Can we eat blood?

I often hear many people say that they are troubled by this problem, and the teaching in this respect varies from church to church. Some people say they can eat, while others say they can't. There are many views within Christianity. What is this? We must go back to the Bible to find the answer and understand how the Bible teaches.

Generally support people who can't eat blood, there are two lines:

Gen 9:3-4 All living animals can be your food. I give you all these things, just like a vegetable. But the flesh with blood is its life, and you shall not eat it. "

Acts 15:28-29 because the holy spirit and we decided not to put any other burdens on you. There are only a few things that are indispensable, that is, forbidden things for idolatry, blood, strangled animals and adultery. If only you could give up these things yourself. May you be safe.

Generally support people who can eat blood, there are several verses:

Oh, my god 10: 16-2 1 Isn't the cup we bless sharing the blood of Christ? Is it not the bread we break that we share the body of Christ? ……

The sea fish of the family Sparidae, because the kingdom of God does not care about eating and drinking, but only about righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Col. 2: Therefore, let no one judge you in food and drink, in festivals, in new moons and on sabbaths. These are the shadows of the past; The body is Christ.

Each has its own support. How can we tell the difference between the two?

When reading the Bible, there is a "trick to study scripture", that is, what is this passage in the Bible talking about in this position? This is very important. It is necessary to know the meaning of the context of the scripture mentioned in the Bible, and what the thoughts and contents expressed in the scripture are. You shouldn't take out a passage at will to support your point of view.

Back to the problem of "you can't eat blood", we need to understand the teaching of "blood" in the Bible and the gradual enlightenment about "blood".

First, when Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden, God made clothes for them out of leather. Bleeding to cover up people's sins.

The second place, Abel's blood, came out of the ground and cried out to God. We can imagine that blood can talk (Hebrews 12: 4), blood is alive, and blood is witness.

Gen 9:4 The third kind is the flesh with blood, which is its life. You shall not eat it. This is the first time that God has forbidden to eat blood, and its significance is to show the truth of atonement.

At this time, it is forbidden to teach "blood" in the Bible, but its pre-expressed meaning is not explained, but it is explained in Exodus. In the ten plagues of Exodus, God told Moses to slaughter the lamb and put blood on the lintel, which shows that "blood" is used for atonement.

In Exodus, Moses offered a sacrifice, sprinkled half of the blood in the basin on the altar and half on the people, and said to the people, "Look! This is the blood of the covenant, and it is a testimony that the LORD made a covenant with you according to all these words. "(For example. We can see that half of it is sprinkled on the altar, symbolizing the presence of God, and the other half is sprinkled on the people, making them clean and holy to the Lord, thus showing the unity of the people and God.

From the above, we know that the revelation of "blood" in the Old Testament has basically come to an end, and it also shows three important messages about "blood":

1, the blood of the sacrifice has the meaning of atonement, so those who are sprinkled with blood are forgiven their sins.

2. The person who was spilled blood made an agreement with God to care for each other's life and death.

3. Blood is life. Because of this blood, people have gained new life.

But the Jews, deeply influenced by the law of Moses in the Old Testament, did not know that this "blood" refers to Jesus. Therefore, when Jesus preached in Capernaum, he said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have life in you. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life; I will bring him back to life at the end of the day. My meat is really edible and my blood is really drinkable. ..... "(see 6: 53-58)

Jesus' speech had a great influence on Jews. First, the Jews couldn't understand what Jesus was saying, and even thought that Jesus was crazy. Secondly, Jesus' preaching that people "eat his flesh and drink his blood" fundamentally conflicts with the convention that Jews cannot "eat his blood". Even Jesus' disciples didn't understand the speech and said, "This is very difficult. Who can listen? " (difficult: offensive). When we look at these poems again, there is a typical fan-shaped structure:

A about 6:53~54? Eating the flesh of a man's son? If you drink the blood of the Son of Man, there will be no life.

Eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink the blood of the Son of Man, and you will have eternal life.

John 6:55 You may eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood.

John 6:56~58 Eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood-live forever.

Eat the son's meat (eaten by ancestors? Manna)-there is no life (death? )

Regarding the revelation of blood, Jesus has basically made it clear that all blood in the Old Testament refers to him. He will be the lamb of sin, and he will make a Covenant with us with blood to atone for our sins. He has life in their blood. In fact, at our last dinner, Jesus said, "This blood is the New Testament for you …", and the function of "blood" is clearly shown to us again.

Then why did the Old Testament say that "blood is not allowed" and Jesus said that he would eat his flesh and drink his blood?

This is another gradual revelation in the Bible: the laws in the Old Testament are all the shadows of Jesus, and the summary of the laws only refers to Jesus. Then how to understand it?

For example, it is easy to understand: for example, if your boss asks you to meet someone at the airport, but you don't know that person, the boss will give you a photo of the person you met. You will say, "Oh, this is the person I want to see." You can tell who it is by looking at the photos. Among them, "blood" is a photo, and it is also a front table about blood. However, when you receive a letter from that person, you become acquaintances. You know his name. When you meet him, you will greet him kindly, chat with him and call his name, because you already know him. Don't, after receiving, still take photos to talk to that person every time?

"Blood" is a photo and "Jesus" is a person. As Hebrews says in chapter 10, the law is the shadow of good things in the future. Therefore, after the arrival of Christ Jesus, every time we receive the Eucharist, the bread cup is filled with God's body and precious blood. When we eat his body and his blood, we are purified by his blood, and at the same time we are United with the Lord through blood.

As for Acts 15:29, "only a few things are indispensable, that is, things sacrificed to idols, blood, strangled livestock and adultery are forbidden. If only you could give up these things yourself. May you be safe. " The problem is basically the contradiction and problem when Jews and Gentiles meet under the same roof. Jews have lived for many years, and their habit is to live according to the law, while foreigners don't have those habits, which leads to conflicts and contradictions. What is taught here is that "nothing can happen if you don't commit crimes" is not a strict requirement. You can't commit crimes or eat blood, so this is only a euphemism requirement, not a tough command (like the law of Moses).

It doesn't matter whether you eat blood or not, because Jesus has come. Once he was crucified, he washed us with precious blood, redeemed us and gave us new life. But now some churches teach not to eat blood, so it is easy to fall into legalism.

There is no unified teaching about eating blood. Just pay attention to it. Understand the gradual revelation of "blood" in the Bible and learn to respect the teachings of various churches. Just don't cause bad influence or division because of the problem of "replacing blood with blood"