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Was Jesus' blood loss before execution important?

What difference does it make if Jesus did or did not undergo serious blood loss while being prepared for or undergoing execution? Let's find out.

Answer:

According to the New Testament, blood must be shed in order to obtain atonement. The author of the Book of Hebrews maintains that obtaining forgiveness of sin always necessitates that there must first be a shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:11-12, 22). Luke's Jesus claims that his blood was shed for his followers (Luke 22:20).

In the biblical blood sacrifice offering, a token blood letting is not sufficient nor is mere death sufficient. The sacrifice has to die through the shedding of blood. At no time did Jesus suffer blood loss to the extent of it being the cause of his death. Neither the blood loss due to the scourging (Matthew 27:26, Mark 15:15, John 19:1), the nail wounds (John 20:25), or crown of thorns (Matthew 27:29, Mark 15:17, John 19:2) caused Jesus' death. As a result, not only was Jesus' death not an everlasting atonement for sin it was not even a sacrifice.

© Gerald Sigal