“…knowing you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”

Unless you belong to a conservative or even fundamental Christian church, you’ve probably not heard much about the blood of Christ lately. I’m not sure why. I do know that a quick scan of my bookshelves turned up not a single sermon on “the blood.”

I heard of one Baptist church where it’s actual church policy that no hymn celebrating the blood of Jesus will be used in a service. What they do with all the Scriptural texts on that subject beats me. I’m guessing that some leader has let the mania for political correctness drive his common sense from the room.

Jesus said the new covenant was “in my blood” (I Corinthians 11:25).

The writer of Hebrews said, “Without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Heb. 9:22).

The Apostle John wrote, “The blood of Jesus Christ…cleanses us from all sin” (I John 1:7).

“Who are these clothed in white robes, praising the Lamb of Heaven? And where did they come from?” an elder asked. The Apostle John, in the midst of his vision, uttered, “You know who they are.” The elder said, “These…have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:13-14)

Paul told the elders of Ephesus, “Shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28).

You can preach a lot of sermons and ignore the subject of the blood of Jesus, but you’ll have to pull a Thomas Jefferson to do it. (You will recall he took scissors and cut everything out of the New Testament which did not conform to his concept of God. He was more honest than many today who do the same thing, although without the shears.)

To the best of my knowledge no one has done with the doctrine of redemption through the blood of the Lamb what J. Sidlow Baxter did in “The Master Theme of the Bible.” The first chapter of that book presents a broad summary of the entire message of Scripture on this subject.

I’m going to lay out the outline he uses, then add a word or two at the end which I hope readers will not skip.

According to the wonderful British expositor J. Sidlow Baxter, Scripture gives 10 primary presentations of the Lamb–

In Genesis 4, the account of Abel and his lamb.

In Genesis 22, Abraham offers a lamb in the place of Isaac.

In Exodus 12, the Passover Lamb is slain on the eve of the Exodus.

In Leviticus, the sin-offering lamb is slain on the altar of sacrifice outside the tabernacle.

In Isaiah 53, the Lord lays the iniquity of us all on the suffering lamb.

In John 1, there is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

In Acts 8, the Ethiopian official learns that the lamb of Isaiah 53 is Jesus.

In I Peter 1:18-21, we are redeemed by Jesus’ blood, “as of a lamb without spot or blemish.”

In Revelation 5, John sees the Lamb of God enthroned in Heaven.

In Revelation 21-22, the Lamb reigns in a New Jerusalem over the new heaven and new earth.

According to Dr. Baxter, the emphasis in each of these passages changes slightly, and we’re given a fuller explanation as we go along as to the redeeming work of Jesus, God’s Lamb.

1) In Genesis 4, the emphasis is on the necessity of the lamb.

2) In Genesis 22, the emphasis is on the provision of the lamb.

3) In Exodus 12, the emphasis is on the slaying of the lamb.

4) In Leviticus 16, the emphasis is on the character of the lamb.

5) In Isaiah 53, the emphasis is on the Person of the lamb.

6) In John 1, the emphasis is on the identity of the Lamb, Jesus.

7) In Acts 8, the emphasis is on the further identification of the lamb, Jesus the Christ.

8) In I Peter 1, the emphasis is on the actual blood of the lamb.

9) In Revelation 5, the emphasis is the enthronement of the Lamb.

10) In Revelation 21-22, the emphasis is the everlasting kingship of the Lamb.

This, Dr. Baxter says, is a clear example of the progression of revelation. That is, the Lord was revealing additional aspects of the Savior’s atoning work as time passed, His people grew, and Scripture was being written.

Theologians have wrestled with the meaning of the work of Jesus on the cross for all these twenty centuries, trying to get a handle on what He was doing, what He accomplished and how best to put it into words.

Many of our readers will find Dr. Baxter’s summation fascinating.

1) For Abel, the lamb was a propitiation. FOR SIN.

2) For Abraham, the lamb was a substitution. FOR ONE PERSON.

3) In Exodus, the lamb is protection. FOR ONE FAMILY.

4) In Leviticus, the emphasis is on absolution. FOR ONE NATION.

5) In Isaiah, the emphasis is expiation. FOR ALL THE ELECT.

6) In John 1, the emphasis is removal of sin. FOR THE WORLD.

7) In Acts 8, the emphasis is salvation. FOR WHOSOEVER.

8) In I Peter, the emphasis is redemption. FOR ALL HISTORY.

9) In Revelation 5, the emphasis is government. FOR THE UNIVERSE.

10) In Revelation 21-22, the emphasis is His eternal glory. FOR ALL ETERNITY.

(For brevity, we’ve combined two expositions from Baxter. In one listing of the ten references he laid out the scope of Jesus’ shed blood, which I’ve included at the far right in all caps.)

I first heard Dr. Baxter present this at a statewide conference in Clarksdale, Mississippi, in the mid-1970s. He was up in years then. His charm, his heavy British accent, and his sense of humor captivated the crowd. Somewhere, I still have cassette tapes of that meeting. In my head, I can hear his voice like it was last week.

Some will think our British friend may have overstepped in the conclusions he drew and the inferences he made from some of the references above. If so, my own feeling is “he didn’t step very far.” It’s pretty impressive, if you ask me.

The first time I heard this, I felt the same way I did the first time I heard someone present the typology of the Old Testament tabernacle: “I had no idea.” Both were stunning revelations.

Pastors will want to bear in mind that in preaching a sermon that included all of the above, Dr. Baxter was addressing an audience made up of preachers. I seriously doubt he would have gotten the same appreciative response in a typical Sunday morning service somewhere. This is probably not something a pastor should attempt to cover in a single sermon with a typical church crowd.

This is more suitable for a sit-down Bible study time with those who enjoy in-depth digging into Scriptures. The average guy in the pew will have scant knowledge of Abraham’s lamb (actually called a “ram” in most Bibles), the scapegoat of Leviticus or the incredible insights of Isaiah 53. A pastor will not want to dump this entire load on the congregation at one time.

We will conclude with Dr. Baxter’s final paragraph of the chapter in which he presented what he calls “the master theme” of Scripture, followed by a little story of my own.

“See that stately oak tree, proudly reigning on yonder hillside? How did it become the noble, mighty giant that it now is? Was it by bowing and cringing to hostile winds or sudden tempests? No, it was by holding on and standing firm. The more the storms tore in among the branches and ripped off the leaves, the deeper went the roots, and the stronger grew the trunk, and the sturdier became the branches. Even so, this is no time for us to be apologizing for our evangelical message. Like Goliath’s sword, there is ‘none like it!’ I believe that if we hold our ground, and refuse to pander to the whims of a sick society, and preach more prayerfully than ever redemption through the Lamb, we shall yet win new triumphs.”

Some years back, a few days before the First Baptist Church of Charlotte, NC, was to dedicate its new sanctuary, I arrived in the parking lot behind the church. Workers were putting the finishing touches on the grounds.

“Hey, Fred, come here and look at this.” Our administrator, Fred Brockway, loped over to see what the pastor had on his mind.

I pointed out the red stain on the new sidewalk. “Look at that. Can we get that off? It looks terrible.”

Fred said, “What happened there, pastor, is that the workers tracked that red clay onto the sidewalk and then poured the sealer over it without washing it down.”

“It’s there to stay?” I said.

“The only way you could get that red stain out, pastor, would be to remove the sealer, pressure wash it, then re-apply the sealer. It’s a rather involved process.”

“And one we don’t have time for,” I asked.

“Afraid not,” Fred said.

I wouldn’t be surprised if that red stain is still decorating that sidewalk after these two decades.

Reminds us of the stain on the souls of many of us. Cleansing a soul is serious business.

“What can wash away my sin?” the song asks. You know the answer.

Interestingly, when we use bracelets and beads to present the gospel, sin is almost always represented by the color black. Scripture, however, has another color in mind.

“Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)