Blood is messy. A bloody nose, a bleeding cut, harvesting a moose. Blood seems to get everywhere, stain things, and simply create an unwanted mess. We don’t usually think highly of seeing blood, even though we know that we’d die without it. We want it to stay inside where it’s supposed to be!

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So, today’s verse sounds messy – and perhaps a bit gross. What is going on? Basins of blood. Splattering blood over people. Then, to the point – the blood confirms a covenant.  

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To better understand what’s going on, let’s do a bit of learning what life was like in Old Testament times. From there, we will see how the thread of the gospel goes all the way from Genesis and Exodus through to the New Testament.

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First, we read that Moses took the blood from the basins. What blood? Basins of blood? The Israelites were living in a time of animal sacrifices, as way to signify to God their desire for forgiveness. Blood represents life, and life has to be given to pay the cost of sin. This practice was a relational one and is best explained in Hebrews 9:22, where it says, “The law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” There were laws about burnt offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings, and trespass offerings. So many rules and so much shed blood. In today’s passage, animals had been killed for the purpose of offering a burnt offering to God, and some of their blood had been collected in basins. Bloody, smelly, messy…but redemptive.  

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Interestingly, the mess continues, as Moses doesn’t leave the blood in the basins but splatters it over the people. It’s a symbol. And maybe the symbol lasted awhile on their splattered garments. Laundry in the Sinai would have been challenging at best. In this case, the blood is part of sealing a covenant or contract. Again, knowing history and culture helps define this moment. Covenants were an important part of culture – they were the way that people relationally made agreements. However, instead of just signing on a line and dating a piece of paper, the contract was sealed with blood. This signified the covenant was life-long. Many of these blood covenants were between God and His people. For example, God made a covenant with Noah after the flood – to never destroy the Earth by flood again. God also had the Israelites put blood on their doorframes as a sign for the angel of death to pass over them. Reading the Old Testament, you’ll find many examples of God making covenants with His people and blood being shed.

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In today’s verse, Moses had just read the Book of the Covenant, which were the laws that God had just given to Moses for the Israelites to follow (Ex. 20-23). They were God’s laws, but also God’s provisions for the Israelites. As the people responded that they would indeed follow God’s ways, they sealed the deal with blood. It was a sign that they were committing themselves to God as He had promised to be with them.

Okay, that was a quick history lesson to understand a verse out of Exodus, but the question really is: What does this have to do with us today? Is there any application from Exodus to our lives? The answer is yes! Today is our first day, this week, exploring the sacred act of communion.

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Sacrifices and covenants continued throughout the Old Testament before Jesus came. The New Testament starts with the Gospels – the four accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry. Matthew and Luke both describe Jesus having dinner with His disciples just before He was betrayed and led to the cross. After that meal, Jesus took a cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and His people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.” The blood of Jesus – poured out for the forgiveness of ALL our sins – replaced the need for ritual sacrifices and offerings. The old covenant was replaced with a new covenant where Jesus’ blood replaces the need for animal sacrifices. His death on the cross – on our behalf and for our sin – covers us. Praise God, we live on this side of Jesus’ death and resurrection!

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When we take communion, we are celebrating that Jesus died and poured out His blood as the perfect sacrifice for our sin. His work makes the sacrificial system complete. No more do we offer blood sacrifices. We accept Jesus’ gift of His blood and then offer our hearts and lives in response. The symbol of the cup during our celebration of communion certainly represents the blood that Jesus poured out on our behalf. But even more than that, we can also celebrate the completion of the sacrificial system. In Jesus, it is finished.

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So, as you think about that little cup of juice in your hand next time you celebrate communion, think not only about Jesus’ blood poured out, but also the perfect finish to blood sacrifice in the life and death of Jesus. In response, our gratitude should overflow not only in our worship but also how we live our lives.