Blood

Introduction

By Paul Anderson

My mom decided to have knee replacement surgery in June.  I was her responsible adult.  I didn't know going into surgery that was my role, but the hospital staff kept asking me, "Are you her responsible adult?"

 

Clueless to what that entailed, I just responded, "I will have to do since her daughter is on the east coast."

 

I began to discover for which tasks I would have to be responsible when the hospital pushed her out the door hours after surgery.  I got to drive her home:  no problem.  I got to pick up her medications and remind her to take them:  piece of cake.  I got to make dinner:  we ate out.  Day one made the responsibilities seem like something I could manage.  She was coming out of the anesthesia fog and following all of the copious doctor's notes with little difficulty.

 

However, on day two, everything changed. 

 

When she woke up and stood up for the first time, blood gushed from bandage.  I scrambled to comb through the mountain of paperwork to find the details on bleeding.  It was the shortest section and contained only one sentence:

 

Minor bleeding may visible on the bandage but if it continues for more than a couple of days you should seek medical attention.

 

Minor bleeding?!?!?

Since I don't have a medical background and have done a marvelous job of avoiding blood most of my life, I had no idea what "minor bleeding" constituted.  This blood was pouring down her leg and pooling on the carpet.  I could not see waiting a couple of days for this to stop.  I rushed her to the ER.

 

The ER was willing to break the doctor's notes about not removing the bandage and looked at the wound.  They replaced the bandages, gave her fluids, and observed her until her blood pressure came up to a normal level.  They got the bleeding to what seemed like a minor level, we applied new bandages for a couple of days, and the bleeding finally stopped.

 

It all turned out fine.  However, I could not help but think of the line from the movie City Slickers:

"You know, this was not in the brochure!"

Well, this topic may not have been in the brochure, but I am pretty sure it is covered quite a bit in the Bible.

Here are my top 12 verses on Blood:

Jesus On Blood

Matthew 16:15-18 King James Version

15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Mark 14:24 King James Version

24 And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.

Luke 13:1-3 King James Version

1 There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?

3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

John 6:54 King James Version

54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

Blood In The New Testament

Luke 22:44 King James Version

44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Acts 17:26-27 King James Version

26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

Hebrews 9:22 King James Version

22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

Revelation 7:14 King James Version

14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Blood In The Old Testament

Exodus 7:17 King James Version

17 Thus saith the Lord, In this thou shalt know that I am the Lord: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.

1 Chronicles 28:2-3 King James Version

2 Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine heart to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building:

3 But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood.

Psalm 58:10 King James Version

10 The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.

Ezekiel 16:9 King James Version

9 Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.

Conclusion Of The Whole Matter

The Bible uses "blood" in many ways.  It is more than just the fluid that moves chemicals around the body.  Although, that is probably the most common use of the word.  I can't be sure what is the most common use since there are close to four hundred references in the Bible and I was just looking for twelve.  The vast majority of occurrences of "blood" are in the Old Testament, with Leviticus leading the way.  The book with the most occurrences in the New Testament is Hebrews, which is similar to Leviticus in that it deals with the Jewish priesthood and sacrificial system.  Clearly, "blood" was a critical part of worship, holding the power of the remission of sin in both the Old and New Testaments.

"Blood" can also refer to mankind, especially as in a close relation.  You can see the idea in the expression:  flesh and blood.  The blood-relative is a key element that ties the sixty-six books of the Bible together.  From the promise to Abraham that his descendent would bless all mankind to the prophecy that the messiah would come from the line of David, the Bible has tracked the blood-line of the Jews better than Ancestry.

However, it seems that the Bible portrays "blood" most often with a dual-personality.  It can be evil.  King David was not able to build the temple due to his shedding of blood.  But it can also be good.

• Blood can refer to punishment and sacrifice.
• Blood can refer to violence and peace.
• Blood can refer to death and life.
• Blood can refer to guilt and forgiveness.

The very thing that can take a life is the one thing that will save a life:  the shedding of blood.

In addition, there is a close connection between blood and water.  The first plague on Egypt was turning the water of the Nile into blood.  Pilate washed his hands to remove any guilt from the blood of Jesus' death.  The Bible concludes with a reference to the saints' robes being washed with blood.  It is ironic that one of the hardest stains to remove is used as the cleansing agent.  Is it any wonder that Paul compares the waters of baptism to sacrifice of Jesus' death  (Romans 6:3-4)?

392 Bible results for “blood” from King James Version.

• Old Testament (298)
• Exodus (22)
• Leviticus (66)
• Ezekiel (48)
• New Testament (94)
• Matthew (10)
• Acts (13)
• Hebrews (20)
• Revelation (17)

47 results for “blood” from previous Solomon's Colonnade studies.

Scripture contributions for July 2022 by: Paul Anderson, Matthew Anderson