The Life is in His Blood

Further thoughts on parashat Tzav...

Our Torah portion this week, parashat Tzav, describes various types of sacrifices (korbanot) that were to be offered at the Mishkan. These include the olah (עֹלָה), or whole burnt offering, the minchah (מִנְחָה), or grain offering, the chatat (חַטָּאת), or sin offering, the asham (אָשָׁם), or guilt offering, the shelamim (שְׁלָמִים), or peace offerings, and the todah (תּוֹדָה), or the thank offering (Lev. 7:37-38). In addition, prohibitions regarding eating fat (חֶלֶב) and consuming blood (דָּם) are also given.

Sacrificial blood was to be meticulously controlled, only to be shed through ritual slaughter or “shechitah” (שְׁחִיטָה) at the Mishkan, and carefully collected and sprinkled upon the altar according to prescribed rituals (Lev. 17:1-7). It was forbidden to offer sacrifices in any other place or using any other methods, such as upon a hilltop under the night sky or through pagan mystery rites. Moreover, the consumption of both fat and blood was strictly prohibited: “Whoever eats of the fat of an animal (חֵלֶב מִן־הַבְּהֵמָה) of which a food offering may be made to the LORD shall be cut off from his people. Moreover, you shall eat no blood whatever, whether of fowl or of animal, in any of your dwelling places. Whoever eats any blood, that person shall be cut off from his people" (Lev. 7:25-27).

Since “soul of the flesh” (i.e., nefesh ha’basar: נֶפֶשׁ הַבָּשָׂר) is in its blood, it is regarded as sacred, and the one that eats it is regarded as a “soul eater” who shall be cut off from his people” (נִכְרְתָה הַנֶּפֶשׁ הָאֹכֶלֶת מֵעַמֶּיהָ) The Hebrew word “karet” (כָּרַת) means to be “cut off” from the people of God, a form of “excision” or social ostracism, though some of the sages have said that it literally meant invocation of the judgment of death. For example, Rashi said being “cut off” meant that the person’s days would be shortened and that his offspring would die off. A crime that is undetected and never prosecuted also invokes karet judgment, which is a form of punishment meted out by God.

The sages said that while the fat that covers the liver, the kidneys, and the stomach -- called “chelev” (חֶלֶב) -- is prohibited, other animal fat, called “shuman” (שׁוּמָן), may be eaten or used for other purposes (Lev. 3:3; Exod. 29:13). Chelev was sacrificially offered to God from the beginning, when Abel offered the firstlings of his flock and their “fat portions” (Gen. 4:4). Some of the sages have suggested that the prohibition against eating fat was given because it represents the pride, indulgence, and haughtiness of the wicked, as it says in Psalm 17:10, “They are enclosed in their own fat; with their mouth they speak arrogance,” and therefore it must be placed on the altar because glory only belongs to the LORD (Psalm 93:1; Jer. 9:24).

The blood, on the other hand, is understood to be the carrier of the soul of the animal (נִשְׁמַת החיה), and therefore it was forbidden to consume or “incorporate” it into the body made in the image of God. This is to “eat the soul,” as mentioned above. The law against consuming blood was given from the beginning, before the Sinai revelation, as God judged Cain for shedding the blood of his brother (Gen. 4:10), and God Noah was later instructed about the sanctity of blood as the instrumentality of life and was therefore forbidden from eating it (Gen. 9:4). The blood is the vital principle of the soul, the means of life itself, and therefore it is sacred. It belongs to God alone. Therefore manslaughter is one of the fundamental commandments God gave to Noah as well (Gen. 9:5-6). These earlier prohibitions were repeated in the Mishkan’s sacrificial system, and they were later ratified by the disciples of Yeshua at the time of the First Council in Jerusalem regarding Gentile observance of the law (Acts 15:13-21).

The sanctity of blood is at the heart of the idea of “sacrifice” (i.e., zevach: זֶבַח), and therefore it is never to be regarded as “profane” or common. It is the divine “elixir” of life, the soul of the flesh. “I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh (נֶפֶשׁ הַבָּשָׂר) is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement (i.e, kapparah: כַּפָּרָה) for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life” (Lev. 17:10-11). Blood is the vital essence of life, and its separation from the flesh results in death. In matters of sacrificial atonement (כָּפָרָת זֶבַח), or korban (כָּפָרָת קָרְבָּן), however, the blood is sacred and reserved for use exclusively upon God’s altar. This is an essential point that ultimately points to Yeshua’s vicarious death on behalf of the sinner. It is the essence of the “life-for-life” gospel message itself.

In light of the foregoing discussion, however, we may wonder what Yeshua meant when he said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:53-54). Was Yeshua being deliberately provocative by saying something shocking, or was he pointing to a deeper truth about the meaning of his mission? Let’s take some time to walk through some of this...

Remember the basic interpretative principle that “a text without a context is a pretext,” which implies that the meaning of a particular passage must be understood from the larger literary environment that determines its sense. When and in what circumstances Yeshua had said these words, then, will help us to better understand what he was saying. And since these words are found in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John, to get a sense of the context for this particular passage we need to back up and quickly review the five preceding chapters.

The first chapter of John is a prologue that declares the miracle of the incarnation of Messiah, and declares that Yeshua is none other than the eternal God in the flesh (John 1:1-3). He is the “True Light” that has come into the world, the only begotten son (“ben yachid”) of the Father (John 1:14, 18), the promised Savior of Israel and indeed of the whole world. He is prophetically attested to be the appointed Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

Following this majestic prologue, testimony is given of the miracles and words of Yeshua. In chapter 2 we read about a wedding party in Cana where Yeshua turned water into wine, revealing His glory. Afterward he began his public ministry by going to Jerusalem and driving out merchants from the Temple, declaring that his body was the true Temple of God (John 2:21). The fame of Yeshua grew as performed various miracles and many believed in him.

In chapter 3, a prominent leader of the Pharisees named Nicodemus heard of the miracles of Yeshua and ventured to visit him at night. Yeshua wasted no time by explaining to him that he needed to “born again” in order to see the Kingdom of God. He explained to Nicodemus that he needed to get past his “natural biases” and to think in spiritual terms. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit, so do not marvel that I said that you must be born again” (John 3:6-7). He further explained that just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert to save those plagued with death, so the Son of Man would be lifted up, so that all who believe in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. Everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall find eternal life (John 3:14-16).

In Chapter 4 Yeshua encountered a “Samaritan” woman at the well of Jacob and revealed Himself as the source of “Living Water” (i.e., mayim chaim: מַיִם חַיִּים) and the Messiah of Israel (משיח ישראל). After disabusing her cultural beliefs, Yeshua told her that salvation comes from the Jews, and he reminded her that those who worship God must do so “in spirit and truth.” The woman was so impressed she went back to her town, testifying about Yeshua, and many Samaritans came to believe in him. The chapter concludes with Yeshua performing a second miracle in Galilee, healing a royal official's son, which resulted in his household coming to faith.

In chapter 5 Yeshua healed a paralytic man at the Bethesda mikveh pool on the Sabbath day, resulting in a “religious” conflict with the Jewish leaders who then conspired that he should be put to death (John 5:16-18). Yeshua defended his action by declaring his unity with the Father as therefore was exercising his authority to give life and to make divine judgment. He then proclaimed that whoever hears his message and believes that God sent him has eternal life; that he will not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life (John 5:24). He rebuked the spurious religious leaders: “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; but it is these very Scriptures that testify of me,” and he further said “if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me” (John 5:39, 47).

Now after reviewing some of the general context, we come to chapter 6, where Yeshua taught that he is the “Bread of Life” (לֶחֶם הַחַיִּים) and made the astounding claim that “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53). Note that the chapter begins with Yeshua crossing over from Galilee to the eastern side of the lake as a great multitude of people followed after him, hoping to be healed or perhaps to witness a miracle. Yeshua then went into the high country there and sat with his disciples. The text says it was near the time of the Passover so perhaps many of the crowd were pilgrims for the festival (John 6:4). When Yeshua saw the gathering crowd, however, he rhetorically asked Philip, one of his disciples, where they could buy bread to feed all the people. After saying that he could only find five barley loaves and two fish, Yeshua instructed his disciples to have the people sit down, and after reciting the blessing, he distributed the loaves and fish to the disciples who then gave them to the people, and the food supply miraculously multiplied until everyone had eaten their full.

Once the crowd realized that a great miracle had happened, they clamored to take Yeshua by force to make him king, but Yeshua departed to the mountain alone, and the disciples later left by boat to return to Capernaum without him. A storm arose, however, and the disciples were in jeopardy. Suddenly they saw Yeshua walking on the water approaching them. When they received him into the ship, the vessel immediately came to the land where they had been heading.

The following day the crowd caught up with Yeshua and they asked why he had left. Yeshua replied saying "you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you" (John 6:26-27). This is the spiritual food (אוכל רוחני) that comes from believing in Yeshua; this food is given through the work of faith (John 6:28-29).

As we read this it becomes apparent that the crowd could not fathom what Yeshua was saying, despite having previously witnessed his miracle of feeding 5,000 people, so they brazenly asked for yet another sign to validate his message. After all, Moses gave the people manna from heaven, so why shouldn’t Yeshua do so as well?

Yeshua replied by first correcting their thinking. Moses had not given the bread from heaven, but God did, and that is meant by “the bread from heaven,” and then he identified himself as the true bread from heaven (הַלֶּחֶם הָאֲמִתִּי מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם), "Living Bread" (לֶחֶם הַחַיִּים) that imparts spiritual and eternal life (John 6:35-36). Note also that when Yeshua said "I am the bread of life" he was using the "ehyeh" Name of God (אֶהְיֶה), the "I AM" utterance of God’s revelation to Moses (Exod. 3:14). For Yeshua, true bread from heaven is his flesh (לֶחֶם מִבְּשָׂרוֹ) which he gives for the life of the world (John 6:51), which restates the famous message of the crucifixion given earlier in the gospel: "For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him would not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

Yeshua’s message to the crowd was an earnest appeal to have faith. The one who believes in Him has eternal life, and this corresponds to "eating the Bread of Life," that is, partaking of the spiritual food (i.e., truth) that Yeshua gives. As St. Augustine of Hippo once said: "For to believe in Him is to eat the living bread; he that believes eats; he is sated invisibly."

"I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world" (John 6:51). It may be wondered why Yeshua switched the metaphor from eating manna to eating his flesh, and why he (more shockingly) spoke of drinking his blood, which was utterly forbidden in the Torah (Lev. 7:25-27). Yeshua continued: "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life (חַיֵּי עוֹלָם), and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food (מַאֲכָל אֲמִתִּי), and my blood is read drink” (מַשְׁקֶה אֲמִתִּי). Now are these words of hyperbole meant to shock the people into engaging his message, or was Yeshua using a deeper symbolism to make his point? The language here is indeed figurative, as we have seen, and therefore we need to find a spiritual application to Yeshua’s teaching.

At this point a few things seem clear. First, we find eternal life by being in a faith-relationship with Yeshua. Because he took on human flesh and shed (i.e., gave) his blood for us, we are given divine life as we partake of his gift. Based on this (and numerous other Scriptures), the result of believing in him is the same as "eating his flesh and drinking his blood," that is, participating in or joining his life. Second, Yeshua was clearly using metaphorical and spiritual language, and forgetting this will likely invite confusion. Regarding those who were offended at his teaching, he said: "It is the spirit that gives life (הָרוּחַ הִיא הַמְחַיָּה); the flesh is of no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life" (John 6:63). Upon hearing this, some who seemed to be Yeshua’s disciples could not make the step of faith to see beyond the offence here and they decided to no longer follow him. Yeshua then asked his twelve disciples whether they too wanted to go away. Peter then confessed: "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God" (John 6:67-69).

If you will not eat the flesh and drink the blood of Yeshua, you have no life in you, or, using the “logical contrapositive” we can rephrase this by saying, if you have life, then you will eat and drink the life of the Lord. To eat Yeshua’s flesh and blood means to utterly depend upon him; it means trusting him for your life and destiny itself. Remembering the Lord's sacrifice for us - whether through weekly kiddush (communion) or during the Passover Seder - is to "feed on him" through the heart of faith. Amen. Yeshua is the answer for our hunger for life. As he promised: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall never hunger; and whoever believes in me shall never thirst" (John 6:35).

During his last Passover Seder with his disciples before his death, Yeshua identified the broken matzah (i.e., yachatz bread) with his body, and the Cup of Redemption (i.e., kos ha’geulah) with his shed blood to signify the new covenant with God (Matt. 26:26-28). This is the basis of our “communion” with the Lord, and this is perhaps the key to understanding the distinction between the Torah’s prohibition of consuming blood and Yeshua’s commandment to do so. For the Mishkan and its ordinances were a “pattern” or “shadow” of something yet to come, namely, the incarnation of Yeshua as Immanuel (עִמָּנוּ אֵל), “God with us,” who would substantiate the true meaning of the sacrifices through his avodah (priestly service). The physical “tent of meeting” became his flesh and blood to dwell among us.

The very first time the word “blood” (דָם) occurs in the Scriptures concerns the death of Abel, the son of Adam and Eve who was murdered by his brother Cain. After Abel’s blood was shed, the LORD confronted Cain and said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground” (Gen. 4:10). Since blood is the carrier of life, it bears the energy and vitality of life: it has its own spiritual “voice.” Likewise, the blood of Yeshua (דַּם ישׁוע), the true Lamb of God who died upon the cross, “speaks” on our behalf in intercession, and reverses the power of death by creating a barrier that death can no longer cross, since the death of the sacrificial victim “exchanges” the merit and power of life.

Unlike the blood of Abel that “cries out” for justice, the blood of Yeshua cries out for mercy (Heb. 12:24). Putting our trust in the provision of God’s sacrifice causes His wrath (or righteous judgment) to pass over while simultaneously extending love to the sinner.... This is the essential message of the gospel itself, that we have atonement through the sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection of Yeshua our Savior, the great Lamb of God (שׂה האלהים). As Yeshua said, "I tell you the solemn truth, the one who hears my message and believes the One who sent me has eternal life (חַיֵּי עוֹלָם) and will not be condemned, but has passed over (i.e., μετά + βαίνω, lit., "crossed over" [עָבַר]) from death to life" (John 5:24). Just as God's judgment passes over from life to death on my behalf; so His love passes over from death to life on my behalf... The medium for this exchange is the body and blood of Yeshua, and this is the deeper meaning of eating his flesh and drinking his blood. The life of God is in His blood.

The metaphor of eating his flesh and drinking his blood is paradigmatic of Yeshua’s entire ministry and message. It is a climactic summary. His words will seem paradoxical and even blasphemous to those who regard him as a merely human teacher, but they force the issue of faith regarding the efficacy of his atoning sacrifice for us. Yeshua pointed to his flesh and blood sacrifice on the cross to be the means of life - a message anathema to human pride.

Whenever you eat or drink something, you take it in, you receive it, and in a sense it becomes a part of you. Eating Yeshua’s flesh means receiving his presence as being “for you,” that is, given on your behalf. It is to partake of his presence as the source of your life. Drinking Yeshua’s blood means sharing the power of his life, receiving it as life-giving spiritual energy. “For the life of the flesh (נֶפֶשׁ הַבָּשָׂר) is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement (כַּפָּרָה) for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life” (Lev. 17:10-11). We have life because of the blood of Yeshua was given on our behalf. Hallelujah! Let us rejoice in our Savior Yeshua! The life of God is in His blood...

Psalm 34:8

טַעֲמוּ וּרְ֞אוּ כִּי־טוֹב יְהוָה
אֲשְׁרֵי הַגֶּ֫בֶר יחֱסֶ֫ה־בּוֹ׃

”O taste and see that the LORD is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”

Psalm 34:8 Hebrew page (pdf)