Blood

Overview

• In Scripture, life itself is carried in the blood — which is why blood is treated as sacred, forbidden as food, and made the very means of atonement.
• All of this comes to its head in the blood of Christ, poured out for the life of the world and received in the Eucharist.

Summary

The biblical understanding of blood rests on a single verse: "the life of the flesh is in the blood… it is the blood that makes atonement by the life" (Leviticus 17.11). Because life belongs to God, blood is not to be treated casually — it may not be eaten, a command given already to Noah (Genesis 9.4) and carried forward even for Gentile Christians by the apostolic Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15.29).[^1] In the sacrifices of the Tabernacle, blood placed upon the altar is what cleanses and makes atonement, so that the Epistle to the Hebrews can sum up the whole logic of the old covenant: "without the shedding of blood there is no remission" (Hebrews 9.22).[^2] Every stream of this converges on Christ. At the Supper He takes the cup and says, "this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26.28), and in the Eucharist His blood is truly given to drink — "whoever… drinks my blood has eternal life" (John 6.53-56).[^3] What was the seat of life in the old covenant becomes, in Christ, the fountain of eternal life. See Eucharist, Passover, Propitiation and Expiation.

Sources

[^1]: The life in the blood and the prohibition on eating it (Leviticus 17.11; Genesis 9.4; Acts 15.29). [^2]: Blood as the means of atonement in the sacrificial system (Hebrews 9.22). [^3]: The blood of Christ and the new covenant (Matthew 26.28; John 6.53-56).