Whom did Christ offer his blood to? Part I

                                                             }}}}-- Fr. Conrad Saldanha

A pastor once preached from the pulpit and said that Jesus offered his blood to the devil as a ransom for the salvation of mankind. This is the price that he had to pay for our sins so that we could be free from the clutches of the devil. The whole world and all people are in the clutches of the evil one. The love of God is shown in this; He died offering his blood as a ransom to the evil one.

The idea of Jesus offering his blood to the Devil as a ransom for us can send many on a wild goose chase. But put in another way it can be a subject of a hot theological debate and which I myself would like to participate, answering the dispute in a two part series: “Whom did Jesus offer his blood to, in order to redeem us?”

There have often been attempts in the past to explain this at various times and various moments.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) only emphasizes on the offering of Christ’ whole life to the Father (606-7)

On the other hand the scripture which is normally quoted to give us the impression that Christ Offered himself to the Father is the text from Hebrews:

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking not the blood of goats and calves but his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Heb 9:11-14

The argument then offered which makes many retract is this: How can God who is a loving Father require blood for appeasement. What difference is there between the God of the pagans and the Christian God?

The argument concerning Jesus offering his blood to the devil is a strong argument in some circles. Jesus has paid a price to ransom us who are under the power of the devil. Sin held us captive to the devil and we need to be redeemed from this captivity to the Devil and Jesus offered his blood to the devil in order to free us from this captivity to the devil; the price he paid to redeem us. “..You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”(1 Cor 6:19-20) Or the other text: “You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.” 1 Cor 7:23-24

I propose that the problem has to be looked at from a broader perspective taking into consideration the Old Testament and also the relationship between God, Man and Satan.  These are the 3 characters in the whole drama of redemption and each have a role to play.  It is my opinion that all three had a stake in the Blood of Christ (life of Christ) in three different manners and that is the price that Jesus came to pay. To whom did he pay is the question we dwell on and seek to answer. 

A little historical background in the light of the Old Testament would help us in understanding the role of each of the characters and their role.

The offering of sacrifices is seen in the very first book, in the first children of Adam and Eve. By the time of Moses the laws of offering a sacrifice are streamlined with the appointment of the Levitical priesthood. The sacrifices for sin, under the Law, were sin-offerings: Lev. 4:3,4,23,24,27,31,34 and 35; Exod. 30:10; Lev. 5:11,12and Lev. 9:2,6,7, and 2 Chron. 29:7-10,20-24. 

In the Old Testament the offering was clearly made to God for the atonement of one’s self for sin.  The blood of the bull or goat or lamb was collected by the priest and was sprinkled on the veil of the sanctuary.    

Which clearly suggests that God required of them, an atonement with blood in order that his wrath may not come on the sinners who have broken his laws and commandments. In this we learn that there is a relationship between sin and blood.  Sin that is the result of breaking God’s commandment not only brings about a further divide between God and man but also separates man from each other. The worst consequence is that it reduces his life span through the working of the wrath of God, even leading to death. (Rm. 6:23) Thus atonement is through the blood; the life of a lesser creature than humans was the norm in the Old Testament.

Hence the significant point that we have in the Old Testament is that of a vulnerable humanity steeped in sin and wrong doing and the resultant bondage which is detrimental to his immediate wellbeing and eternal happiness. Therefore God has to intervene and offer them a solution that would represent and would be a fore runner to the ultimate plan which would unfold at an appointed time in history; Jesus, the Lamb of God who will come and offer himself as sacrifice to redeem us from under the power of death and sin.

Where Satan comes in the picture? As far as the Old Testament Sacrifice is concerned, Satan’s role finds no mention. But it is important to keep in mind the pagan sacrifices which were ghastly demonic and an offering to appease the deity whom the Apostle Paul would even refer to as Demons; “I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God.” (1 Cor 10:20) The aim of their exercise was to appease Satan and the evil spirits so as to ward them off through satisfaction. This practice is still a common practice in pagan and modern paganised cultures especially if they are assailed by evil spirits and when they have to undertake a major task or for other evil purposes.  Blood of fowl or goats or bulls are offered in order to appease the deity or wandering spirits in order to ward-off any obstacles or evil.

Reflecting on man; the key character and primary centre among God’ vast creation. Ever since his fall the first man came under a curse, subjected to pain and suffering. Humans lost the sense of God and came under the power of sin and death, the power of the evil one.  In the history of the Old Testament we see a gradual decline in morality and goodness and a growing trend towards creating their own gods.  If we analyze sin then the primary sin is that of losing the sense of the one true God who created us and instead creating the one which suits our reasoning’s and fascination.  

Yet there is one thing that’s common both among some of the pagan religions of those times and the early ancestors of Noah and others and that is the offering of the blood sacrifice to make atonement for the guilt of one’s sins and to appease the deity in order to receive favors.

When it comes to humans, the Bible clearly forbids the consumption of blood in any form.  Yet in the history of the human race they have been abundant of instances of torture, murder, wars and even the drinking of human blood either as part of a ritual or apart. These have not just been an ancient reality but even in our times, these things exist in various measures. Often we find the best solution employed for survival and peace is the destruction of the other.  

Have humans been a slave to Satan, yes, each according to their sinfulness and choices are in a way under the yoke of the evil one.  Therefore we are also under the power of sin; Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.  (John 8:34) And then there is death under whose power we are subjected to and against which we constantly struggle against for survival. “..who has the power of death, that is, the devil.” Heb 2:14

Thus sin and death which are a visible reality are the weapons of Satan to trouble humans, especially the power thereof of guilt, shame, fear, uncontrollable anger, greed, addiction and every form of destructive behavior patterns.  One under the deception and influence of the devil begins to believe and think that it is self gratification is necessary in order to survive. The human nature by default manifests a pattern of behavior which seeks survival over death, gratification over sacrifice because of the many fears and anxieties, including the fear of death. “And you, who once were estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds” (Col. 1:21)

In the light of the above we shall now place Christ Sacrifice in its proper context; all three had a stake in the bloody sacrifice of Christ.

Though the God of the Old Testament desired as necessitated by human sinfulness that atonement be done by the blood of bulls and goats yet it was never his desire to continue with the bloody sacrifice of atoning with blood. It was as if he was waiting for a special moment, the appointed time to send his son Jesus to finish off with the ritualistic requirement according to the law that governed our life. The atonement with blood was necessary in order to prevent us from falling further prey to the devil, the angel of death.

                                                            (To be continued in Part II)

Prayer: Lord prepare my heart and mind that I may reap the benefit of the precious blood of Jesus Christ and thus participate fully in the life of Christ and the Most Holy Trinity.