“Dogs surround me; a pack of evildoers closes in on me.
They have pierced my hands and my feet.”
Psalm 22:17 (NAB)
This Psalm describes the details of crucifixion at least 500 years before it was even thought of. God was dropping hints to us through all the centuries that He had a plan for our redemption. Isaiah also predicted this type of death, in 700 BC. as did Zechariah, in 500 B.C. Here’s what they wrote:
“But he was pierced for our sins,
crushed for our iniquity.
He bore the punishment that makes us whole,
by his wounds we were healed.”
Isaiah 53:5
“They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.”
Zechariah 12:10
These scriptures are prophetic, yet heart wrenching, since we know that they accurately describe Jesus as being the one who was pierced.
The book of Revelation tells us that the blood of the Lamb is how all believers will conquer evil in the end, “They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.” (Revelation 12:11)
The blood flowed from His pierced hands and feet, and from His thorn pierced brow. It flowed down the hill of Calvary and is still flowing to all people everywhere. God’s timeless atonement is for everyone, all races and all faith backgrounds.
Moses wrote that there can be no atonement for sin without shedding blood. I often wondered how that message got lost over the centuries.
When I was in my twenties, I once met a friendly young orthodox Jewish woman, sitting next to me on a Chicago subway train. We talked about her faith and I learned about her many customs and religious practices.
Then I asked her how sin is atoned for, according to her faith. She said through fasting and prayer. I asked her about Moses’ words in the Torah that say,
“The life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves, it is the blood that makes atonement.” (Leviticus 17:11)
She acknowledged the truth of the scripture, but went on to say that fasting and prayer is an acceptable way of atonement – nowadays.
The method of blood atonement doesn’t evolve or change over the centuries. Blood is needed, and God gave us the final provision through the blood of His beloved son.
Before Jesus died, He said “It is finished.” He meant more than to say He was breathing His last breath. He was saying that He completed the final blood atonement for all people. He fulfilled the Mosaic requirements of the law, once and forever.
As we journey towards Easter, before celebrating the resurrection, it’s good to meditate on the wounds of Jesus. We remember the three nails and the crown of thorns that pierced His hands, feet and brow.
His crucifixion changed the eternal destiny of the entire world, and yet it was only the beginning. There is an ever present power in the blood of Jesus, that today, still silences demons, heals bodies, washes away sin, renews our minds and grants us peace. The piercing of Jesus gave us the blood which is ever present and still flowing.
Lord, thank you for your mercy and the plan of salvation, made long ago, whereby we are cleansed, healed and conquer all forever, because of the blood flowing from the wounds of your pierced body. Amen