The ‘precious blood’ of Jesus Christ

“…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.” 1 Pet 1:18-19

From a biological perspective, there was nothing extraordinary about Christ’s blood. It was the same blood as ours. In Hebrews we read that since we share in flesh and blood He partook of the same. Heb 2:14-16. And just like us, His blood contained His biological life. While it flowed through His body He had biological life. He was sustained in the flesh in the same way that we are. He was indeed the Son of Man who shared in the weakness of our humanity. Heb 4:15.

Even though Christ shared in our humanity, He did not cease to be God. The thing that made Christ’s blood extraordinary was that it contained His soul. Isaiah prophesied that Jesus Christ “poured out His soul unto death” when His blood was shed as an offering on the cross. Is 53:12. While Christ partook of the same biological life in flesh and blood that we have, Christ’s life or His identity as God the Son, was in His blood as the Son of Man. This is what made it precious – more precious than any other saint who ever had or ever would lay his life down for another. It was ‘by reason of the soul’ that resided within His blood that He was able to make atonement for us. Lev 17:11. “In Him we have redemption through His blood.” Eph 1:7

Having shared in our humanity He became our ‘next of kin’; someone who is related to us by blood. This enabled Him to function as our ‘kinsman-redeemer’, where a member of the family (kin) could redeem another. Ruth 3-4, Lev 25:25-26. As the Son of Man, Christ became related to us ‘by blood’ and as our Kinsman-Redeemer, redeemed us from sin. “For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham.” Heb 2:16.

The blood of Jesus Christ was indeed precious. It was a great treasure that could redeem all of mankind in one offering on the cross.