Saint Catherine of Siena was born in 1347, the twenty-fourth of twenty-five children. She was known then for her care as a nun and nurse. Today she is known for her writings. Many of her writings use metaphors. These word pictures allow her to put new frames on old truths. Like paintings on a wall often overlooked, new frames can bring them back to life. Saint Catherine's work has done that with the significant works of God which are often overlooked.

One of the works of God often overlooked is also His most significant ­ the crucifixion of Christ. However, Saint Catherine put it in a new frame when she wrote about the Bridge and the Key. She wrote there was an unwanted gap between heaven and earth, so God built a bridge, a bridge named Jesus. It was to be a sturdy bridge with walls of stone. Each stone represented a virtue of Jesus. When all the resources were gathered, the day came to form the walls and raise the bridge. That day occurred when Jesus was raised and crucified. His drops of blood were needed to mix the mortar and secure each stone in place. Then, when they lifted Jesus on the cross, God's bridge was set in place. Yet, at the end of the bridge, a gate was built, which could only be unlocked by a key. The key to unlocking the gate, and allowing us into heaven, was Jesus' blood shed for you and me.

Jesus' blood is the key!
Without His blood,
The wall wouldn't last,
The bridge wouldn't stand,
And Jesus would be like any other man.

Without His blood,
You might believe Jesus is good,
You might follow His teachings,
And live like you should.

But at the end of life,
When you stand at a gate,
You'd better hold the key of His blood,
Which He shed for your sake.
Jesus' blood is the key

Why Is Jesus' Blood the Key?

Political correctness demands it be said that Jesus' blood is "a key," not "the key." Spiritual tolerance says that Jesus is "a way" to God, not "the way" to God. Yet Jesus said himself in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Jesus does not make this statement alone. The Bible explains why Jesus' blood alone is the key.

God requires blood
All of Scripture supports that the only way to a relationship with God is through blood. Hebrews 9:22 asserts that "without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin." The only way to approach God is to be sinless ­ clean. The only way anyone can be clean before God is by shedding blood. Leviticus 17:11 explains why:

²⁴ "For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life."

To understand this requirement, you must bridge Genesis 3 and Romans 6. In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve's close relationship with God changed the day they sinned. On that day, they were cast out of Eden and were told they would die. They lost their lives with God. Romans 6:23 explains why. It says that "the wages of sin is death." The word "wages" is an old "general store"-type term which refers to swapping. Adam and Eve swapped their lives with God for sin and death. God said, "If you want to be close with me again, then you must make another swap. You must swap out your sin and death with a life." God said life is in the blood, and that is why God required a blood sacrifice ­ life and cleansing are in the blood. Blood is the key.

We understand that blood is the key to life physically. The America's Blood Centers records that every three seconds someone needs blood and that in the United States, 40,000 pints of blood are needed each day. Physically, without blood we die, and with blood we live. Spiritually, by sin we die, and by blood we live. Yet, it can't be just any blood. It must be perfect blood. God requires perfect blood.

God Requires Perfect Blood
One of the greatest fears of hospital patients today is a blood transfusion. It is the fear of getting hepatitis or HIV from contaminated blood. According to the 1995 Institute or Medicine, here are the odds of getting bad blood through a transfusion:

Hepatitis C	1:2,000 ­ 1:6,000
Hepatitis B	1:200,000
HIV	1:420,000

In reaction to these fears, entire hospitals are being established to render bloodless medicine or conduct bloodless surgery. This means treatments without transfusions. We go to all this trouble because our bodies require pure blood.

The odds of sin separating you from God are 1:1. One sin results in complete separation. The only way for complete restoration is with a transfusion of pure blood. Spiritually, God has always required a sacrifice of perfect blood. In Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, God's requirements for a sacrifice are clear. The animal is to be without blemish, the best you have, perfect. God required perfect blood. Yet for the blood to truly be perfect, God needed the perfect donor.

God Requires a Perfect Donor
In the Old Testament, the perfect donor was an animal without any defect. Yet, the sacrifices of the Old Testament merely treated the symptoms of sin and did not address the problem. To address the problem, God did something drastic. He became the donor ­ the perfect donor, Jesus Christ. Hebrews 9:13-14 explains:

¹³The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. ¹⁴How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

Sin is a disease of the heart which affects our actions. Old Testament sacrifices merely addressed the actions, but not the heart. The problem was the donor. Animal blood could never cleanse us of human sin. Only human blood could do that, and God would need a perfect human to be the donor. Therefore, He came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ and offered His blood for our sin. God required a perfect blood donor, so He came Himself ­ because He loved us.

My brother's only hesitation about getting married was the blood test. Chuck has always had an aversion to hospitals and needles. This is no casual fear. His complexion becomes pale and creamy right before he passes out. I know, I have had to catch him. When the frightening day came for their blood test, Chuck and Karin drove to the hospital (though I'm still not sure who actually drove). Sitting before a saintly nurse, Chuck bravely said, "Karin, you go first." Turning his head, he waited his turn. When it was his turn, he slowly rolled up his sleeve. As the white-haired nurse prepared his syringe, her assuring words calmed him. And Chuck was doing fine until the older nurse grabbed his arm with one hand and moved the needle toward an exposed vein with the other. The hand with the needle was swaying back and forth, unsteady from age. Turning creamy and clammy, Chuck closed his eyes as the needle slid smoothly and painlessly into his vein.

Chuck endured what he feared the most because he loved Karin, and their marriage required his blood. The night before His crucifixion, Jesus told God His deepest fear. He did not want to be crucified. He was not facing a needle, but a spike. It would not be a syringe, but a cat-of-nine-tails, a crown of thorns and a spear. Yet, Jesus would endure the cross and give His blood because He loved you, and your relationship with God required blood ­ perfect blood from a perfect donor. Only Jesus could do this. His blood is the key.

¹⁶ Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey-whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? ¹⁷ But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. ¹⁸ You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.