Anatomy of a Song: "At the Cross (Blood Ran Red)" Quiz

Answer: God not punishing us for our wrongdoings

The word mercy comes from the French word "merci" which means "Thank you." This came from the Latin word "merces" which means "reward or wages for something." However, current usage applies the word to acts that show compassion, that do not enforce punishment even when justice may seem to require it.

An act of mercy is extended from one with the power to punish - if a peasant gets caught stealing the king's gold, the king can show mercy to that peasant. But it can also be on a personal level, when we do not seek a penalty from someone who we feel has wronged us.

Answer: God's Riches At Christ's Expense

Grace is often defined as God giving us what we don't deserve. Therefore, this phrase is very fitting. God is giving us what is his, but not because of what we have done, but because of what Christ has done. It was at His expense, that is because He died upon the cross for us.

Answer: Noah

In Genesis Chapter Six, God tells Noah to build an ark because He is going to flood the earth. Noah does so, and then he, his wife, his three sons, and their wives along with 2 or 7 of every kind of animal (depending on the type of animal) get onto the ark and God closes the door in Chapter Seven.

Everyone else on the earth was killed in the flood because they did not believe Noah, and never got onto the ark. In chapter nine, after the rain had stopped, the waters had receded and everyone was off the ark, God put a rainbow in the sky. It was a promise that he would never destroy the entire earth again via a flood.

However, in the song, the word flood is a good thing as it describes love coming down like a flood, and that is the kind of loving the world needs.

Answer: Jesus gave His life on the cross.

Jesus dying on the cross and rising again three days later is the essential doctrine of the Christian faith. It is found in all four of the gospels.

In the King James Version Galatian 6:12 talks about the "persecution for the cross of Christ."
Ephesians 2:16 says, "And that he might be reconciled unto God in one body by the cross...".
Philippians 2:8 says, "became obedient unto death, even death on a cross."

So not only was the cross talked about in the gospels but in other books of the New Testament as well, and these are not the only references, just examples.

Answer: Adam and Eve

In Genesis 3 Adam and Eve are in the Garden of Eden. God tells them they can eat from any tree except for the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Serpent comes and tells Eve it's okay to eat from that Tree, and she listens to him and then offers some to Adam and he also eats from it. They have disobeyed God, and sin has entered the world.

Answer: No

It says in Romans 12:1 in the King James Version, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

In this verse, it says a "living sacrifice." While it is true that some Christians have been martyred for their faith, it is not a requirement. What it means to surrender your life is to give it all to Jesus, that is, die to yourself, and live for Him.

Answer: Moses

In Exodus 3:5 in the King James Version, "And He said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground."

In the next verse, the "He" of verse five clarifies that He is God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is because He is there, that the place is holy ground.

In the song, the singer is saying right where he is is holy ground. In other words, God is with him, and therefore at that moment and therefore he, like Moses back in Exodus three, is standing on holy ground.

Answer: prostrate

Prostration is a very low bowing, with the body stretched low and face to the ground. This appears in the NIV, for example in 1 Kings 18:39, after Elijah calls the fire down from Heaven. It says, "When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, 'The LORD-He is God! The LORD-He is God!'"

The singer, likewise is saying because Jesus saved his life he is bowing down to Him.

Answer: Good Friday

Traditionally, Good Friday is considered the day that Jesus was crucified on the cross. The crucifixion of Jesus is in all of the gospels. In the King James Version, Mark 15:25 states, "And it was the third hour, and they crucified him." Many ask why it is called Good Friday, since Jesus died, and death is not good.

It is considered Good not because He died, but because of what His death would accomplish and because of what would happen on that Sunday morning.

Answer: Revelation

It says in Revelation 7:14b (KJV), "And have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Jesus is considered the sacrificial Lamb of God. He was crucified on Passover, based on the gospels, and His sacrifice paid the sin debt once and for all for those who believe in His name according to verses such as Acts 16:31 (KJV).

The singer also talks about being washed white. 1 John 1:7 also talks about Jesus cleaning us from all our sins. The robes being washed white is symbolic of our sins being washed away. That is, we will be made 100% pure.