What does it mean that the life of the flesh is in the blood?

from the old testament

• The idea that the life of the flesh is in the blood comes directly from the Law of Moses. Leviticus 17:10–12 says, “If anyone of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them eats any blood, 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 is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, No person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who sojourns among you eat blood.”
• This command was given because Israel lived among pagan nations that practiced idolatrous and even demonic rituals involving blood. Many of these rituals, such as draining or consuming blood, were meant to gain favor from false gods or to absorb the life force of the sacrificed animal. In Leviticus 17, God was separating His people from those practices. He reminded them that life belongs to Him alone, not to idols or to human control. The blood represented the life He had given to every creature, and consuming it was a rejection of God’s authority as the giver of life. By forbidding the eating of blood, God was teaching Israel to honor Him as the source of all life and to recognize that sin brings death. Blood was sacred because it symbolized that life could only continue under God’s mercy.
• However, the same reason that made blood forbidden for food also made it acceptable for sacrifice. Because life belongs to God, only He has the right to reclaim it. The shedding of blood in worship was not a casual act but a solemn acknowledgment that sin costs life. God allowed the blood of animals to be poured out on the altar—not to imitate pagan rituals, but to show that forgiveness required life to be given in the place of the sinner. In this way, blood was never to be taken by people for themselves but only offered back to God in humble repentance and trust.
• Throughout the sacrificial system, blood was central to restoring fellowship with God. When a person sinned, they brought an animal to the priest, who would kill it and pour its blood on the altar. This act represented an exchange—an innocent life given for a guilty one. The high priest also entered the Most Holy Place once a year on the Day of Atonement, sprinkling the blood of bulls and goats before the mercy seat to cleanse the people from their sins (Leviticus 16:14–16). Each offering reminded Israel that forgiveness required the shedding of blood and that the penalty of sin was death.
• Yet even with these repeated sacrifices, the people continued to sin. The offerings could cover guilt but could not change the heart. Through the prophets, God promised a day when that would no longer be necessary. Jeremiah wrote that God would make a new covenant and put His law within His people, writing it on their hearts (Jeremiah 31:31–33). Ezekiel stated that God would give His people a new heart and a new spirit, replacing the heart of stone with one that would obey Him (Ezekiel 36:26–27). These promises looked ahead to a time when true cleansing would come—not only the forgiveness of sin, but the transformation of those who were forgiven.

from the new testament

• The Old Testament taught that life is in the blood and that blood belongs to God. It also showed that forgiveness required a substitute to die in the place of the sinner. The New Testament shows that those Old Testament sacrifices were pointing forward to Jesus Christ. That is, His blood gives life and is the only sacrificial death that brings true and eternal forgiveness.
• Hebrews 10 explains the problem of the Old Testament sacrifices: “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4). That is why those sacrifices were repeated endlessly because they could never cleanse the heart. But Jesus came to do what they could not. “We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). His one sacrifice ended the need for continual offerings because it completely satisfied God’s justice and opened the way to eternal life.
• Paul explained that this was possible because Jesus was fully human. Unlike animal sacrifices, which temporarily removed an instance of guilt, being human meant He was a sacrifice of equal weight for human life. However, although He was human, Jesus “knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). If Jesus had sinned, His death would have only been for His own sin. But since He was perfect, He could die in place of sinners. Paul also said that “God put [Christ] forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith” (Romans 3:25).
• Propitiation means that Jesus’ bloody death fully satisfied God’s righteous anger against sin. Sin demands judgment, but through the cross, that judgment was placed on Christ instead of us. His shed blood was not only the payment for sin but the means by which peace with God was restored.
• Everyone who believes in Christ has their sin covered by His blood. Not only that, but God changes their hearts and gives them the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5–6; cf. Ezekiel 36:26–27) so that they can begin to live righteously. Though believers still fall short and need to confess sins (1 John 1:8-10), they are being slowly changed to be like Jesus (1 John 3:3). As Paul wrote, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

implications for today

Life being in the blood has profound implications. It means that one life can be given in the place of another. That is, one’s blood can be shed for another. From the beginning, Scripture teaches that God requires the death of anyone who sins. However, it also showed that forgiveness was available through the death of another life. Every animal sacrificed in the Old Testament was a picture of this truth. However, since they offered limited forgiveness, being only animals, they were not of sufficient value to completely atone for human sin. Instead, they pointed forward to the need for a better sacrifice, one that was valuable enough to pay for human sin.

This is why Jesus came. Being fully God, He never sinned. Being fully human, He could die and fully pay for human sin. Thus, when He died on the cross, He did so to take our place. He endured the death we deserved so that we could receive the life He offers. His resurrection proved that the debt was fully paid and that death no longer has power over those who belong to Him. The blood of Jesus was the very means by which God brings forgiveness, peace, and eternal life.

If you have never trusted in Christ, this is the good news: your sin can be forgiven, and you can be made new. God offers this gift freely, not because of what you can do, but because of what Jesus has already done. To receive it, you must repent of your sin and believe that His death and resurrection are enough to save you. When you do, God gives you new life and fills you with His Spirit so that you can walk with Him now and live with Him forever.