What is the major difference between the blood of the New Covenant and the blood of the Old Covenant?
In the Old Covenant, the blood shed by animal sacrifice was only temporary and needed to be offered over and over again, year after year, for the sins of the people.
All these animal sacrifices in the Old Covenant pointed towards the ultimate sacrifice, i.e. Jesus the Lamb of God, whose blood was shed to take away our sins once for all.
Let's look at the sacrifice in the Old Covenant first.
Exodus 30:10 (NKJV) says, 'And Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement; once a year he shall make atonement upon it throughout your generations.'
Here, you see that Aaron, the high priest at that time, was to make the altar ready for the service to God. How? By putting the blood of the animal sacrifice on the corners (or the horns) of the altar as an atonement.
Leviticus 17:11 (NKJV) says, 'For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.'
You would have noticed this word 'atonement' in the above verses. The word 'atonement' here is the Hebrew word 'kaphar', meaning 'to cover'. It means the blood sacrifice of animals under the Old Covenant was made to cover the sins of the people.
So, 'to atone for sins' means 'to cover the sins'. For example, if you spill your coffee on the carpet, there's blemish there. If a person takes cloth to cover it, the stain of the coffee is still there, if you look underneath the carpet. Now, that is the same principle about atonement. It covers the sin. But it does not take away the sin once for all. It is only to cover the sin. And year after year, again and again, the high priest would have to sacrifice animals again and again. That's in the Old Covenant.
Now, everything you see in the Old Covenant is a 'typology' of what is in the New Covenant. All these point towards Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Now that you have understood about the blood shed through the sacrifice of animals in the Old Covenant, let's go to the Scripture about the blood of Jesus Christ in the New Covenant.
Hebrews 10:1-4 (NKJV) says, 'For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect... But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.'
Here, the writer of the book of Hebrews was referring about the Old Covenant. The sacrifices were offered continually year by year.
Let's contrast the above verses with Revelation 1:5 (NKJV) that says, 'And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood.'
You see, Jesus' blood did what the blood of animals could not! Jesus' blood not only covers for our sins, Jesus' blood washes our sins once for all! He is the perfect sacrifice. In Him is no sin and no blemish at all. Animals are not perfect. But Jesus the Lamb of God is perfect in all His ways. That is the difference.
Let's go to the details on this word 'wash' here. The Greek word for 'wash' here is 'louw', and it means 'to wash, to cleanse, to bathe (the whole person)'. There's another Greek word for 'wash', that is, 'niptw', and it means 'to wash the hands, the feet, or the face only; or to wash ceremonially'. In other words, to wash some parts only, and not the whole part.
Back to Revelation 1:5. Here, the word 'wash' is 'louw', not the word 'niptw'. It means 'to thoroughly wash and bathe the whole person', or 'to totally (not partly) wash and bathe the entire person'. It speaks of complete washing from head to toe; inside and outside; all of us - spirit, soul, body!
You see the difference between 'louw' and 'niptw'?
So, the conclusion is the blood of Jesus Christ shed for you on the cross washes you completely, not partly. The blood of Jesus Christ doesn't just cover your sins, nor just partly washes your sins, but completely covers and washes your sins!
Let's go to John 1:29 (NKJV) now. Let Scripture interpret Scripture. This verse says, 'The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and he (John) said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"'
Here, John the Baptist said, 'takes away the sin of the world'. That's what John the Baptist declared to everyone about Jesus, who Jesus is, and why Jesus came to this earth for. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Notice the singular word 'sin' there. It encompasses all forms of sins of this world. Therefore, if you have Jesus in your life, you can be rest assured that whatever your wrongs or sins may be, you can come before the Lord and acknowledge it before the Lord. The Lord is here for you. The Lord loves you, and the Lord is here to forgive you. The Lord is here to cleanse you from all those wrongs or sins. You are made new again!
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) says, 'Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.'
This is for anyone who is in Christ. So beloved of God, this is the time to come before the Lord. Draw near to Him, and He will draw near to you. Return to Him, and He will return to you. Come before Him just as you are, and let Him wash and cleanse you completely.
You see, under the Old Covenant, people's conscience still bothered them, especially when they wanted to draw near to the Lord and worship the Lord. Even after offering the animal sacrifices, they still felt very aware of their sins and their inadequacies before the Holy God!
In other words, the Old Covenant sacrifices could not cleanse the conscience, and therefore the person may still be feeling guilty about the sins he has committed.
Now, you may be saying, "Where is the proof in the Bible?"
Let's look at Hebrews 9:9 (NKJV), and then Hebrews 9:11 (NKJV).
Hebrews 9:9 (NKJV) says, 'It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience...'
But now look here in Hebrews 9:11 (NKJV), 'But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.'
Hebrews 9:9 tells us that the Old Testament sacrifices could not perfect the conscience. And then in Hebrews 9:11, 'But Christ came...' See the words 'But Christ came'? It means there is a contrast here. It means what the sacrifices in the Old Testament could not do, Jesus' sacrifice could!
Let's continue further with Hebrews 9:12-15 (NKJV), 'Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood, He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.'
You just need to look at the three underlined parts: 'with His own blood, once for all, cleanse your conscience'. That summarizes all!
So, as a beloved of God today, because of this blood of Jesus Christ that washes and cleanses you, you can now live a life clear of any form of guilt, and you can live a life clear in your conscience. Amen!
