The sacrifice of Jesus Christ opened up that way. But for that sacrifice to be legally valid, Christ had to make a personal appearance before God himself.

² This was foreshadowed on Atonement Day when the high priest entered the Most Holy. (Leviticus 16:12-15) “However,” wrote the apostle Paul, “when Christ came as a high priest . . . , he entered, no, not with the blood of goats and of young bulls, but with his own blood, once for all time into the holy place and obtained an everlasting deliverance for us. For Christ entered, not into a holy place made with hands, which is a copy of the reality, but into heaven itself, now to appear before the person of God for us.”​—Hebrews 9:11, 12, 24.

Clearly, the atoning power of a sacrifice was in its blood. (Leviticus 8:15; 9:9) “Nearly all things are cleansed with blood according to the Law, and unless blood is poured out no forgiveness takes place.”​—Hebrews 9:22.

4. (a) What purpose was served by God’s restricting the use of blood? (b) What was significant about the way Jesus was put to death?

⁴ Little wonder, then, that under the Law, any misuse of blood was punishable by death! (Leviticus 17:10) All of us know that when a substance is made rare, or severely restricted as to its use, its value increases. Jehovah’s curb on its use ensured that blood would be viewed, not as something of ordinary value, but as precious, valuable. (Acts 15:29; Hebrews 10:29) This accorded with the exalted purpose the blood of Christ would serve. Fittingly, he died in a manner that caused his blood to be shed. Thus, it was evident that Christ not only sacrificed his human body but poured out his soul, sacrificed his very life as a perfect human! (Isaiah 53:12) Christ did not forfeit the legal right to that life because of imperfection, so his poured-out blood had great value and could be presented before God for the atonement of mankind’s sins.