Jesus: The Crimson Blood That Speaks

PS. BRENDEN BROWN | SEPTEMBER 20, 2026

If you are new to Christian circles, the idea of "the blood of Jesus" can sound a little strange. Why do Christians sing about the blood? Why do we talk about being covered by it, washed by it, and saved by it?

But if you have walked with Jesus for any length of time, you know that the blood is central to the gospel. For generations, churches have sung about its power because it represents forgiveness, salvation, freedom, redemption, and reconciliation with God.

There is something fascinating about blood itself. Blood is what keeps our physical bodies alive. It carries oxygen and nutrients throughout our bodies, reaches every organ and tissue, and allows our cells to function. When someone loses too much blood, their life is in danger. Sometimes a blood transfusion is necessary simply to keep someone alive.

Every one of us is alive because blood is flowing through our veins.

Scripture uses that physical reality to help us understand a spiritual one. 

Leviticus 17:11 says,

" For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.”

From Genesis to Revelation, we see a scarlet thread running through Scripture that ultimately points us to Jesus. His blood is not simply a symbol. It tells the story of life, covenant, mercy, redemption, and victory.

The Blood Represents Life

From the beginning, God established blood as a picture of life given for life. Under the Old Covenant, sacrifices were made and blood was placed on the altar as an atonement for sin. These sacrifices were never meant to be the final answer. They pointed forward to Jesus.

Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice. He gave His life so that we could receive life. His blood makes forgiveness possible, reconciles us to God, and reminds us that our salvation was purchased at a tremendous cost.

This picture becomes especially powerful in the story of Abraham and Isaac.

God had promised Abraham and Sarah a son, and Isaac was eventually born. Then God told Abraham to take Isaac to Mount Moriah and offer him as a sacrifice. Abraham placed wood on Isaac's back, and Isaac carried it up the mountain. The picture points forward to Jesus, the Father's beloved Son, who would carry the wood of the cross.

Just as Abraham was about to offer Isaac, God stopped him and provided a ram caught in a thicket. The ram became the substitute.

God provided the sacrifice.

Genesis 22:18 says, "And through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed." 

Paul later connects that promise to believers in Christ: "If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Galatians 3:29

The story points us toward the cross, where Jesus became the Lamb and gave His life for us.

The blood represents life because Jesus gave His life so that we could have life.

The Blood Establishes Covenant

The Bible is filled with covenants. In the Old Testament, covenants were often confirmed through blood sacrifices. 

Exodus 24:8 says:

"Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, 'This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.'"

Hebrews 9:19-20 points back to this moment and connects it to the covenant God established with His people.

Then Jesus comes to the Last Supper and says:

"This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many." Mark 14:24

Jesus was announcing the New Covenant.

The cross was not an accident. Jesus was fulfilling what the Old Testament sacrifices had been pointing toward all along.

We see another powerful picture of this in the Passover. Israel had been enslaved in Egypt, and God instructed them to sacrifice a lamb and place its blood on the doorposts of their homes. God said:

"When I see the blood, I will pass over you." Exodus 12:13

The blood marked them, and deliverance followed.

Jesus became our Passover Lamb. Just as God delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt, Jesus comes to deliver us from sin, shame, and bondage. The Exodus becomes a picture of what Jesus does in our lives.

And this is not just something Jesus did once and then left behind. His finished work still speaks today.

Paul says:

"I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation."
2 Corinthians 6:2

Today is the day of salvation because the blood of Jesus still works.

It can reach your shame, your brokenness, your addiction, your failures, and the places you thought were too far gone.

Nobody is beyond the reach of God's grace.

The blood establishes a covenant that says God is not finished with you.

The Blood Speaks a Better Word

Hebrews 12:24 gives us one of the most powerful descriptions of the blood of Jesus:

"You have come to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel."

What does that mean?

Go back to Genesis 4. Cain killed his brother Abel, and God confronted him:

"Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground." Genesis 4:10

How can blood cry out?

Because life is in the blood.

Abel's blood spoke of justice and vengeance. But Hebrews tells us that the blood of Jesus speaks a better word.

Where Abel's blood cries out for vengeance, Jesus' blood speaks mercy.

Where Abel's blood speaks judgment, Jesus' blood speaks grace.

Where Abel's blood says, "Pay them back," Jesus' blood says, "Forgive."

That should change the way we live.

Romans 12:19 says:

"It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.

Vengeance belongs to God, not us.

We live in a world filled with outrage, arguments, opinions, and endless noise. As Christians, we have to ask ourselves: What are we adding to that noise? What is our confession? What are we posting? What are we speaking about other people?

We may not agree with everyone. We may not approve of everything. But if we are becoming more like Jesus, our words should begin to sound more like Jesus.

The blood speaks a better word.

That means we speak grace instead of gossip, mercy instead of vengeance, healing instead of condemnation, and faith instead of fear.

Proverbs 18:21 says:

"The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit."

James compares the tongue to the rudder of a ship. A tiny rudder can determine the direction of a massive ship, and our words can influence the direction of our lives.

James 3:4-5 says:

"Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts."

What direction is your tongue taking you?

The Blood Gives Us Victory

The blood of Jesus does more than forgive our past. It gives us a new identity and a new way to live.

Paul writes:

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" 2 Corinthians 5:17

God does not bring us out of Egypt so that we can spend the rest of our lives wishing we were back there.

Yet that is what Israel repeatedly did. When freedom became uncomfortable, they wanted to return to slavery because slavery was familiar.

Christians can do the same thing. God delivers us, but transformation requires us to renew our minds.

Romans 12:2 tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

This is where faith becomes practical.

Speaking faith does not mean pretending that problems do not exist. It means refusing to allow the problem to become greater than your God.

Abraham was fully persuaded that God was able to do what He had promised.

"He did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised." Romans 4:20-21

Joshua and Caleb had the same kind of faith. Twelve spies saw the Promised Land, but only Joshua and Caleb believed that God was able to give them what He had promised.

The giants were real.

The promise was also real.

Faith does not deny the giant. Faith declares that God is greater than the giant.

Peter tells us:

"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him." 2 Peter 1:3

The work of Christ is finished. Our journey is learning how to walk in what He has already accomplished.

And Revelation 12:11 tells us how we overcome:

"They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony."

The blood is the foundation.

Our testimony is our response.

Our confession matters.