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 9:21,22
I’ve been cooking ever since I can remember. Part of the reason might be that I like to eat. Or maybe it’s because I’m the daughter my mom never had. My brother was much older than I was. While he was out with friends and playing the violin, I was stuck at home with mom.
So, it just seemed natural to help her around the house. And that included helping with the cooking. I made sandwiches for the “men” of the house as we went out into the world. It was ham sandwiches on white bread with mayonnaise every day. Two sandwiches for my dad to take to work and three for my brother to take to school.
When it came to dinner, I was mostly a gopher. Go for a can of green beans from the pantry downstairs. Go cut up some lettuce for a salad. I graduated to making pancakes, fried eggs, and bacon for breakfast. Eventually I got to make cakes, spaghetti sauce and crab soup.
Funny thing about cooking in my family. Nobody said anything when everything was OK. When nothing’s wrong. But let there be something missing, then all hell breaks loose. There was yelling and screaming followed by the pointing of fingers.
Leaving something out is the worst sin when it comes to cooking. You’ve got the recipe right there in front of you. You’ve pulled out all the ingredients and they’re on the countertop, ready to do their part. Contributing to the meal.
You can let the dough rise till the cows come home, but without the yeast, it’s never going to rise. You can cook the eggs to perfection, but without salt they’re going to be bland and unexciting. You can bake the most beautiful cookies, but without sugar they’re just light brown hockey pucks.
In a sense, this is what the writer’s saying to the Hebrews. They can pray all day and night. They can tell God they’re sorry till they’re voice is hoarse. They can try to do good things to make up for what they’ve done, but it’s all in vain. It won’t impress God at all. It won’t even get his attention.
Why? Because God’s told us his recipe for forgiveness. Since sin is ultimately against God[1], he gets to set the rules for forgiveness. God had already told the Hebrews that there’s no forgiveness without blood[2], so the writer puts this reminder in front of them.
Now, as modern, educated, sophisticated people, this sounds so old-fashioned. So out of date. So messy. So cruel. There must be another way. A way that doesn’t upset us. A way that won’t scare our children. Can’t we just charge it on our credit card? Can’t we make a direct deposit into God’s account and be done with it?
When we think like this, we’re missing the whole point of just how awful sin it. Have you ever known someone who was unfaithful to their spouse? What would happen if the guilty person went out and charged a big, expensive present and gave it to the one they hurt? Would everything be forgiven? Would it be like nothing ever happened?
I’m not trying to bring up painful memories. I’m not trying to shock anyone. I’m not trying to upset the apple cart. But I am trying with all my heart to explain just how awful sin it. To you. To myself. To anyone who will listen. Sin is serious business, and it needs a great, big, serious solution.
This is why God told the nation of Israel to sacrifice animals for sin to be forgiven. For sin to be covered. For sin to be paid for. Sin is so terrible and monstrous that it needs a great big and powerful solution. We can’t defeat the enemy of sin without a great, big, and powerful God solution. The atomic bomb of spirituality. It’s going to take blood.
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Mark 10:45
Jesus himself understood this. He knew that his death needed to be a bloody kind of death. No lethal injection. No gas chamber. He understood that to pay for all our sins, that he was going to bleed. From his head. From his hands. From his feet. From his back. From his arms.
Nothing was left out. Jesus gave himself totally to the will of his Father. And this meant that his blood was necessary for our total, once-and-for-all payment of sins. He was willing to give all of himself, including all his blood, in exchange for our forever forgiveness.
So, the only thing that we can do for someone who’s done all this for us is to fall down and worship them. To give them our lives. To want to please them each and every day. To want to tell everyone about Jesus and all he’s done for us. For them. For everyone who’d believe.
Noodling Questions
Describe your experience with cooking while you were growing up.
Why is it so hard to think about sin as being so bad? Explain.
How does forgiveness of all our sins change us and our relationships?
[1] Psalm 51:4
[2] Leviticus 17:11
Commentaires