In relation to Eph. 2:13: But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ, commentator Markus Barth notes: “Spilled blood speaks louder than a voice. If God hears the prayers of oral petition and intercession – how much more does he hear the cry of his beloved son, the Messiah! Blood augments the urgency of intercession” (299).