<p>12:25 <em>See you do not reject him that speaks. For if they did not escape when they rejected Him that warned them on earth, much more shall not we escape if we turn away from him that warns from heaven</em>- The One who speaks &quot;warned&quot; is not a good translation; the Greek means literally to preach or speak is the Lord Jesus, personified as His blood in :24. The same word translated &quot;reject&quot; is that used in :19 of Israel rejecting the word of the old covenant. They rejected God's word because they feared the massing up of commandments to obey. They totally missed the point of relationship with God on the basis of His word. And the same fear of God's demands was to be seen in the Hebrews of the first century turning away from the voice of the cross of Christ. He there is indeed a voice speaking to us, demanding much of us- not in terms of obedience to legislation and commandments, but in asking us to believe that because of His work there, we shall surely be saved, our sins are no longer a barrier between God and us; and the joy and confidence arising from this should lead us to a life of total response and commitment. To turn away from the voice of the cross, as the Hebrews were doing, means there can be no escape, no place to run, at judgment day.&nbsp; The Lord had used the same word in saying that the Jews would have no way to &quot;escape&quot; condemnation (Mt. 23:33). The same word is also used in each of the accounts of the Olivet prophecy of how the Christians would &quot;escape&quot; from Jerusalem; it was those who remained dedicated to the temple who did not escape and were destroyed in AD70.</p><p>The events of the crucifixion are an epitome of who the Lord most essentially was and is. His soul was made &lsquo;sin&rsquo; in that He &ldquo;poured out His soul unto death&quot; (Is. 53:12). The Hebrew for &ldquo;poured out&quot; also means to make naked, to stretch out. The Lord bared His soul, who He essentially was, was displayed there for all to see; the wine was His blood which was Him, in the sense that the cross is who the son of God essentially was and is and shall ever be. &ldquo;This is Jesus&quot; was and is the title over the cross. There, for our redemption, He died (Heb. 9:15), He gave us <em>Himself</em> (1 Tim. 2:6; Tit. 2:14), His life (Mt. 20:28; Mk. 10:45), His blood (1 Pet. 1:18,19; Eph. 1:7). His death, His life, His blood, these are all essentially <em>Himself</em>. The blood of Jesus speaks to us as if <em>He personally</em> speaks to us; He is personified as His blood (Heb. 12:24,25). This is the preaching (Gk. the word) of the cross. Paul makes the connection between the voice of Christ&rsquo;s blood and the earthquake that shook all things at the time of the Old Covenant's inauguration. The voice of that blood can shake <em>all things</em> with the exception of the Kingdom, which cannot be shaken. This is the power of the cross. Human words, platform speaking, magazine articles- all these are so limited, although our communal life is inevitably built around them. See on Jn. 6:51; Heb. 9:20.</p>