All born-again Christians are familiar with the phrase “under the blood”. It originates in the Old Testament at the beginning of the Passover, at the very start of the exodus of the Jewish nation from bondage in Egypt en route to the promised land. For born-again Christians it is a very serious and important concept and requires our complete understanding.

The story can be found in Exodus 12:1-14

“God said to Moses and Aaron while still in Egypt, “This month is to be the first month of the year for you. Address the whole community of Israel; tell them that on the tenth of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one lamb to a house……… Then take some of the blood and smear it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which you will eat it. …….. I will go through the land of Egypt on this night and strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, whether human or animal, and bring judgement on all the gods of Egypt. I am God. The blood will serve as a sign on the houses where you live. When I see the blood I will pass over you—no disaster will touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.” (emphasis added)

The details of God’s instructions were so important to Moses and God’s people, they are recorded twice in the Bible. The second time is when Moses tells the people in Exodus 12:22-30 exactly how to do things:

“And you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip in the blood in the bowl, and strike the lintel and the doorposts with the blood in the bowl. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. For Jehovah will pass through to strike the Egyptians. And when He sees the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, Jehovah will pass over the door, and will not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. And you shall observe this thing for a law to you and to your sons forever. And it shall be, when you have come to the land which Jehovah will give you, according as He has promised, that you shall keep this service. And it will be, when your sons shall say to you, What is this service to you? Then you shall say, It is the sacrifice of Jehovah’s Passover, who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt, when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our houses. And the people bowed and worshiped.

And the sons of Israel went away and did as Jehovah had commanded Moses and Aaron; so they did. And it happened at midnight Jehovah struck all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat on his throne to the first-born of the captive that was in the prison; also all the first-born of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants, and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.”

Yes, God and Moses are pedantic. They wanted to make sure that none of God’s people were lost through ignorance or being in violation of the protocol. Thus it was, that those who applied the blood of the slain lamb to the lintel and doorposts of their houses and then remained within the house – i.e. stayed “under the blood,” and were safe on that Passover night. That night, God killed all the first-born of Egypt, except those who were “under the blood.” Had any Jewish first-born been found outside his house on that night, he would have died alongside all the other first-borns who were not protected by the blood of the lamb.

This is what it means to be “under the blood;” to be protected by the blood of the slain lamb. But it is conditional – for protection, one has to stay “under the blood’. Move out from under the blood and there is no protection! There was not then, there is not now.

There are obvious parallels between the Passover and the Crucifixion of Jesus:

1. Jesus was known as the Lamb of God (John 1:29) and was spotless and without blemish (1 Peter 1:19) while at the Passover, a male lamb without blemish was called for.

2. They used hyssop to offer Jesus a drink on the cross (John 1:29) and hyssop to apply the blood to the doorposts and lintels.

3. In both cases, at Passover and Crucifixion, no another substitution was possible – the Lord gave no alternatives, no other possible answers.

Similarly for us, as God’s people in Egypt were saved on the Passover night by staying under the blood, so are we. To remain under the protection of the Blood of Jesus, we need to apply God’s Word, His Holy Bible to our lives, and to walk in righteousness and obedience to God. However, as soon as we step out of that protection, we are fair game, easy pickings for the enemy who is just waiting to pounce on us and take us from Jesus. The consequences of loosing the coverage of the Blood of Jesus can be serious indeed, just as they were for God’s chosen on the night of Passover so many thousands of years ago.

Yes, born-again Christians have the protection of the Blood, we just need to stay under it!

Amen and Amen.