree

The three witnesses are joined by their very words. The Greek word behind “remission” in Matthew 26:28 is aphesis, which means a release or a sending away, and Hebrews 9:22 uses the same word. The word “shed” in Matthew 26:28 and the phrase “shedding of blood” in Hebrews 9:22 come from the same Greek root, which means to pour out. Jesus Christ spoke of blood poured out for remission, and Hebrews says there is no remission without blood poured out. Both stand on Leviticus 17:11, where the life in the blood makes atonement for the soul.

Matthew 26:28 also contains the same English phrase found in Acts 2:38, “for the remission of sins,” and the Greek wording is nearly the same. In the mouth of Jesus Christ, that phrase belongs to His blood.

The three witnesses name blood, a life given, atonement, and remission. None of them names water, washing, or baptism as the means of any of those things. Moses, Jesus Christ, and the writer of Hebrews agree, and on their testimony the matter is established.

Remission of sins flows from the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Water was never shed for anyone.

Search these Scriptures for yourself: Leviticus 17:11; Matthew 26:17-28; Hebrews 9:18-22; Romans 6:23; 2 Corinthians 13:1; Deuteronomy 19:15.

Next in this series: Part 6, Abraham Believed God.

Go Deeper

• His Blood Shed for the Remission of Sins (Salvation in Jesus Christ, Part 3)
• The Blood of Christ and Salvation (Study Outline)

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“And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

2 Corinthians 5:18-21 (KJV)