Displayed blood

Several times in his stimulating Contours of Pauline Theology , Tom Holland claims that Paul’s references to displayed blood must refer to sacrifice becuase “there is only one sacrifice in the entire Old Testament that was given public display. It was the Paschal victim whose blood was daubed on the lintel and doorposts of the homes it protected.”

Paul may well be referring to Passover, but Holland is mistaken. Every sacrifice, in fact, included a display of blood, and many of them displayed blood on the bronze altar in the courtyard. Passover is always in the background, but it was from the only sacrifice that displayed the blood for all to see.