“HIS BLOOD BE ON US AND ON OUR CHILDREN”

Sermon Text: St. Matthew 27:20-26. But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” They said, “Barabbas!” Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus, who is called Christ?” They all said to him, “Let Him be crucified!” Then the governor said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they cried out all the more, saying, “Let Him be crucified!” 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 this just Person. You see to it.” And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.” Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.

Lord, this is Your Word and these are Your words. Guide us by the truth; Your Word is truth. Lord, You are the Well of Life. If You are near me, springing deep within my heart, even in my last hour and final trial, because of You I’ll feel no inner hurt. If I hide myself in Thee, not one foe can injure me; I will overcome by hiding in Your wounds, and there, in faith, abiding. Amen. (paraphrase of ELH 293:6: Johann Heermann, 1585-1647)

Dear people loved by God in Christ, whose blood is not only on us but in us, cleansing us of all sin: Grace, mercy, and peace be with you, in truth and love.

“His blood be on us and on our children!” It’s a bloodthirsty cry. But even worse, it hurts oneself. It’s the climax of the rejection of Jesus by His own people. But not only did they turn their backs on Him; here they are unwilling to let Him live, they pursue Him to death.

It’s true, the Jews’ rejection of Him resulted in God’s punishment when Jerusalem was destroyed. Jesus had said as He wept over Jerusalem: “Your enemies will level you to the ground … becauseyou did not know the time of your visitation.” But this statement, “His blood be on us …,” has been misunderstood and misused. Throughout history, misguided people have used it as an excuse to hate and persecute Jewish people. They’ve used it as justification for denying life and human dignity to the Jews. They’ve called them “Christ killers” and cited this verse as a reason to hurt them. It was the case in Nazi Germany, and other places, but it’s still misused like this today.

On the part of Christians, this is especially wrong: It’s misunderstanding what the Bible says of this history, and it’s misunderstanding Christ Himself. It’s wrong to ask whether it’s the Jews or Pilate who put Jesus to death, to assign blame to one or the other. But first let’s look at each of these choices.

Concerning Pilate, we see him make a big show of washing his hands to insist that “I am innocent of the blood of this righteous Person,” and yet the Jews bring Jesus to Pilate because they want Jesus put to death and only he can order that sentence. He can’t be innocent of it; in this reading, it says that “after [Pilate] had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.”

Then when it comes to the Jews, we know this entire scene is a battle of wills between Pilate and the Jewish leaders, not all the Jews. But to get Pilate to do as they wish, the leaders stir up the crowd, so it’s “the multitudes,” it describes them as “they all” who demand that Pilate free Barabbas and crucify Jesus. They pick up on Pilate’s words about who will be guilty of Jesus’ blood; this says it’s “all the people” (not just the leaders) who say they want to be guilty of Jesus’ blood: “His blood be on us and on our children!”

This is another one-sentence “sermon” preached by Jesus’ enemies. They don’t know what they are saying, really. But we may not know either.

In order to understand it, you have to start with what Jesus says about His suffering. He had said, for example, “I lay down My life that I may take it [up] again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it [up] again” (Jn 10). This alone should take us away from blaming one group or another. Jesus says He is laying down His life. This comes out in His Passion, every time He is silent when being accused of wrongdoing that (as Pilate recognizes) He isn’t guilty of. Also, He said to Peter in the garden: “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?” (Jn 18:11, Mt 26:54)

So what kind of sermon is it? “His blood be on us and on our children.”

First, it’s a preaching of the Law. Instead of being angry at Pontius Pilate or the Jews, who is guilty of Jesus’ blood? You are.

Isaiah 53 says: “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” In the New Testament we read: “He Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree” (1Pe 2). So it’s clear that your sins, turning to your own way, are the reason Jesus died. It’s why we sing during Lent: “I also and my sin wrought Thy deep affliction,” and: “I caused Thy grief and sighing by evils multiplying as countless as the sands.”

So our hands can never be clean. We can never be innocent of Jesus’ blood. The guilt for shedding His blood does indeed fall upon us and our children.

But second, this sentence, “His blood be on us and on our children,” is a sermon, and a truly comforting sermon, because it’s the Gospel.

Pilate said it: Jesus’ blood is righteous, it was innocent blood He shed. This is what you need: for this blood of Jesus to be on you, to cover you and your sin. This becomes our prayer – “Let Your blood be on me and my children,” and it’s His answer: “My blood covers you.” This is the Bible’s teaching. Just listen:

“You were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish.” (1Pe 1:18-19)

“The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.” (1Jn 1:7)

“The blood of Christ shall cleanse your conscience from dead works.” (He 9)

What you should get from this is that Jesus’ righteous blood redeems you – it completely paid for, atoned, for all your sin. This is the picture of the Mercy Seat, the Atonement Cover, that was on the ark of the covenant. Inside the ark were the 10 Commandments, representing the sins and disobedience. But the Atonement Cover, the Mercy Seat, covered it up so God saw nothing of His people’s sins. Psalm 32 refers to this: “Blessed is the man whose sin is covered.” That’s what Jesus’ blood is: an Atonement Cover. His blood covers up all sin in your life so that God sees none of it for Jesus’ sake.

You should also learn from this that His blood purifies and cleanses you. In this way Jesus’ blood is a fountain that flows to you, to me, to all. It’s a cleansing fountain. He cleanses you from all your sin, so that you are clean.

When it says in 1 John 1 that He is faithful to forgive us our sins – which is because of Jesus’ blessed death – it also says He is faithful to “cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This means that He cleanses you from the sins that you’ve done, and also He cleanses you from all the sins that have been done to you, against you, all the harm experienced from others where this poisons you and makes you feel shame. His blood cleanses and purifies all that. His blood cleanses you from the impurities that enter your body and mind.

His blood cleanses you from the sin in you as well as from sins that are on the outside. His blood cleanses you from inside out. It’s a never-ending fountain that keeps flowing through you as you remain connected to Him from Your Baptism, through hearing His Word and in eating His body and drinking His blood in His Supper.

His blood that He shed wipes out the sins, but that’s not all. His blood that you receive, especially as you drink His very blood in His Supper, makes you clean in His sight. Not only what you’ve done but what you are. You are clean. It’s so total, this cleansing. Don’t you want it? “Let His blood be upon us and upon our children” for our cleansing and salvation! Amen!