“What can wash away my sin? / Nothing but the blood of Jesus; / What can make me whole again? / Nothing but the blood of Jesus. / Oh! precious is the flow / That makes me white as snow; / No other fount I know, / Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”
— Robert Lowry, published 1876
At the end of what Christians refer to as “Holy Week,” one might ask, “so, what does all that have to do with me?” A great deal, as it turns out …
In my teenage years I was obsessed with all things mechanical, especially souped-up cars. Trouble was, I would come home covered in grease, to the consternation of my long-suffering parents.
Prior to the invention of sophisticated hand cleaners for mechanics, I was reduced to washing with … yes, you guessed it … gasoline. Not only did it fail to remove all the grease, but it reduced my hands to dried out “claws.” I needed industrial-strength cleanser to chemically dissolve the grease, not my hands. There is a spiritual application here.
Around 2,000 years ago, a famous public figure was faced with a similar dilemma, although on an infinitely grander scale. As is written in Matthew 27:24-25: “Now when Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this Man’s blood; you yourselves shall see.’ And all the people replied, ‘His blood shall be on us and on our children!’”
Pontius Pilate was attempting to wash away his guilt from the enormous injustice of condemning an innocent Man to death by sloshing his hands around in a bowl of WATER! Foolishly declaring himself “innocent,” Pilate was only compounding his guilt by lying to himself while giving in to the unreasonable demands of the religious leaders and unruly mob.
Worse yet, the bloodthirsty crowd furiously demanded that Jesus be crucified, and doubling down on their guilt by accepting responsibility for this cosmic travesty while calling down curses on themselves and future generations.
Accept No Substitutes
My gasoline wouldn’t “cut it,” nor would Pilate’s water “cut it.” So spiritually speaking, what would cut through the searing guilt, shame and eternal penalty of anyone’s sin?
The answer, in 1 Peter 1:18-19: “… knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”
Pilate had the unspeakable privilege of beholding the Lamb of God standing before him and he failed to recognize Him. So instead of falling on his face in worship, Pilate condemned the Lamb to death and turned away to WATER to make it all go away.
What a perfect illustration of mankind’s incessant turning away to religion (water) instead of looking to the One who declared, in John 12:31-33: “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world (Devil) will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up (in crucifixion) from the earth, will draw all people to Myself.’ He was saying this to indicate what kind of death He was going to die.”
In shedding His perfect blood, Jesus provided the only “cleansing agent” for sin as attested by God the Father, who declared from heaven, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him!”
Our access to this “divine cleanser” is via a willful act of heartfelt belief in the Person and work of Christ on the cross … not mere behavior modification.
How About You?
Stop leaning on the broken crutch of manmade religion — it’s nothing but gasoline — poor cleanser and has corrosive side effects on your soul. And forget Pilate’s water bowl; It didn’t work for him, nor will it work for you.
As the writer of Hebrews reminds us in Hebrews 9:21-22: “And in the same way he sprinkled both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with the blood. And almost all things are cleansed with blood, according to the Law, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”
Lay down your monotonous rituals and clanging man-made religious implements and surrender to “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” as is written in John 1:29.
“… he shall offer a male without defect; he shall offer it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, so that he may be accepted before the Lord. And he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, so that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf.”
— Leviticus 1:2-4
— D.C. Collier is a Bible teacher, discipleship mentor and writer focused on Christian apologetics. A mechanical engineer and Internet entrepreneur, he is the author of My Origin, My Destiny, a book focused on Christianity’s basic “value proposition.” Click here for more information, or contact him at don@peervalue.com. Click here for previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.