It’s all about Jesus: Washing our hands of Christ Pt. 2

(Part 2 of 2)

“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His son cleanses us from all sin.”-1 John 1:7

Pilate’s desperate act of washing his hands of Christ’s blood was both foolish and futile; for the same blood that sets us free will also judge us. God’s plan of redemption requires that we be washed by the blood of Christ, not cleansed from it.

The blood of Jesus flowed because of our sinfulness, our wickedness, and our unrighteousness. To wash ourselves of the blood is to declare that we are not in need of His cleansing power and that we have no part in him:

“After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.” Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”-John 13:5-8.

So what does washing our hands of Christ look like today? We wash our hands of the blood of Christ each time we compromise our convictions, ignore God’s Word (truth), prefer our status over doing what is right, by making excuses for why other things are more important than our faith, by allowing sin to reign in our lives (sin that Jesus died to free us from), and by allowing ourselves to be more influenced by the culture than we are the Spirit of God.

When we wash our hands of Christ we are declaring that we have no need of a Savior, that our sin is more significant than His sacrifice, that our will is more important that God’s will, and that we are not part of Him!

At the end of the day we have a choice! We can either repent of our sins and be washed in the blood or we can wash our hands (attempting to free ourselves of the responsibility of Christ’s blood). His blood can either cleanse us or condemn us.  I encourage you today to confess your sins to God, repent, and be cleansed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

 

Pastor Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church

It’s all about Jesus: Washing our hands of Christ (Pt.1)

(Part 1 of 2)

“When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of the just Person. You see to it.”-Matthew 27:24

Of all those who played a role in Christ’s crucifixion, including Judas, the Pharisees, and the Roman soldiers; Pontius Pilate may be the personality that more people emulate than any other.  Pilate was the picture of compromise. His symbolic action of washing his hands was the means by which he attempted to release himself from the responsibility of Christ’s blood.

As much as Pilate would have liked to have been able to wash his hands of this situation; it is impossible to wash our hands of the blood of Jesus Christ. Gethsemane to Calvary was a bloody scene and when we consider His death on the cross we must ponder the significance of the blood that Jesus shed.

Hebrews 9:22 declares that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. In Luke 22:20 Jesus said “this cup in the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” The Apostle John states in 1 John 1:7 that it is the blood of Jesus that purifies us from all sin and Revelation 12:11 affirms that we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.

The writer of Hebrews expounds on the blood of Christ when he writes:

“How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from the acts that lead to death.”-Hebrews 9:14.

How could a man think that he could wash his hands of the responsibility of Christ’s blood? Pilate stood face to face with the Savior of the world. He gazed upon his form, he peered into the eyes of truth; yet failed to act on what he knew. Nonetheless, Scripture tells us that Pilate’s conscious bore witness to Christ’s innocence:

“Pilate then went out again, and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him.”-John 19:4

Pilate was not ignorant of whom this man may be, for not only did his conscience bear witness; but Jesus went as far as to reveal Himself to Pilate:

“Now Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.”-Matthew 27:11.

Pilate was even approached by his own wife, who pleaded with him to reconsider what he may do in regards to Jesus:

“While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.”-Matthew 27:19.

Yet, in spite of all this, when Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere with the Pharisees and  instead an uproar was commencing; Pilate compromised his convictions of right and wrong on the altar of peer pressure and surrendered Jesus to their will!

 

Pastor Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church

It’s all about Jesus: The Final Prayers of Christ (Pt.3)

(Part 3 of 3)

“Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” And he took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”-Matthew 26:36-38.

 Gethsemane and Calvary would prove to be the most agonizing places Jesus ever spent in prayer; scripture tells us that, in Gethsemane, Jesus was in so much agony that his sweat was like drops of blood. He was facing his own mortality and taking upon himself the penalty of sin intended for you and I. He laid aside His own will for the will of God:

“He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”-Matthew 26:39.

Jesus’ prayer of submission to the will of God stands as a reminder to each of us that we too must pray for God’s will to be done rather than our own. Even in the face of agony and judgement, Jesus pressed passed the natural tendency to petition for His own deliverance and submitted Himself to the perfect will of the Father. This is seen nowhere more vividly than on the cross of Calvary.

 Jesus death on the cross was not simply a sacrificial act securing our forgiveness; but it was intended to be a model by which we operate our own lives:

“Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots.”-Luke 23:34.

Jesus could have uttered those words at any time, but instead He waited until He had been nailed to a cross with soldiers gambling for His clothes beneath Him. It was at this moment He uttered this prayer of forgiveness.  In doing so, He modeled God’s desire for us to extend forgiveness towards those who have wronged us:

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”-Matthew 6:14-15.

This perhaps may be the most powerful prayer that Jesus prayed! By it we are made certain of our own forgiveness while simultaneously being inspired to extend to others what God has so graciously extended towards us.

 

When I consider the agony and pain that Jesus experienced prior and during His crucifixion; I am genuinely amazed by His commitment to keep prayer a priority in His life. Jesus modeled for us the absolute necessity and significance of prayer through His life and ministry. Even when, physically it was difficult to maintain a disciplined prayer life; Jesus modeled a faithfulness in prayer that God desires for each of us.

Pastor Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church

 

It’s all about Jesus: The Final Prayers of Christ (Pt.2)

(Part 2)

“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity.”- Psalm 133:1

Unity within the Body of Christ strengthens us and protects us while making a powerful statement to our community. Jesus’ prayer recorded in John 17 for himself, his disciples, and all believers shares a common underlying theme of unity.

“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word: “that they all may be one as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” –John 17:20-21.

On the night before Jesus was betrayed the idea of a unified body of believers was heavy on his heart and mind. Jesus understood that a divided church would not be as effective in reaching the lost as would a united body of believers that carried within them the glory of God:

“And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one.”-John 17:22.

Together we carry God’s glory into a dark and broken world. He deliberately made our walk of faith a shared experience. Together we have been given the message of reconciliation to share; we are partakers together of the Lord’s Table; and are mutually empowered by God’s Spirit. The Apostle Paul described it this way:

“For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.”-1 Corinthians 10:17.

That one bread that we all partake of is Jesus. When we focus more on, who we are, as part of the body, rather than maintaining our focus on Jesus; it isn’t long until divisions occur. Once divisions begin to take place we begin to look less like Jesus and more like the world around us. Unity was to be a trademark Christian quality that set us apart from the world; a sign of God’s power and authenticity at work in the hearts of God’s people.

When functioning properly, unity among the Body, acts as a beacon of light in a world that is filled with division, dissension, and destruction. However, a divided body quickly loses its influence and witness in a culture that is already immersed in divisiveness.

In Luke 11:17, Jesus taught his disciples that a kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation and a house divided against itself falls. Backbiting, gossip and internal bickering will never lead to lives being transformed!

However, Jesus declared if we will learn to function in unity; God’s message of hope will be heard:

“I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved me.”-John 17:23.

Unity within the Body of Christ proclaims hope and demonstrates the love of God. Jesus’ prayer for unity among God’s people should also become a core prayer among each of his followers.

 

Pastor Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church