The New Covenant is a new agreement and a new promise ratified, enacted and sealed in the blood of Jesus Christ. The shedding of blood was necessary because according to the Scriptures "life is in the blood". Since the wages of sin is death and God desired to give us life, blood had to be shed to prevent death. The blood of the Passover lamb smeared on the doorposts and lintels of the homes of the Israelites saved the lives of their first-born because the blood made atonement for their sin. Blood sacrifices therefore served as a constant reminder of God's way to deal with sin and death. It also served as a reminder of the terrible nature of sin. Every time a person sinned, he or she was required to offer up a blood sacrifice to made atonement for the sin that had been committed. But the blood of animals could not take away sin. The only link between the sacrificed animals and the sin that had been committed was that the sinner owned these animals. These animals had nothing to do with what was going on in the lives of their owners and their blood could not forgive anybody. But God used the blood of animals to help us realize that there would come an Ultimate Blood Sacrifice that would remove all our sins, and that ultimate blood sacrifice was the sinless blood of Jesus Christ.
Without shedding His blood there was no possible way Jesus could have cleansed us from sin and given us constant access to God. Under the Old Covenant only one man could approach God in the Holy of Holies once a year. This took place on the Day of Atonement. On that day the Jewish High Priest, after many washings and purifications and with the blood of sacrificed animals, went into the Holy of Holies where he sprinkled the blood on the mercy seat to make atonement for his sins and the sins of the nation. This only covered the sins of the nation for one year and had to be repeated yearly. This is the reason why the High Priest never sat down while performing the ceremony. In the foreknowledge of God all this was designed to foreshadow what was to be accomplished by the single all sufficient sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ after offering His blood sat down at the Father's right hand signifying that no sacrifice would ever be needed again. The blood of Christ had accomplished eternal redemption for all that would obey Him. Jesus Christ does not come before the throne once a year – He is seated on the throne. As our High Priest, Jesus Christ is our advocate, the mediator between God and us.
The priestly duty did not only involve the offering of sacrifices but also the dispensation of gifts. For Jesus to be a priest meant that He also had to offer a sacrifice. But He did not offer an animal. He offered Himself. He is the Great High Priest of the New Covenant who sacrificed Himself to enable us to lead transformed lives. Some people have tried to ridicule the cleansing power of the Blood of Christ by arguing that blood itself is a stain-producing agent. How can it then cleanse the soul when it can ruin many of the things it comes into contact with? All of us use different types of soap and cleaning materials in our homes. We use mild soap for washing our hands and dishes, but require stronger detergents for stains that are more difficult. The Bible tells us the most powerful cleansing agent in the world is blood. In fact, God created blood to be a cleansing agent. In our body blood takes oxygen and other supplies to the cells and removes waste and impurities from those cells. Blood literally cleans out the filth from our body. That is one of its major functions. There is no other cleansing agent known to man that can purify our bodily system as well as the blood that runs through our veins. So also there is no other cleansing agent known to man that can rid our soul of its filth and shame than the Blood of Jesus. Through the blood of Jesus we are redeemed out of the hand of the devil. Through the blood of Jesus all our sins are forgiven. Through the blood of Jesus we are sanctified, made holy and set apart to God. Through the blood of Jesus we have boldness to the presence of God. Let us therefore avail ourselves of what Christ has made available to us by obtaining remission of sins that is made available in the fulfillment of
Acts 2:38 by obedience! Calvary’s sacrifice “provided” remission of sins–
Acts 2:38 obedience “produces” remission of sins.
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