Tuesday
Pilate’s washbowl, quite an image for us. Think about this…people are forever denouncing their responsibilities by “washing their hands” of something. It’s not my fault, it’s not my responsibility… Pilate is doing the same thing when he washes his hands in the washbowl. Politicians are washing their hands when they ignore their principles, because they might not get reelected. Good citizens will not get involved – getting involved can cause too much trouble. Newspaper publishers misrepresent stories to sell papers. Preachers dare not speak up to members of the congregation because those members contribute towards their salaries.
Every time we compromise do you hear the splash of the water near you? Where in our lives are we trying to do as Pilate did—wash off our responsibility? Our guilt?
Ah Holy Jesus” in one of the verses to that hymn it asks the question, “who was the guilty, who brought this upon thee… alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone thee! ‘Twas I, Lord Jesus, I it was denied thee; I crucified thee
I remember one Good Friday, as a teen (and a new Christian) sitting in the choir loft that looked upon a stain glass window that pictured Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane. Those words cut through my very heart… realizing for the first time just what my role was in Jesus’ crucifixion.
There is not washbasin large enough or clean enough to wash away my guilt, my participation in the death of Jesus, but God has provided a fountain of life where there is no shortage of water that will help remove my guilty stains.
It is deep enough for you too. There is nothing that we have done that cannot be washed clean. We just can’t do it ourselves. We must call upon Jesus to forgive us, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. From the wrongs that we have done. And he will. He already has. He went to the cross for us. He took it all on himself.
Feeling Blessed
Pastor Kathy