The blood of Abel and the blood of Jesus

‘And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.’ Hebrews 12:24

Suggested Further Reading: Hebrews 9:11–22

In the second text this blood is called ‘the blood of sprinkling.’ Whether Abel’s blood sprinkled Cain or not I cannot say, but if it did it must have added to his horror to have had the blood actually upon him. But this adds to the joy in our case, for the blood of Jesus is of little value to us until it is sprinkled upon us. Faith dips the hyssop in the atoning blood and sprinkles it upon the soul, and the soul is clean. The application of the blood of Jesus is the true ground of joy, and the sure source of Christian comfort; the application of the blood of Abel must have been horror, but the application of the blood of Jesus is the root and ground of all delight. There is another matter in the text. The apostle says ‘Ye are come … to the blood of sprinkling.’ He mentions that among other things to which we are come. Now, from the blood of Abel every reasonable man would flee away. He that has murdered his fellow desires to put a wide distance between himself and the accusing corpse. But we come to the blood of Jesus. It is a topic in which we delight as our contemplations bring us nearer and nearer to it. I ask you, dear Christian friends, to come nearer to it this morning than ever you have been. Think over the great truth of substitution. Portray to yourself the sufferings of the Saviour. Dwell in his sight, sit at the foot of Calvary, abide in the presence of his cross, and never turn away from that great spectacle of mercy and of misery. Come to it; be not afraid. You sinners, who have never trusted Jesus, look here and live! May you come to him now.

For meditation: What adjective would you use to describe the Bible’s teaching about the blood of Christ? ‘Repulsive’, ‘disgusting’, ‘messy’, ‘immoral’? Even some churchgoers would use these terms! But the true believer has a very different description of the redeeming blood of Christ—‘precious’ (1 Peter 1:19).

Sermon no. 708
2 September (1866)