There are many things to learn from Jesus Christ. There are many things we can study about Jesus Christ! We could study His life, His family, His achievements, His ministry, His travels, His goals and His leadership style. But the two most important things about Jesus Christ are His words and His blood.

Precious Words

The words of Jesus are important because they teach us the truths and the wisdom of God.

It is enough to place the words of Jesus above all human words. Today, the words of Jesus are separated from the rest of scripture by red ink.

Formerly, the beautiful words of Christ were indiscriminately mingled with the rest of Scripture. Modern Bibles assign the deserved honour to the words of Jesus. In red-letter bibles, the words of Jesus are placed in a class of their own; a class without equal.

At the Reformation stage of the church, men focused on the work of Christ on Calvary.  Earlier, the person of Christ was the focus of attention.  In later years, the details of His earthly life from the manger to the cross became the focus of intense study.  Today, we must also emphasize the blood of Jesus Christ.

Fortunately, the unique value of the blood of Jesus is being recognized today. The blood of Jesus is being assigned the distinction it deserves.

Precious Blood

Our sins cannot be washed away by the words of Jesus.  We need the blood of Jesus to wash us from our wretchedness and sinful state so that our names can be written in the Book of Life. No matter how much Jesus spoke, preached and taught, He still needed to rescue us by the power of His blood. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins!  There needed to be shedding of blood so that our sins could be covered.

Who Would Pay for Our Sins?

It is true that the preaching and wisdom of God is found in the teachings of Jesus Christ.  But who would pay for our sins?  Who would pay the price for us to escape from hell?  We are redeemed (bought back) by the blood of Jesus Christ. We were redeemed not by the words of Jesus but by His blood.  We were redeemed not by the blood of bulls and goats but by the blood of Jesus.

Stop Preaching and Let the Blood Flow

Why did Jesus Christ stop preaching at the age of thirty-three and head for the cross?  Why did He not continue His mission of preaching and teaching the word of God in other countries?  Could He not have gone to Syria, Lebanon, England, Germany, Iraq, Persia, India and Africa?  Certainly He could have! He was only thirty-three years old when he gave his life on the cross.  If he had lived another forty years, of perhaps to the age of eighty, He would have been able to travel throughout the whole world.

When I visited Chennai in India, I found a church that was built in memory of St Thomas, the doubter.  Thomas was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. Apparently, Thomas the apostle had travelled to India and ministered there.  He was martyred there and the church was built there in his honour.  If Thomas, who lived and walked with Jesus was able to travel to India then Jesus Himself would have been able to travel to India as well.  It was well within the capacity of Jesus Christ to travel all around the world and preach the gospel of the kingdom.

Jesus Christ stopped preaching suddenly and made His way to Jerusalem where He knew He would be captured, tortured and murdered.  Jesus said, ‘No one takes my life from me. I lay it down of my own accord.’ Why did Jesus do that?  Was He thinking correctly?

Why the Cross?

Why did Jesus willingly and consciously go to the place of His crucifixion where evil men would put Him to death? This was the way Jesus allowed His blood to be shed for the sins of mankind.  If Jesus had not shed His blood for us, His ministry would have lasted until His message would have faded away.  Today, the power of the shed blood of Jesus is still at work.  It reaches to the highest mountain and to the lowest valley of our world.  God’s power of salvation is released even two thousand years after the death of Jesus Christ because of the blood of Jesus.  This is why the blood of Jesus is important.

The Words of Jesus

We would not know that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life if He had not spoken these famous words.  Salvation would not have come to us if Jesus had not told us that God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  And that God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

Even though we are washed by the blood of Jesus, our knowledge of God and our knowledge of the way of salvation come through the famous words of Jesus. It is Jesus who said, the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.   We would not have known where to go and what to do if Jesus had not said, Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  It is through the comprehensive package of the blood of Jesus and the words of Jesus that salvation has come to men.

The words of Jesus are important because they make us understand salvation and make us wise. But His blood is even more important because we are not saved when we are wise!  But we are not saved when we understand things and we understand the wisdom of God.  We are saved when our sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus.

by Dag Heward-Mills