In the Bible, the sprinkling of blood had great spiritual significance. It was a key part of many rituals and sacrifices described in the Old Testament. Here is an overview of some of the main reasons and symbolism behind the sprinkling of blood in the Bible:
1. Cleansing from sin
The sprinkling of blood was often connected to cleansing from sin and impurity. When Moses sprinkled blood from sacrifices on the people, it sealed God’s covenant with them and made them ritually clean (Exodus 24:8). The author of Hebrews says, “under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22). The blood made atonement for sins and purified what was defiled.
2. Consecration to God
Sprinkling blood also consecrated people and objects to God’s service and set them apart as holy. Moses sprinkled blood on Aaron and his sons during their ordination as priests (Exodus 29:21). He also sprinkled it on the tabernacle and its furnishings to consecrate them (Leviticus 8:10-15). This blood set apart the priests and the tabernacle for God’s special purposes.
3. Purification offerings
Some offerings specifically focused on purification from sin and impurity. Part of the ritual for these “purification offerings” was to sprinkle the blood around the altar. For example, after childbirth women had to provide a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or turtledove for a purification offering, and the priest sprinkled blood from them on the altar (Leviticus 12:6-7). This ceremony purified women from the impurity of childbirth.
4. Guilt offerings
When people sinned and became guilty before God, they provided “guilt offerings” and the priest sprinkled their blood on the sides of the altar (Leviticus 7:2). This blood made atonement for them and removed the guilt of the sin (see Leviticus 5:5-6).
5. Redemption offerings
This type of offering allowed people to pay money to “redeem” something or someone dedicated to God, making them ritually clean again for ordinary use. Part of the ritual included sprinkling blood from a sacrifice on the altar (Leviticus 17:11). The blood made atonement for the person or object and enabled their redemption.
6. Covenant ratification
When God made covenants with his people, sometimes blood from a sacrifice was sprinkled on them or on the altar to seal the covenant. For example, when God made his covenant with Noah, every living creature on the ark was included (Genesis 9:9-10). When Moses inaugurated God’s covenant with Israel, he sprinkled blood from sacrifices on the altar and on the people (Exodus 24:6-8).
7. Passover lamb
At the first Passover, Israelites slaughtered lambs and put the blood on their doorposts so God would pass over their homes in judgment (Exodus 12). Each year they continued commemorating Passover by sacrificing lambs and likely sprinkling the blood around the altar in remembrance of how God delivered them from slavery in Egypt.
8. Day of Atonement
During this important day of national purification for sin, blood featured prominently. The high priest slaughtered bulls and goats and brought their blood behind the curtain in the Most Holy Place. There he sprinkled it on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant to make atonement for his own sins and the sins of all Israel (Leviticus 16:14-15).
9. Future fulfillment in Christ
The sprinkling and shedding of blood in the Old Testament foreshadowed what Jesus would accomplish in the New Testament. John the Baptist recognized Jesus as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) At the Last Supper, Jesus explained that his blood sealed the new covenant between God and his people (Luke 22:20). And the book of Hebrews says “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). His sacrificial death makes full atonement for our sins.
10. Access to God’s presence
The blood of sacrifices allowed sinners to approach God’s presence in the tabernacle and temple. Now, Jesus’ blood gives us bold access to enter the Most Holy Place by the “new and living way” he opened for us (Hebrews 10:19-22). His death tore the temple curtain and allows us into God’s presence (Matthew 27:51).
In summary, the sprinkling of blood in the Bible ritually cleansed people and objects from impurity, consecrated them to God, provided forgiveness for sins, sealed covenants, and foreshadowed Christ’s sacrificial death for us. All of this symbolized the need for blood and death for the atonement of sins before a holy God. Jesus fulfilled these Old Testament rituals by fully paying for sin with his own blood once for all.
11. Old Testament examples of blood sprinkling
Here are some key examples in the Old Testament were blood was sprinkled as part of various rituals and sacrifices:
- Moses sprinkled blood from sacrifices on the altar and on the people when God made his covenant with Israel (Exodus 24:6-8)
- Aaron and his sons were consecrated as priests through the sprinkling of blood on them (Exodus 29:21)
- Blood was sprinkled on Aaron to make atonement for his sins during the rituals on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:14)
- Blood from the guilt offering was sprinkled on the horns of the altar (Leviticus 7:2)
- As part of his purification ritual, the recovered leper had blood from sacrifices sprinkled on him (Leviticus 14:7)
- Whenever a bull or goat was sacrificed for sin, the priest would dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it before God in front of the veil (Leviticus 4:6, 17)
12. Jesus as the fulfillment of blood sprinkling
As the book of Hebrews explains, the sacrificial system involving blood sprinkling found its ultimate fulfillment in Christ’s death on the cross. Here are some key ways Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament types and symbols:
- Jesus’ blood makes full atonement for sins (Hebrews 9:11-14)
- His blood purifies our consciences and hearts (Hebrews 9:14)
- Jesus entered the holy place once for all by his own blood, securing eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:12)
- Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many (Hebrews 9:28)
- The blood of bulls and goats could never fully take away sins – Jesus’ sacrifice did (Hebrews 10:4)
- Jesus is the mediator of a new covenant ratified with his blood (Hebrews 9:15)
Overall, the sprinkling of Jesus’ blood fulfilled the Old Testament pattern and accomplished complete atonement and purification from sins in a way that animal sacrifices never could.
13. The power of Jesus’ blood
The New Testament speaks powerfully of the virtues and effects of Christ’s sacrificial blood. Here are some key things his blood does for believers:
- Justifies us and saves us from God’s wrath (Romans 5:9)
- Redeems us – buys us back from slavery to sin (Ephesians 1:7)
- Makes us holy, blameless, and above reproach (Colossians 1:20-22)
- Purifies our consciences from sin (Hebrews 9:14)
- Gives us confidence to enter God’s presence (Hebrews 10:19)
- Cleanses us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:7)
- Purifies us from sin (1 John 1:7)
- Frees us from sin (Revelation 1:5)
- Washes our robes white (Revelation 7:14)
- Enables us to overcome Satan (Revelation 12:11)
Jesus’ blood is precious and powerful – it provides salvation, redemption, cleansing, and victory over sin, guilt, and Satan. Trusting in his blood brings eternal life.
14. Access to God’s presence
An important result of Jesus’ sacrificial death and blood is that believers now can boldly enter God’s presence. Here are key biblical truths about how Christ’s blood gives us access to the Father:
- Jesus is the new and living way to the Father (Hebrews 10:19-20)
- He opened the way through the curtain into God’s presence (Hebrews 10:20)
- Jesus gave us permanent access into the Most Holy Place by his death (Hebrews 9:11-12)
- His torn flesh allows us to enter the holy places (Hebrews 10:19-20)
- We can now approach God’s throne with confidence (Hebrews 4:16)
- Christ’s blood brings us near to God (Ephesians 2:13)
As the curtains of the temple were torn at his death, Jesus now invites us directly into the Father’s presence with boldness because of the blood he shed for us.
15. The power of the blood in Communion
In the practice of Communion, also known as the Lord’s Supper, we remember and celebrate the saving power of Jesus’ sacrificial death and blood. Here are key truths about Communion and Christ’s blood:
- Communion uses bread and wine to remember Christ’s death (1 Corinthians 11:26)
- The cup of Communion is a sharing in his blood, pointing to the new covenant (1 Corinthians 10:16)
- Jesus’ words link the cup to his blood poured out for many (Matthew 26:28)
- We proclaim his death by observing Communion (1 Corinthians 11:26)
- It’s a remembrance of the price Jesus paid on the cross (Luke 22:19-20)
- The elements aren’t physically changed, yet still spiritually communicate Christ’s blood and body (1 Corinthians 11:26-27)
- Communion brings fellowship with Christ (1 Corinthians 10:16)
Regularly remembering Christ’s death through Communion keeps our hearts focused on the power of Jesus’ sacrifice and all the blessings that come from his shed blood.
16. Old Testament prophecy about blood
Various Old Testament passages spoke prophetically about the coming Messiah’s death and blood long before the events of the crucifixion. Here are some prophecies and foreshadowings:
- Isaiah 53 vividly describes the Messiah being pierced, crushed, and wounded for our transgressions (Isaiah 53:5)
- Zechariah says an evil shepherd will strike the coming shepherd whose death brings scattering and refining (Zechariah 13:7-9)
- Zechariah speaks of a fountain being opened to cleanse people from sin and impurity (Zechariah 13:1)
- Isaiah 52:15 tells of the coming servant sprinkling the nations
- The whole sacrificial system prophetically pointed to substitutionary blood atonement (Leviticus)
- Psalms often speak of being washed and cleansed with hyssop, foreshadowing purification in Christ (Psalm 51:7)
- David’s lament over his son Absalom points to Christ’s crucifixion (2 Samuel 18:33)
From various angles, the prophets looked ahead to how the Messiah would pour out his lifeblood on the cross for the redemption of his people, fulfilling the sacrificial system.
17. Blood and the forgiveness of sins
A key purpose and result of the shedding of Jesus’ blood is the complete forgiveness of sins for those who trust in Him. Scripture connects his blood to forgiveness in beautiful ways:
- We have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins (Ephesians 1:7)
- He reconciled us through his blood, not counting people’s sins against them (2 Corinthians 5:19)
- Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22)
- We are justified by his blood and saved from wrath through him (Romans 5:9)
- He freed us from our sins by his blood (Revelation 1:5)
- The Lord’s Supper speaks of his blood poured out for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:28)
Without Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross, shedding his precious blood for us, there would be no hope of forgiveness or release from the penalty of our trespasses against a holy God.
18. Significance for Christians today
For Christians today, the shedding of Jesus’ blood holds great meaning. Reflecting on its significance leads to these key applications:
- Motivates praise and thanks for his incredible sacrifice
- Inspires awe at the high price paid to save us
- Brings confidence our sins are fully forgiven
- Reminds us of our value in God’s eyes
- Deepens understanding of God’s love and mercy
- Prompts proclaiming Christ’s death until he returns
- Spurs us to share the gospel with boldness
- Stirs thankful remembrance when taking Communion
- Leads to a life of holiness and obedience out of gratitude
As we reflect on the sprinkling of Christ’s blood, our hearts swell with praise over God’s remarkable plan to redeem us through the suffering and death of his Son!
