In the world of professional wrestling, there used to be a massive man who stood six feet, nine inches tall and weighed 350 pounds, all muscle.  He went by the name of Sid Vicious.  After Mr. Vicious would brutally beat up his far overmatched opponent, he would utter the words, “Sid Vicious rules the world.”  Now, we all know that pro wrestling is not completely legitimate.  I mean, no one can get hit over the head with a metal chair, then thrown over the ropes headfirst onto a concrete floor, only to fight back as if nothing happened.  That is not reality, is it?  Nor is it reality that Sid Vicious rules the world.

Let me tell you what is real: the devil rules the world.  That old red dragon is a worthy adversary for mankind.  He is, according to 2 Cor. 4:4, the god of this world.  His allies are sin and death.  In fact, the Bible affirms that at one time, Satan had the power of death in his control.  But Jesus led captivity captive, and destroyed the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).  

How did Jesus do this?  How did He bind Satan and become the Savior of mankind?  The answer is by tasting death on Calvary’s cross.

Hebrews 2:14-15 (ESV)
¹⁴ Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

By shedding His blood on our behalf, Jesus paved the way for us to be saved.

Hebrews 9:13–14 (ESV)
¹³For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, ¹⁴how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

There is a poster seen in some doctors’ offices that reads, “There is no substitute for blood.”  Well, we all know that this is a physiological truth, but we should realize that it is a spiritual truth as well.  It is an immutable principle that without blood, there is no forgiveness of sin.

Hebrews 9:22 (ESV)
²² Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

Thank God that Jesus was willing to shed His blood so that we could be saved.  If we use our imaginations, we can hear the sound of the merciless lashes of the scourge biting into the back of our Savior.  Perhaps we can visualize the anguish on His face as He was being wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities.  We might even be able to hear His blood drip from His body to the marble floor of the governor’s judgment hall.

Then, hanging on the cross, with heaven and earth as witnesses of His pain and sorrow, Jesus suffered, and as observers stood by and viewed the nails in His hands and feet, and the marks on His brow where the crown of thorns had been planted, He continued to bleed.  This is the precious blood that was shed for the forgiveness of our sins, and it is the blood by which those of us who are Christians have been justified (Romans 5:6-9).

The term justify is a forensic term.  It is the term that would be used when the accused was declared not guilty.  When one is acquitted, he is rendered guiltless; he is “justified.”  In practical terms, “justified” means “just as if we’ve never sinned.”   That is how we stand before God because our sins have been washed away and removed from our account (Romans 8:1-4; Ephesians 1:4-7).  Nothing in or out of this world could accomplish this except the blood of our Savior.  Thank God, He was willing to shed it so that we might be saved.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.