God is holy. You are not. God is perfect. You are not. God is almighty, all powerful, knows everything. You are not and you don't. God is the creator. You are the creature. God is sinless and does not abide evil. You are evil and cannot come near God. All of this was taught in the Old Testament by the priestly laws. If you were an Israelite and you sinned, you went to the Tabernacle (and later the Temple). There, you would confess your sins to the priest and offer up an animal, usually a lamb as a sin offering. That lamb, after having its throat slit and its blood drained, was burnt on the altar. Inside the Tabernacle was the Most Holy Place. There was where the Ark of the Covenant sat. That was where God was. And you couldn't go there. None of the people could. Only the High Priest could go there. And only once a year. The High Priest would put on his special robe and and sacrifice a lamb and he would go into the Most Holy Place and splash that blood around and the Lord took that as payment for the sins of the people for that year. But nobody, not even the High Priest just walked up to the Most Holy Place where the Lord was. That meant certain death. Only if blood was shed could the High Priest even go in there. All of these things sound to us like a vicious and bloody religion! Thank God we don't live in the Old Testament! But that's a wrong way of thinking. What God gave to the Israelites, our spiritual forefathers, were laws that taught them in no uncertain terms that they deserved nothing from God. Yet, by His grace, he allowed them to approach Him through the blood of lambs and goats and bulls. And that all points to Jesus, the Lamb of God.
But that is all done now. Gone are the days of sacrificing lambs and bulls over and over and over. Why? Because the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world has come. The Lamb of God, to whom all the lambs of the Old Testament pointed and were a picture, this Lamb has come and taken away the sins of the world in a once-for-all sacrifice that is so powerful and cleansing that it takes away the sins of all people of all time! Jesus is that Lamb. And He comes, not to enter the earthly Temple, but to do away with the earthly Temple by entering in the true Most Holy Place where the Father Himself sits. How does Jesus do this? By His blood, of course. It's the only way. The truth is, you and I and bulls and sheep don't have blood that gets us in. Our blood is tainted with sin. But the blood of Jesus gets Him in. The blood of Jesus, the Son of God, can pay for sins. It is holy, precious, life-giving blood. The blood that drains from Jesus in His death is blood that gives us life. The blood that spills from the sinless Son of God is poured out for sinners. The blood that comes out of Jesus is blood that can and does take away sins. The blood that flows from Jesus is the blood that blots out all that stands between us and God. The blood that Jesus sheds is the blood that opens the door to heaven, gives us access to the Father, and allows us back to where the Lord is. Blood of bulls and sheep can't do all that!
But the blood of Jesus is not just something to talk about. It's not just a past event that Jesus shed His blood. Many preachers will talk all day about the “blood of Je-ee-zus” but never tell you where that blood is or how to get it on you! The blood that Jesus shed takes away your sins because that blood is put upon you and given to you. It is sprinkled upon you by water and the word at the holy font. There, in Baptism, you are sprinkled with the blood-infused, word-filled, Spirit-given waters. There, in Baptism, what Christ has shed is given to you. After all, water flowed from Jesus side when He died for you, and that water touched His blood which also came out. That blood is also received by faith through the preaching of the bloody sacrifice of Jesus for your sins. When you hear of Jesus death for sinners, believe that His death and the blood He shed was all FOR YOU. Not only that, but we actually have His blood given to us in His Holy Supper. When we receive the Holy Sacrament of the Altar, we are given Jesus own body to eat and His own blood to drink. You can't get any more blooded than that He puts it into your mouth! Now let's round third and head for home, brothers and sisters in Christ. What does it take to be in the presence of a holy God? Blood. And not just any blood but the blood of the Lamb of God. Do you have the blood? Are you baptized? Are you fed with Jesus' body and blood? Well then what's the only conclusion: you have entered with Christ into the Most Holy Place of heaven, the presence of God the Father.
God is holy. You are not. But Jesus is. Because He is true God and true man, His blood can and does actually take away your sins. That blood covers you. That blood fills you. That blood saves you. Therefore the holiness of Jesus that is in His blood is given to you. His holiness is your holiness. His Father is now your Father. His paradise is your paradise. His Tabernacle is your Tabernacle. His kingdom is your kingdom. His everlasting life is your everlasting life. All that is Christ's is yours, dear Christian, on account of the blood He has shed and given to you. Against the devil, the world, our sinful nature, the curse of the Law, death and hell, set that blood. Jesus, by the blood of His once-for-all sacrifice has entered the Most Holy Place. And He takes you along with Him! Amen.