I know it was the blood,
I know it was the blood,
I know it was the blood for me.
One day when I was lost, He died upon the cross.
I know it was the blood for me.

It began with the crowd cheering,
“Hosanna to the Son of David,
and ended with the crowd jeering,
“Crucify Him” and
“Save yourself, if you are the Son of God,
and come down from the cross!

It started as he entered the city in triumph
and ended is what certainly looked like defeat.

It started with loyal disciples
proud to be walking at his side
and ended with one betraying him,
another denying that he ever knew him
and the other hiding in fear and trembling

It started with great rejoicing,
and ended with disappointment, sadness and mourning.

It began on a sunny Sunday,
and ended in darkness and despair on Saturday,
as he laid buried in a tomb.

He began the week riding on a borrowed donkey,
holding a feast in a borrowed room,
and ended it buried in a borrowed tomb.

He began the week full of life
and ended it dead as dead could be.

It had been quite a week for Jesus,
for his disciples
and even for his enemies,
and it will be quite a week for us, as well.

I know it was the blood,
I know it was the blood,
I know it was the blood for me.

But we are not here today,
to simply rehash what happened so long ago.
We’re not even here to mourn
or to feel guilty about our sins.
we’re actually here to remember
that he did it all for us,
that he gave us his own Body and Blood
so that we might become the Body of Christ,
so that the Blood of Christ might flow through our veins and arteries.

He did it all for us,
so that our sins might be forgiven
and we might be closer to God than anyone ever was before us.

He did it all for us
so that we might live forever.

No matter how lost we have been
no matter our sins and sorrows
no matter how we may have betrayed or denied him,
no matter how unworthy we may seem to be
he shed his blood for us,
for each and every one of us.

And so today as we gather to begin this Holy Week,
we are gathered together
to not only remember the past,
but to give thanks for the present
and to look forward to the future,
because of all he did for us.

I know it was the blood,
I know it was the blood,
I know it was the blood for me.
One day when I was lost, He died upon the cross.
I know it was the blood for me.