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Sprinkled or Washed


          In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people.  He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.”  In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. (Hebrews 9:16 -22) 

          I’ve seen memes that talk about apologizing not being about the words, “I’m sorry,” or “I apologize.” Apologizing is about changing behavior. I’ve shared before that repentance isn’t just weeping over your sins. It’s rethinking them – turning away from them. There are folks who think that restitution is vital – making things right, replacing what was taken, etc.
          In the Old Testament, there’s this thing called “Lex Talionis.” It gets a bad rap because people think it is too harsh: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life . . .; The reality is that it limits the damage one can do in seeking revenge. If someone knocks your tooth out, you aren’t allowed to kill them. If they kill your lover, you can kill them, but you can’t kill the rest of their family or their village.
          And when Adam and Eve fell, they committed treason. In a sense, they committed murder because neither said “No.” They could even be said to have committed genocide because they killed the whole human race – because we have all sinned and in our sin, we have all committed treason. How do you say, “I’m sorry” for that?
          What is sufficient restitution for a life? What would it take to say we’re sorry for taking a life? How many of us would be willing to shed blood to apologize (What an idea for a novel!) But today’s passage says that without blood, there is no forgiveness.    
        Ultimately, we don’t have enough blood to shed for our own sins. That was why God let the Jews pay using the blood of animals – so that they would understand what it took, but I think it was also so they would realize that the blood of the animals didn’t, couldn’t work. They didn’t, and we don’t, have sufficient blood to pay for our sins.
          But Jesus didn’t sin, and Jesus offered His life in the place of ours. Whether we have been sprinkled with the blood or washed in the blood doesn’t matter. Once the blood is applied to us, we are marked as being forgiven.  

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