The Breakthrough Power of the Blood of Christ: The Core of the Easter Message

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Editor’s Note: Today is Good Friday. This is the day we celebrate Christ’s death on the cross. If we want to be precise, it was not the cross that saved us—it was the blood of Jesus Christ. Medical analyses indicate Jesus likely died from a combination of hypovolemic shock (extreme blood loss) and exhaustion asphyxia. Whatever the case, blood loss played a significant part in His death. As Leviticus 17:11 declares, “The life is in the blood.” Easter is ultimately about the mystery and redemptive power of the blood of Christ.

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Introduction: Why the Blood of Christ Matters Today

For many Christians, the blood of Jesus is a familiar Sunday school concept—something we sing about but rarely understand deeply. Yet the Bible presents the blood of Christ as the very heart of the gospel. Without it, there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22). Without it, there is no covenant. Without it, there is no breakthrough.

On Good Friday, we remember that Jesus didn’t just die—He bled. And His blood was not a tragic accident but a deliberate, divine transaction. As the early church father Clement of Rome wrote: “Let us look steadfastly to the blood of Christ, and see how precious that blood is to God, which, having been shed for our salvation, has set the grace of repentance before the whole world.”

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In this article, we will explore:

• The ancient practice of blood covenants

• How the Bible weaves the blood covenant from Genesis to Revelation

• The Passover as a picture of protection and deliverance

• The Lord’s Supper as the ongoing declaration of Christ’s victory

• Practical steps to incorporate daily communion for breakthrough

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Part 1: The Ancient Practice of Blood Covenants

Blood covenants are a strange concept for modern Westerners, but they were very familiar to people in non-Western cultures throughout much of history. Understanding this context unlocks the depth of what Jesus did on the cross.

The Story of Sir Henry Stanley and the African Blood Covenant

As told by John Osteen in his book Unraveling the Mystery of the Blood Covenant (1987), the great Welsh-American explorer Sir Henry Stanley (1841–1904) became party to many blood covenants on his expeditions through Africa. One account is particularly illuminating:

David Livingstone, the famous missionary to Africa, had been missing for so long that England sent Stanley to search for him. On his expedition, Stanley’s party encountered a powerful, hostile equatorial tribe that blocked their path. Outnumbered and desperate, Stanley’s interpreter explained that the only way forward was to “cut a strong covenant” with the tribe.

The ritual worked like this:

1. Each party chose a substitute to represent them.

2. The substitutes had their wrists cut, and a few drops of blood dripped into a glass of wine.

3. The wine was stirred, mixing the bloods.

4. Each substitute drank half of the mixture, uniting the parties in a blood covenant.

5. Gunpowder was rubbed into the wrist wounds as a permanent mark.

After the covenant was sealed, the chief declared, “Now, buy and sell with Mr. Stanley. He is our blood brother!” Stanley later wrote that he never had to worry about his goods again—stealing from a blood brother carried the death penalty. He also noted that he never knew a blood covenant to be broken in Africa.

Blood Covenants in Aboriginal Australia

Aboriginal people in central Australia had their own blood covenant rituals to address grievances and restore justice. When a serious wrong like murder was committed, the perpetrator could choose death or “payback”—being tied to a tree and speared in the thigh by the victim’s relative. A bowl collected the flowing blood, which was then smeared on the perpetrator as a token of atonement and forgiveness.

These ceremonies—confronting by modern standards—suggest that the entire human race shares a single origin and a shared memory of blood covenants going back to the beginning of time.

Key insight: Blood covenants were the most sacred, unbreakable agreements known to humanity. They created a bond stronger than family, protected by curses on anyone who dared break them. This is the cultural backdrop for understanding what God did when He established His covenant through the blood of Jesus.

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Part 2: The Blood Covenant Runs Through Scripture

Reading between the lines in the earliest pages of the Bible, we see the first glimmer of a blood covenant.

Genesis: The First Sacrifice

In Genesis 3:21, after Adam and Eve sinned, “God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.” By rights, God could have killed them on the spot. Instead, animals died in their place—the first blood sacrifice.

In Genesis 4, Cain and Abel brought sacrifices. Only Abel’s pleased God because he brought blood (an animal sacrifice), while Cain brought grain. Abel’s blood cried out for justice (Genesis 4:10), foreshadowing that only blood can atone for sin.

The Covenant with Abraham

In Genesis 15, God made a formal blood covenant with Abram. Animals were cut in half, and God alone (represented by a smoking firepot and flaming torch) passed between the pieces. Normally, both parties would walk through—but Abram slept. This signified that God’s covenant was unilateral and unconditional. It depended on God’s faithfulness, not Abram’s.

Later, God added circumcision (Genesis 17:10-11)—another cutting of the flesh as a sign of the covenant.

The Binding of Isaac (Genesis 22)

Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son Isaac. This account is a prophetic foreshadowing of Jesus:

• Isaac carried the wood up the hill (the cross).

• Abraham said, “God himself will provide a lamb.”

• The place was called Jehovah-Jireh—the Lord will provide.

Two thousand years later, God did provide a Lamb on the very same mountain range.

The Passover: Blood as Protection and Deliverance

The next major instalment was the Passover (Exodus 11-12). After 430 years of slavery in Egypt, God sent the tenth plague: death of every firstborn. But God provided a way of escape: each family killed a lamb, smeared its blood on the doorposts, and ate the lamb with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

When the destroyer saw the blood, he “passed over” that house. The blood protected them from judgment and delivered them from slavery.

The principle: Blood not only atones—it also protects and delivers.

The Mosaic Law: Atonement Through Blood

At Mount Sinai, God gave detailed instructions for the sacrificial system. The central principle was stated explicitly:

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.” — Leviticus 17:11 (NKJV)

The author of Hebrews summarizes: “Without shedding of blood there is no remission” of sin (Hebrews 9:22).

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Part 3: The Lord’s Supper — Where All Threads Converge

All of this serves as the essential backdrop to God’s final covenant: the death of Christ, celebrated perpetually in the Lord’s Supper (communion or eucharist).

The Last Supper (Luke 22:14-20)

The night before His crucifixion, Jesus celebrated the Passover meal with His disciples. Then He did something unprecedented:

• He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and said: “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

• After supper, He took a cup of wine and said: “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.”

In that single meal, Jesus gathered together all the threads of God’s blood covenant—from Adam to Abraham, from Passover to the Law. He declared Himself the final, once-for-all sacrifice.

Jesus’ Hard Teaching in John 6

In John 6:53-56, Jesus said:

“I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.”

Many disciples left Him after this teaching. They understood Him literally—and were offended. But Jesus did not call them back to explain a metaphor. He meant what He said in a spiritual but real way.

Communion as Proclamation and Spiritual Warfare

The apostle Paul wrote:

“The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” — 1 Corinthians 10:16 (NKJV)

And in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, he explains that “whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

Communion is not a passive ritual. It is a declaration of war against the powers of darkness. When we take communion, we are proclaiming to the rulers, authorities, and spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12) that Jesus has died, risen, and will come again.

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Part 4: A Daily Practice That Changed a Family’s Life

The author of the original article shares a powerful personal testimony:

Years ago, his family moved into a rental home near the largest Buddhist temple in the Southern Hemisphere. Soon after, unusual things happened: marital arguments over nothing, financial struggles, depression after ministry trips. They realized they were under spiritual attack.

A friend with experience in spiritual warfare gave this advice:

1. Go to the four corners of the property to pray and take communion.

2. Submit the home, ministry, and family to Christ.

3. Take communion daily as a husband and wife.

4. Affirm the promises of God, especially the blessings of Deuteronomy 28.

They followed the advice. The oppression lifted immediately.

More than twenty years later, they continue to take communion every morning. The author writes: “I don’t believe we would still be in ministry otherwise. It has become an anchor point for our marriage and our ministry.”

A Simple Daily Communion Routine

Here is their daily practice (takes about five minutes):

1. Declare: “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)

2. Pray for revival, repentance, and reformation for your nation, then for other nations.

3. Pray for family members by name (children, spouses, grandchildren).

4. Pray for friends—healing, deliverance, blessing, conception.

5. Lay hands on your spouse and pray for them.

6. Eat a cracker and drink wine (or grape juice), declaring the Lord’s death and resurrection.

7. Affirm: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20)

You do not need a priest or a church building. Every believer is part of the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:9). You can take communion alone, with your family, or with a small group.

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Part 5: Why the Blood Still Brings Breakthrough Today

The blood of Christ is not a one-time event in history—it is a present reality with ongoing power.

What the Blood Accomplishes for You

A Prayer for Breakthrough Through the Blood

Thank You, Jesus, for Your blood. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins, because the life is in the blood. Help me to see and understand these profound truths. Help me to live them. May the Lamb who was slain receive the reward for His suffering. I apply the blood of Jesus over my life, my family, my home, and my future today. In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

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Conclusion: Make the Blood Your Daily Declaration

The blood of Christ is not just a doctrine to believe—it is a weapon to wield, a covenant to trust, and a meal to consume. Whether you are facing spiritual attack, family strife, financial pressure, or simply the dullness of daily life, the blood of Jesus brings breakthrough.

This Easter, do not just remember the cross. Apply the blood. Take communion. Declare His death and resurrection. And watch what God does.

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