No Blood Required?
Shelf · Apologetics & Bible Evidence 11 of 13
Exhibit AKey Evidence
- "No blood required." John pointed straight to the sacrifice: "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). He told the people to believe on the One coming after him, Christ Jesus (Acts 19:4).
- John's baptism of repentance. Mark 1:4 uses those words for John's baptism. At the Last Supper Jesus uses the same words for His own blood (Matthew 26:28).
- Hebrews 9:22. Read the whole verse: "According to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission." Hebrews 10:4 says the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sins. Repentant sinners before the cross were forgiven on credit, and the cross paid the bill (Romans 3:25).
- The Essenes and sacrifice. The reel says this sect believed God never wanted blood atonement. The Essenes were stricter about the Torah than anyone. What they rejected was the priesthood running the Jerusalem temple. Their own Temple Scroll lays out sacrifices for a purified temple.
- The Dead Sea Scrolls. The same scrolls include the Great Isaiah Scroll, where the Servant is "wounded for our transgressions" and His soul is made "an offering for sin" (Isaiah 53:5, 10). The copy itself is older than Paul's letters, and the prophecy is centuries older still.
- The Nazarenes. The reel says Jesus was called a Nazarene because of a sect. Mark 1:9: "Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee." He was called a Nazarene because Nazareth was His hometown (Matthew 2:23).
- "Jesus said he was the greatest man that ever lived." In the same breath Jesus said, "he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he" (Matthew 11:11). John was the last prophet before the cross, not a replacement for it.
Exhibit BFrom the Word
“For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’”
“And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.”
“knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
ClassifiedFull Briefing
No Blood Required?
Anchor verse: "For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." (Matthew 26:28, NKJV)
Summary
A response to an Instagram reel from the deconstruction account Real Good News. The reel claims John the Baptist offered forgiveness of sins with "no blood required," and that Jesus came out of a sect that rejected sacrifice. The speaker is shown in short clips with his own audio and is not named. Each claim is answered on screen from Scripture, narrated by Fallen Exposure.
The claims and the answers
- "No blood required." John pointed straight to the sacrifice: "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). He told the people to believe on the One coming after him, Christ Jesus (Acts 19:4).
- John's baptism of repentance. Mark 1:4 uses those words for John's baptism. At the Last Supper Jesus uses the same words for His own blood (Matthew 26:28).
- Hebrews 9:22. Read the whole verse: "According to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission." Hebrews 10:4 says the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sins. Repentant sinners before the cross were forgiven on credit, and the cross paid the bill (Romans 3:25).
- The Essenes and sacrifice. The reel says this sect believed God never wanted blood atonement. The Essenes were stricter about the Torah than anyone. What they rejected was the priesthood running the Jerusalem temple. Their own Temple Scroll lays out sacrifices for a purified temple.
- The Dead Sea Scrolls. The same scrolls include the Great Isaiah Scroll, where the Servant is "wounded for our transgressions" and His soul is made "an offering for sin" (Isaiah 53:5, 10). The copy itself is older than Paul's letters, and the prophecy is centuries older still.
- The Nazarenes. The reel says Jesus was called a Nazarene because of a sect. Mark 1:9: "Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee." He was called a Nazarene because Nazareth was His hometown (Matthew 2:23).
- "Jesus said he was the greatest man that ever lived." In the same breath Jesus said, "he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he" (Matthew 11:11). John was the last prophet before the cross, not a replacement for it.
Takeaway
"You were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold… but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." (1 Peter 1:18–19, NKJV). No blood required? It was always about the blood.
Source
Real Good News on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reel/De9ZW_TRjHd/