Devotion to the Blood of Jesus

 

I have broached the subject of Transubstantiation, the belief that the wine of Communion becomes the literal blood of Jesus as does the bread His body. While devotions to Wounds of Christ and His Blood are very Medieval, with Strigmatas that St. Francis and other Saints of Catholicism received: the wounds of Christ on their own bodies miraculously appearing. Though the Roman Catholic Church is not the only one to have devotions to The Blood and wounds, Count Zinzendorf a Reformer in the Pietist Movement, and Leader of the Moravian Church (Unitas Fratrum) had a strong devotion to The Blood, “These wounds were meant to purchase me. These drops of blood were shed to obtain me. I am not my own today. I belong to another. I have been bought with a price. And I will live every moment of this day so that the Great Purchaser of my soul will receive the full reward of His suffering,” and “Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness, my beauty are, my glorious dress; Midst flaming worlds in these arrayed, with joy shall I lift up my head.” 

Such beautiful words! We do indeed belong to another, to Jesus Christ, His blood shed to wed us! 

Zinzendorf had incredible words of truth about Jesus’ Blood and sacrifice, “Our method of proclaiming salvation is this: to point out to every heart the loving Lamb, who died for us, and although He was the Son of God, offered Himself for our sins … by the preaching of His blood, and of His love unto death, even the death of the cross, never, either in discourse or in argument, to digress even for a quarter of an hour from the loving Lamb: to name no virtue except in Him, and from Him and on His account,-to preach no commandment except faith in Him; no other justification but that He atoned for us; no other sanctification but the privilege to sin no more; no other happiness but to be near Him, to think of Him and do His pleasure; no other self denial but to be deprived of Him and His blessings; no other calamity but to displease Him; no other life but in Him.” 

Zinzendorf’s words are like painting, so brilliant as they express the power of Jesus’ sacrifice and blood. That He has healed us and forgiven us. That we are “dressed” in His Blood. That no manner of righteousness or good acts matters, only Jesus’ atonement and blood is enough! The drops of Jesus’ blood is all that was necessary, His Death sufficent to stop the Second Death (Revelation 20:15) and take fear of death away, “because he suffered death for us, he is now “crowned with glory and honor.” Yes, by God’s grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone. Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.” (Hebrews 2:9, 14-15, NLT), and there is no more Death for us who have faith in Jesus, “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 12:25-26)

There is the great hymn that goes, “What can wash away my sin? Nothin but The Blood of Jesus! What can make me whole again? Nothin but the blood of Jesus.” (Robert Lowerly, 1876). Fixation on the blood and wounds of our Lord is not a sin if it draws us to Him and realization of what He has done. Though I admit it can be jarring to see Catholic devotions to the blood and wounds of Christ, the gore and mutilation can turn the stomach of Protestants like us who are not accustom to such scenes, but I admit like Zinzendorf I find myself transfixed and engaged in contemplating how we are dressed in the blood and “the drops having obtained us,” which comes from the verse, “to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.” (Acts 20:28)

It is true there was a woman in Middle Ages who became so obsessed with the blood of Jesus she consumed The Eucharist to excess, and Zinzendorf was rebuffed for his zeal for the Blood of Jesus when meetings that focused on it became like spiritual ecstasy. I think that is sad, I understand One must be careful and keep your eyes fixed on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2), that the Blood has power because it is His Blood and flows from Him who is The Lamb of God. A lot of concern forms over The Cult of the Cross, The Cult of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, The Cult of the Wounds, that they become idols, but honestly they are only sacred and important because of Jesus.  I understand we must not lose focus on Jesus, but I think there was nothing wrong with Zinzendorf’s blood of Christ devotions, his words inspire and are true. I believe the Blood of Christ draws us to Christ Himself, that it is what makes us white as snow, and able to overcome the devil, “the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin,”(1 John 1:7), “you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ,” (Ephensians 2:13), “to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood,” (Acts 20:28), “ So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you,” (John 6:53), “ To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,” (Revelation 1:5), “And through Jesus to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross,” (Colossians 1:20), “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,” (Hebrews 10:19), “So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood,” (Hebrews 13:12), “ Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God,” (Romans 5:9), “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed,” (1 Peter 2:24), “And they have conquered the devil by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” (Revelation 12:11). Amen.