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Why the Blood?

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There is something offensive about blood. My sister faints at the sight of it. My son hated the mere mention of the word "blood" when he was a little boy—probably still does. It's as if we know instinctively what the word of God tells us: "the life of the flesh is in the blood..." (Lev. 17:11).  When God formed Adam, he “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature” (Gen. 3:7). Ever since that day, it has been the role of blood to circulate life through every person’s heart. Contrary to the popular saying, death is not a part of life. Death is the end of life. It is the curse of sin: “For the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23a). Death is our enemy (1 Cor. 15:26).  So when we see blood, a tiny trickle or a fatal gush, it makes sense that we recoil. It makes sense that so many of Jesus’s disciples quit following him after he told them that eternal life could only come through eating and drinking his flesh and blood (Jn 6:53-5