The Sprinkled Blood in the Earthly Sanctuary
In the Old Testament, as part of the service of the tabernacle, the priest would sprinkle blood seven times before the veil of the temple. We first read that in Leviticus:
“And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock’s blood to the tabernacle of the congregation: And the priest shall dip his finger in some of the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord, even before the veil.”
Leviticus 4:16, 17
The whole process, as we read in Leviticus 4, begins with a sacrifice. When a sacrifice was offered for the sins of the entire congregation, the blood was taken by the priest, who represented Jesus (Hebrews 3:1), into the sanctuary and he sprinkled it before the veil which separated the Holy and the Most Holy place. The presence of God dwelt on the other side of the veil in the Holy of Holies. Thus, the sins of the people were removed and symbolically transferred to the sanctuary.
The Blood of Jesus in the Heavenly Sanctuary
In the New Testament, after the crucifixion, Jesus went to heaven and became our High Priest to minister His blood in the heavenly sanctuary. We read this in Hebrews, where it states:
“But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”
Hebrews 9:11, 12
The blood ministered by the earthly priest represents Jesus applying His blood to our record of sins in the heavenly sanctuary above, showing that they are forgiven when we confess them in His name (1 John 1:9). The superiority of Christ’s ministry is set. It has excelled in that it is performed in a “greater and more perfect tabernacle” (Hebrews 9:11). Now its greatness is seen by the fact that the blood involved in the services was that of the Son of God Himself in contrast with the blood of mere animals (Romans 3:25)
Christ offered His sacrifice only once. He did not need to make repeated sacrifices in order to carry on His high-priestly work in the sanctuary in heaven (Hebrews 9:24–26). After He had offered “his own blood” on cross, and had ascended to heaven, He entered “within the veil.”
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
