The Divine Trial

There is an oft told story whose origins have been lost. There were two people involved, a minister and a former prostitute. The former had a leadership position in a small town, the latter had recently given her life to Christ. Her past however, was publicly known.

In time the two of them fell in love and were soon engaged to be married. This caused no small scandal in town, and eventually people began to question the engagement. A group of them approached the minister and suggested he reconsider the implications of someone in a public position getting married to a person with her well known past.

One by one the people made comments, gave their opinions, and offered their reasoning. Finally the minister stood and said, “My fiancee’s past is not on trial, what is on trial is the blood of Jesus. Does he save completely, or does he not? Is his grace sufficient?”

The people considered the weight of his words and began to weep. They apologized, and soon there was a wedding with the whole town celebrating the union of this man and this woman.

In 1500 BC Moses declared, “The life is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11). Since that time when people made oaths they would often seal them with a blood covenant, symbolizing that each party would die to keep their end of the agreement.

Indeed, the in 1800’s the well known missionary David Livingstone would share his surprise at traveling through different parts of Africa and meeting groups of people with no contact with one another, and how each practiced some form of taking an oath that included each party making a small cut on their hand or cheek, and then mixing the blood.

When Jesus died and shed his blood, it was a divine picture of him keeping the covenant promise to redeem his people, and to save them to “serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:14).

Science agrees that life is in the blood. It is estimated each of us has approximately 50 trillion cells in our body. Red blood cells carry life giving oxygen throughout the body, making the entire trip through the circulatory system in just 30 seconds. Without oxygen there is no life, without blood there is no life. Truly life is in the blood.

Spiritually the picture is even stronger. His blood destroys the power of sin, gives us a clean conscience, and makes all things new. For countless years believers have offered a simple prayer no matter what mountain they faced, “I plead the blood of Jesus.”

The trial is over, all things have been finished by one offering, for the life, our life, is in his blood.