Pleading The Blood
Exodus 12:13,14
If you grew up in Pentecostal circles as I did, chances are you heard , used or are still using the phrase “I plead the blood.” However, some people in the church world today don’t understand the phrase and ask, “What does it mean?”
The Passover in the Old Testament Scriptures is the focal point of understanding the power of the blood. All sacrifices that proceeded after words under the Mosaic system were founded on this principle: through the blood of animal sacrifice, there would be deliverance, protection, and a God-provided future. This awesome forecasting picture was fulfilled in the Person of Jesus.
Jesus had not even begun his ministry when, appearing before the waters of the Jordan River to be Baptised, it was John the Baptist who announced of Him: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Everyone present understood the implication of his words, but it was difficult for them to come to terms with the idea that the Messiah, who is the King, is also the sacrifice, who is the Lamb. John was raising a signal not only to that day but also to all history.
When we deal with the subject of the blood, we are not dealing with some gory residue of ancient human superstition. When we talk about the blood of Jesus, we are dealing with that which the Scriptures refer to as precious for its exceptional value to address man's sin, man's need for a savior, man's failure, and man's bondage. Its value is related to the immeasurable price of human liberty from the bondage of spiritual torment. The blood of Jesus is the central justified factor in all human order. So central is it that the Bible says Jesus's blood will be the theme of our praise forever.
The Concept
The concept of “pleading the blood” of Jesus has its roots in the Pentecostal tradition. It’s a tradition that is necessary and important to continue upholding today. The book, The Azusa Street Mission and Revival, contains stories where people came to receive prayer for healing. William J Seymour, a one eyed Black Man who was leading the Azusa Street revival, would “plead the blood” over the sick. They were healed and received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.
When we talk about "Pleading" the blood of Jesus we are not talking about "begging" God to do something. “Pleading the blood” should not be considered a desperation exercise; God has not called us to come begging before Him. Many of us were raised in an environment where we heard the words, “Father God, keep them under the blood of Jesus.” Or, “Lord, we cover this situation with the blood of Jesus.” Even before we understood it, we believed in the power of the Blood, because we believed that Jesus is the Son of God, and that the Cross was the instrument of redemption which broke the power of hell.
Pleading the blood of Jesus is not some type of superstitious application of a magic formula of words. Rather, a spiritual dynamic is being applied. The power of the blood of Jesus Christ is greater than both the energy of our own humanity and that of our Adversary. The power that saves is also the power that releases, delivers, and neutralizes the demons of hell and the weaknesses of the flesh. The appropriation of the power of the Blood in tough situations is intended for every believer in Christ to know, to understand, and to make use of.
It’s important that we understand the reason for the words we use so they do not become formula, otherwise one of two things will happen. Either what we say will become a superstitious exercise in which we are depending on the words rather than on the understanding that gives the words their power; or some people will not use words related to the blood of Jesus because they don’t understand the spiritual dynamic, leaving them without a resource they need.
When we plead the Blood of Jesus. It is not a statement of unbelief or fear! Pleading the blood activates what happened through the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross. It is asking God to provide what Jesus’ blood has already purchased. It’s a statement of faith about what happened at Calvary.
The Origin - The Passover
Most of us are familiar with the story of Israel’s deliverance from the last plague of Egypt, in which the firstborn of every family was doomed to die. The Israelites were instructed by God to place the blood of a lamb on their doorposts and lintels, so that the plague of His judgment would “pass over” their houses:
Exodus 12:13-14 says , “Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations.”
The practice of applying the blood goes back to this Old Testament passage. In the Book of Exodus, we see the blood administered as a sign of protection.
When the Israelites applied the blood of an animal to the doorposts of their homes as protection against the plague. God promised to pass over them when He saw the blood.
So the blood provided protection. With regard to the plagues, God was not dealing vindictively but redemptively. He was seeking to bring two million people out of slavery. The Lord’s directive to take a lamb into the house for four days. God was teaching them a lesson that there is a high and painful price in order for redemption to take place. The blood had to be drained from that lamb and put into a basin. Then, with the brush of reeds, the slapping of the blood was applied upon the side posts and on the lintel overhead. No one on that day could have imagined that it was more than a covering over the door as it dripped down, but we see from this a picture of the Cross of ultimate redemption. The Lord was providing a way, not only for Israel’s protection on that occasion, but also for the ultimate protection of all humankind from the judgment of death that is upon everyone unless we come under the protective cover of the Blood. By the blood of the lamb, there came the breaking of the yoke of Pharaoh’s strength to retain them, and God’s covenant people were released from bondage, literally overnight. It was a miracle by every measure and has become the central point of worship to this day in Jewish tradition.
Songs like: I KNOW IT WAS THE BLOOD, NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD, THE BLOOD WILL NEVER LOSE ITS POWER, THE BLOOD STILL WORKS, THERE IS POWER IN THE BLOOD, WHEN I SEE THE BLOOD AND THERE IS A FOUNTAIN FILLED WITH BLOOD are all testament to the Power of the Blood of Jesus!
The Lord makes the Passover an important beginning point: “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you” (Exodus 12:2).
He’s saying that what happens through this blood is going to open the door to a new day for you. Like Israel, you may be right now at what seems to be the end of your own hope and strength. But through the power of the Blood, there comes the promise to you, just as it came to Israel so long ago: this will be the beginning of days to you. In addition to protection and deliverance, there’s fresh hope in the Blood.
As the blood was put over the door, it was a testimony that there was a place of safety for anybody who wanted to come in from out of the circle of death. The record of Scripture is that there were some Egyptians who did. Seeing the power of the God who had already visited fierce judgments upon their land, they believed that He was the God of all, and they fled into the Jewish households.
How is the Blood, as it’s expressed in your home, a witness? Is there a different mood and atmosphere in your home than that of the world? I’m not talking about religious pictures on the wall, but something that people can sense of the Spirit of the living God because the blood of Jesus covers your household. It provides a witness that invites them out of the circle of death and into His safety.
For Israel, there was a risk in putting the blood over the outside of their doors. Just imagine what the mockers might have said. Today, our world has no more value than Pharaoh had for the things that fill God’s people with hope, faith, and release unto life. We’re not people who simply make recitations of creeds. We’re people who have tasted of a power. And that power, having come into our lives, is to penetrate our homes. It is the power of the Blood that protects, that delivers, that opens a new day, and that becomes a witness and an invitation to others.
Not only was the Blood a sign of Protection but it was also a Counteragent ( Antidote)
When we look at the Cross and the fact that Jesus’ blood was shed for us. His Blood was not spilled merely for the covering of sin but for the remission of it. Through salvation, the blood is applied to our lives. The Son of God built a bridge between Heaven and earth with three nails and two boards. He became the way for mankind to pass from the degradation of sin to the glory of Heaven. Jesus made it possible to go from rejection to redemption.
Pleading the blood tells the devil that we are children of God. It’s like putting up a no trespassing sign that says, “You can’t come here. You don’t have any authority here.” Every aspect of our lives needs to be covered in the blood. It is a counteragent, an antidote to all that Satan tries to throw at us. Not only does he tremble at the name of Jesus but He is afraid of the blood of Jesus.
The blood of Jesus makes it possible for us to defeat the devil on every front.
Revelation 12:11 says, And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. No matter the circumstance, disease, temptation, or addiction, there is power in the blood of Jesus to deliver and set us free.
Obtaining Peace of Mind
As we all know great spiritual battles are fought in the mind. When a person becomes born again, their spirit is made new, but their mind is not. That is why we must continually renew our minds with the Word of God. The power in the blood is activated when we speak scripture. Therefore, pleading the blood needs to be an active part of our confession.
When the enemy tries to attack with thoughts of fear and torment, pleading the blood of Jesus over our minds will bring peace. Colossians 1:20 says, And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
When Satan brings up guilt, shame, or condemnation from the past, we need to plead the blood and say, “Satan the blood of Jesus against you ......the blood of Jesus has cleansed me. I am a new creation in Christ, and my past life and sins no longer exist.”
Covering the Affairs of Life
When we understand how to use the power of the blood, we can apply it to everything in our lives, including our homes, families, and finances.
The blood that ran down the cross and onto the ground is still flowing today! It never changes or loses its power. We can depend on it in any situation.
Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
One day somebody asked the question and said, How can a brown cow eat green grass And give you white milk well if you think that's something God's chemical laboratory of redemption took my black soul and dipped it in red blood and I came out white as snow.
The songwriter said, There is a fountain filled with blood, Drawn from Immanuel’s veins, And sinners plunged beneath that flood Lose all their guilty stains.
I don't know about you but the blood that Jesus shed for me, way back on Calvary. Yes, the blood that gives me strength, from day to day, it will never lose its power, it reaches to the highest mountain, It flows to the lowest valley, the blood that gives me strength, from day to day, it will never lose its power.
YES ...........THE BLOOD STILL WORKS! It will never, ever.......Lose its power.....THE BLOOD STILL WORKS!
I know it works cause it saved me, I know it works cause it healed me.
Help Me Holy Ghost!
Conclusion:
There is an abiding presence of power in the blood of Jesus—all the time, in every situation in which we apply it. We are not peddling in the realm of superstition. We are functioning in the realm of the supernatural. Because it’s invisible, it ought not to be seen as anything less real than that power that moved through Egypt that night when the host of Egyptians was slain. The next day, there was nobody who thought the people who put blood on their houses were just superstitious. They knew those people had penetrated a realm of divine power that had insulated them from the forces of darkness and death in the land. This is what we mean by pleading the blood of Jesus.
Pleading the blood of Jesus is a heaven-given resource that grants us a license to stand in dominion over the works of hell. We can use it in the same sense that an attorney stands before the court and makes a “plea” on legal grounds, based upon a body of evidence.
When you and I come before the court of heaven—and in every circumstance we face in life—we have the legal right, through the blood of Jesus Christ, to enter a plea and to lay claim to the evidence (His slain body, His shed blood at the Cross) which is proven to neutralize the power of sin, the power of affliction, the power of death, and the power of hell. It is to that fact that I make my plea when I plead the blood of Jesus, whether I face demonic, physical, or personal attack, condemnation or the temptation to sin.
There is no circumstance in life to which the blood of Jesus isn’t key to God’s releasing, protecting, resolving power, whether it’s removing the potential of confusion, overcoming the impact of rebellion, breaking the torment of fear, or the shame of the past. When we “plead the blood,” we are to do so in the understanding sense, with the firepower of the supernatural, and on the basis of the body of evidence that through the blood of Jesus Christ, all hell has been broken in its power, all sin neutralized, the power of death overwhelmed, and every human need paid for once and for all.
Even So Some Lord Jesus!
Dr. Charles C Jones
4/12/2020
