Meet Your Blood Donor
Introduction
Our god-daughter’s second child, Hazy, was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2015. Medically, her only hope was a matching donor. A young German man, who has to remain anonymous, sacrificially gave his bone marrow. Wonderfully, his donation saved Hazy’s life. Can you imagine what it would be like for Hazy to meet her donor?
(Read more of Hazy’s story here.)
In an even more remarkable way, you can meet your blood donor. Jesus came ‘to give his life as a ransom for many’ (Mark 10:45). At the last supper, when Jesus took the cup, he said: ‘This is my blood of the covenant’ (Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24). The ‘precious blood of Christ’ (1 Peter 1:19) is stressed throughout the whole New Testament:
- It makes forgiveness possible (Colossians 1:14)
- It purifies you from every sin (1 John 1:7)
- Through it, you draw near to God (Ephesians 2:13)
- It brings peace and reconciliation (Colossians 1:20)
- It gives life (John 6:53)
- It enables you to overcome Satan (Revelation 12:11).
In today’s passages, we see different aspects of what all of this means.
Proverbs 27:5-14
5 Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.
6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
but an enemy multiplies kisses.
7 One who is full loathes honey from the comb,
but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.
8 Like a bird that flees its nest
is anyone who flees from home.
9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart,
and the pleasantness of a friend
springs from their heartfelt advice.
10 Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family,
and do not go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes you—
better a neighbour nearby than a relative far away.
11 Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart;
then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt.
12 The prudent see danger and take refuge,
but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.
13 Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger;
hold it in pledge if it is done for an outsider.
14 If anyone loudly blesses their neighbour early in the morning,
it will be taken as a curse.
Commentary
The ultimate act of friendship
It is such a privilege to have good friends. The greatest privilege of all is the friendship of Jesus. He calls you his friend and shed his blood as the ultimate act of friendship. Jesus said, ‘Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends’ (John 15:13).
This section of Proverbs is all about the importance of friendship: ‘Better a nearby friend than a distant relative’ (Proverbs 27:10, MSG). The advice of a friend is a great blessing: ‘Just as lotions and fragrance give sensual delight, a sweet friendship refreshes the soul’ (v.9, MSG). Loyalty to your friends is very important: ‘Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your 'family’ (v.10).
A good friend will not only say nice things: ‘Better is open rebuke than hidden love’ (v.5). The writer of Proverbs goes on to say, ‘Wounds from a friend can be trusted’ (v.6). True friendship involves more than unquestioning approval. I am so grateful to my good friends who have confronted me with painful truth from time to time – always out of love and with great sensitivity and grace.
‘Wounds’ is used here figuratively, in the sense of causing emotional pain or grief to a friend for their good, out of love. However, I cannot help thinking, in the light of today’s theme, of the fact that ‘wounding’, in the literal sense of the word, means ‘shedding blood’. In the case of Jesus, he did not shed our blood, but his own. ‘He was wounded for our transgressions’ (Isaiah 53:5). His blood was shed for you in the ultimate act of friendship.
Prayer
Hebrews 9:1-15
Worship in the Earthly Tabernacle
9 Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. 2 A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand and the table with its consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. 3 Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, 4 which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. 5 Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.
6 When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. 7 But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. 8 The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. 9 This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. 10 They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings —external regulations applying until the time of the new order.
The Blood of Christ
11 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance —now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
Commentary
A clear conscience
‘Most people, most of the time, have something which hangs heavy on their hearts, something they have done or said which they wish they hadn’t, something which haunts them and makes them afraid of being found out,’ writes Bishop Tom Wright. ‘How wonderful to know that the sacrifice of Jesus and the sprinkled blood which results from it has the power as we accept it in faith and trust, to wash every stain from the conscience so that we can come to God without any shadow falling across our relationship.’
The book of Hebrews explains how under the old covenant, only the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place ‘only once a year \[on the day of atonement\], and never without blood’ (v.7). The blood of a sacrifice represented the life of the animal that had been killed (‘the life is in the blood’, Leviticus 17:11). Their life was given in exchange for that of the person making the sacrifice.
The priests were not allowed to enter the Most Holy Place. Their work was done in the outer tent. Except on the annual occasion, the way into the throne room of God was barred to all, even to the high priest himself.
When the high priest did receive permission to enter, his entry was safeguarded by sacrificial blood. However, this sacrificial blood was not totally effective. Fresh blood had to be shed and fresh entry made into the Holy of Holies each year. Further, although they might have brought about outward cleansing (Hebrews 9:13), they were not able to cleanse ‘the conscience of the worshipper’ (v.9).
In reality, it was only an ‘illustration’ (v.9), ‘a visible parable... a temporary arrangement until the complete overhaul could be made’ (vv.8–10, MSG). It pointed beyond itself. It was fulfilled through the blood of Christ.
When Jesus came, he ‘bypassed the sacrifices consisting of goat and calf blood, instead using his own blood as the price to set us free once and for all’ (vv.11–12, MSG). By doing this ‘he brought together God and his people in this new way’ (v.17, MSG).
What does this mean?
You are clean inside and out
Jesus makes it possible for your conscience to be cleansed: ‘The blood of Christ cleans up our whole lives, inside and out... through the Spirit’ (v.14, MSG).
You have been set free
‘Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God’ (v.15, MSG).
The Holy Spirit and the blood of Christ go together. Joyce Meyer writes, ‘The Spirit could not be poured out on the Day of Pentecost until the blood was poured out on the cross of Calvary.’
Prayer
Ezekiel 16:1-63
Jerusalem as an Adulterous Wife
16 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her detestable practices 3 and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Jerusalem: Your ancestry and birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 4 On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. 5 No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born you were despised.
6 “‘Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, “Live!” 7 I made you grow like a plant of the field. You grew and developed and entered puberty. Your breasts had formed and your hair had grown, yet you were stark naked.
8 “‘Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your naked body. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.
9 “‘I bathed you with water and washed the blood from you and put ointments on you. 10 I clothed you with an embroidered dress and put sandals of fine leather on you. I dressed you in fine linen and covered you with costly garments. 11 I adorned you with jewelry: I put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck, 12 and I put a ring on your nose, earrings on your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 So you were adorned with gold and silver; your clothes were of fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth. Your food was honey, olive oil and the finest flour. You became very beautiful and rose to be a queen. 14 And your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, because the splendour I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign Lord.
15 “‘But you trusted in your beauty and used your fame to become a prostitute. You lavished your favours on anyone who passed by and your beauty became his. 16 You took some of your garments to make gaudy high places, where you carried on your prostitution. You went to him, and he possessed your beauty. 17 You also took the fine jewelry I gave you, the jewelry made of my gold and silver, and you made for yourself male idols and engaged in prostitution with them. 18 And you took your embroidered clothes to put on them, and you offered my oil and incense before them. 19 Also the food I provided for you—the flour, olive oil and honey I gave you to eat—you offered as fragrant incense before them. That is what happened, declares the Sovereign Lord.
20 “‘And you took your sons and daughters whom you bore to me and sacrificed them as food to the idols. Was your prostitution not enough? 21 You slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols. 22 In all your detestable practices and your prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, kicking about in your blood.
23 “‘Woe! Woe to you, declares the Sovereign Lord. In addition to all your other wickedness, 24 you built a mound for yourself and made a lofty shrine in every public square. 25 At every street corner you built your lofty shrines and degraded your beauty, spreading your legs with increasing promiscuity to anyone who passed by. 26 You engaged in prostitution with the Egyptians, your neighbours with large genitals, and aroused my anger with your increasing promiscuity. 27 So I stretched out my hand against you and reduced your territory; I gave you over to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, who were shocked by your lewd conduct. 28 You engaged in prostitution with the Assyrians too, because you were insatiable; and even after that, you still were not satisfied. 29 Then you increased your promiscuity to include Babylonia, a land of merchants, but even with this you were not satisfied.
30 “‘I am filled with fury against you, declares the Sovereign Lord, when you do all these things, acting like a brazen prostitute! 31 When you built your mounds at every street corner and made your lofty shrines in every public square, you were unlike a prostitute, because you scorned payment.
32 “‘You adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your own husband! 33 All prostitutes receive gifts, but you give gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from everywhere for your illicit favours. 34 So in your prostitution you are the opposite of others; no one runs after you for your favours. You are the very opposite, for you give payment and none is given to you.
35 “‘Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the Lord! 36 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you poured out your lust and exposed your naked body in your promiscuity with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols, and because you gave them your children’s blood, 37 therefore I am going to gather all your lovers, with whom you found pleasure, those you loved as well as those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and will strip you in front of them, and they will see you stark naked. 38 I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and who shed blood; I will bring on you the blood vengeance of my wrath and jealous anger. 39 Then I will deliver you into the hands of your lovers, and they will tear down your mounds and destroy your lofty shrines. They will strip you of your clothes and take your fine jewelry and leave you stark naked. 40 They will bring a mob against you, who will stone you and hack you to pieces with their swords. 41 They will burn down your houses and inflict punishment on you in the sight of many women. I will put a stop to your prostitution, and you will no longer pay your lovers. 42 Then my wrath against you will subside and my jealous anger will turn away from you; I will be calm and no longer angry.
43 “‘Because you did not remember the days of your youth but enraged me with all these things, I will surely bring down on your head what you have done, declares the Sovereign Lord. Did you not add lewdness to all your other detestable practices?
44 “‘Everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb about you: “Like mother, like daughter.” 45 You are a true daughter of your mother, who despised her husband and her children; and you are a true sister of your sisters, who despised their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. 46 Your older sister was Samaria, who lived to the north of you with her daughters; and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you with her daughters, was Sodom. 47 You not only followed their ways and copied their detestable practices, but in all your ways you soon became more depraved than they. 48 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, your sister Sodom and her daughters never did what you and your daughters have done.
49 “‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen. 51 Samaria did not commit half the sins you did. You have done more detestable things than they, and have made your sisters seem righteous by all these things you have done. 52 Bear your disgrace, for you have furnished some justification for your sisters. Because your sins were more vile than theirs, they appear more righteous than you. So then, be ashamed and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.
53 “‘However, I will restore the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and of Samaria and her daughters, and your fortunes along with them, 54 so that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you have done in giving them comfort. 55 And your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will return to what they were before; and you and your daughters will return to what you were before. 56 You would not even mention your sister Sodom in the day of your pride, 57 before your wickedness was uncovered. Even so, you are now scorned by the daughters of Edom and all her neighbours and the daughters of the Philistines—all those around you who despise you. 58 You will bear the consequences of your lewdness and your detestable practices, declares the Lord.
59 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will deal with you as you deserve, because you have despised my oath by breaking the covenant. 60 Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. 61 Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both those who are older than you and those who are younger. I will give them to you as daughters, but not on the basis of my covenant with you. 62 So I will establish my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the Lord. 63 Then, when I make atonement for you for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your humiliation, declares the Sovereign Lord. ’”
Commentary
Restored fortunes
God loves you. Everything God does stems from his love for you. In this prophetic allegory, God’s love for his people is described as being like a husband’s for his wife: ‘I took care of you… and protected you. I promised you my love and entered the covenant of marriage with you’ (v.8, MSG).
The Lord’s blessing involves cleansing (v.9), clothing with fine linen (v.10), giving of beauty (vv.11–13), food to satisfy (v.13), fame (v.14) and splendour (v.14).
The tragic words that follow can apply to us as individuals or as a nation: ‘But you’ (v.15). In spite of all that God had done, they turned around and rejected him. Instead they trusted in their beauty and used their fame in an unfaithful way (v.15).
Sin often starts with unbelief, trusting in something other than the Lord. It leads to idolatry – worshipping something other than the Lord, and then to increasing sin (v.26), often from our weak wills (v.30).
The results of sin are dissatisfaction (vv.28–29) and God’s judgment (vv.30–34). Jerusalem has been like an unfaithful wife, serving idols and giving them ‘\[their\] children’s blood’ (v.36). Because she has shed blood, her own blood will be shed (v.38). The word ‘blood’ occurs seven times in this passage (vv.6,9,22,36,38).
He compares their sin to the sin of Sodom. What he speaks about are not the sexual sins normally associated with Sodom; rather, he writes, ‘She lived with her daughters in the lap of luxury – proud, gluttonous, and lazy. They ignored the oppressed and the poor. They put on airs and lived obscene lives’ (vv.49–50, MSG).
They are the common sins of any prosperous society – arrogance, overeating and a lack of concern for the poor and needy. When people do not have any needs they frequently turn away from God. Their worst sin was not to help the poor and needy.
Yet in spite of all of this, God promises to restore the fortunes of Sodom and the fortunes of his people (v.53). He promises an everlasting covenant (v.60) and that he will make atonement (v.63).
This word ‘atonement’ is also found in today’s passage from Hebrews – the ‘atonement cover’ on the Ark of the Covenant, a symbol of the mercy of God (Hebrews 9:5). Atonement points to the need for something to be done to wash away your sins. It speaks of two great realities.
First, the reality and seriousness of God’s reaction against sin. Second, the reality and greatness of his love, which provided the sacrifice through the blood of Jesus. St Paul wrote, ‘The Son of God… loved me and gave himself for me’ (Galatians 2:20). It is as personal as that. His blood was given for you. He bore your sins. He died your death. His blood atoned for your sin. He is your blood donor.
Prayer
Pippa adds
In Hebrews 9, it talks about ‘the sins the people have committed in ignorance’ (v.7).
I’m sure I’ve got plenty of sins that I’ve committed in ignorance, as well as the ones I know about!
Verse of the Day
Hebrews 9:14 (MSG)
‘… the blood of Christ cleans up our whole lives, inside and out.’
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References
Joyce Meyer, The Everyday Life Bible (Faithwords, 2018), p. 2045.
Tom Wright, Hebrews for Everyone (SPCK Publishing, 2003), p.116.
Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised, Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.
Scripture marked (MSG) taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.