It is now two days past New Year’s Day. Belated Wishes for a Happy New Year!
I know, resolutions are almost laughable these days. Maybe we are, as a culture, past the tradition of making New Year’s Resolutions. Yet a residue of this tradition still clings to us as a date for fresh beginnings. A new start.
We sigh and wish we could “wash” ourselves clean of the detritus of the former year. We determine that this next year will be more positive.
Sometimes, we may become so depressed about our past failures for change that we stop hoping. This is serious.
Right now, I am in the midst of what would normally be called spring cleaning, except that I have missed many springs so that it must now be called “house dejunking.” I want to get rid of the stuff that is holding me back, tying me down, taking up my precious time and energy and money to store. More than that, I need a fresh start that means something more than a change in temporal circumstances. Aren’t we all flawed and in need of inner renewal and life?
Life Change
At the Lord’s last supper with His disciples, Jesus knelt down, towel tucked in his waistbelt with bowl of water in hand, to wash the feet of His guests (John 13).
He began with Peter.
Now, foot-washing was a cultural necessity and custom. What Jesus did was not uncommon at all. But Jesus did not hire a servant to do the task for him as was the custom. He did it Himself, even though He was the host.
This was Peter’s rabbi! Peter was to serve the rabbi, not the other way around!
Of course, Peter protested:
“Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” (There should be an exclamation point there!).
Jesus had to teach Peter a new concept that He knew Peter would not understand now, but would later. But Peter still protested:
“You shall never wash my feet.” (Insert exclamation!)
Without formatting clues to guide us, I wonder how Peter said that. Which was it?
- “YOU shall never wash my feet!” (No, You are a rabbi! Don’t lower and shame yourself!)
- “You shall never wash my feet!” (No, I am in power here. I will not allow it!)
- “You shall never wash my feet!” (You may wash others‘, but never me/mine!)
- “You shall never wash my feet!” (Lord, wash me on the surface, but don’t go there!)
All the disciples understood their need for washing: both physically, for the supper as was custom, and also spiritually, as they were followers of a rabbi who had talked much of cleansing.
But when faced with the actual prospect of either one, Peter — and who among the disciples weren’t interested in hearing Jesus’ answer also — was appalled.
Jesus was inaugurating a new understanding of life in His kingdom. For this, He knew His beloved friends and disciples needed physical and spiritual cleansing and renewal.
Jesus knows you and I also need this inner renewal. Not once, but daily. The question is not whether we feel the need, but whether we will let Him into our lives to do it.
Why Jesus Came
Bear with me, here. In another story, Jesus chided the Pharisees about taking such diligent care with their religious rituals that they missed the point entirely (Matthew 23).
They were rightly following Levitical law. In fact, they were known for their righteousness and strong stand against the heresies of the centuries since the cessation of biblical prophecy.
But they were overdoing it and forcing others to match their overreach. They had somehow feathered themselves across the boundaries and were now themselves in error in a way they could not yet recognize.
We, too, try to “do good,” to get along, to play our cards right, to keep above the waterline.
Some of us have been wrestling with our sin. A new year will only renew our determination to keep wrestling and to not give up the fight against it! Some of us, though, have not been so successful.
All humans soon come to realize that we can’t clean ourselves.
The Pharisees thought obedience to God’s laws (while laudable and right) would clean them on the inside.
Peter thought his filthiness was too low for Christ to handle.
Perhaps, along with that thought, Peter thought that his relationship to Christ would mean that neither of them would have to stoop that low. Better let filthy feet be than let Christ demean Himself and show Peter up for the pride he kept tucked away and out of sight.
But Jesus came to fulfill the law of blood sacrifice for all sin (Genesis 3:15). No man’s already impure blood or lesser animals’ blood would suffice. The sacrificial system was temporal, awaiting the One Who would ultimately come and pay that price for all. That One had to be sinless — He must be all-man for it is mankind who is guilty of sin, and yet God, for only God can absolve sin in His Creation! Jesus (Jeshua Ha Meshiach in Hebrew) is called the Lamb of God Who Takes Away the Sin of the World (John 1:29). He is the Promised Deliverer of Genesis 3:15.
The Pharisees trusted their religious zealousness and entirely missed the Messiah in front of them.
Peter trusted his own proximity and “good intentions” toward His Messiah — intentions soon to be crushed with his denial of Jesus before His crucifixion.
Who or what are we trusting in this year to make ourselves clean again?
I could end here, but there is an answer to where we can find the renewal we truly seek, even if we’re already Christians.
Only Jesus . . .
1In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven (Heb 1:1-3).
Jesus is God made manifest and distinct in Person through His mission, beginning with:
- His Incarnation (Christmas) and ministry, and sealed with
- His Crucifixion (Easter, or Resurrection Day), and
- His Ascension back to the throne of God in heaven (Ascension Day – 40 days after Resurrection Day).
Hebrews tells us that He came to provide purification for sins.
This was what He accomplished as he was willingly crucified and then arose victorious over death and sin.
“It is finished.”
Done!
Jesus Calls Us
Christ now calls us to acknowledge our sin (disbelief and disobedience to God), turn away from all sin by following Him in obedience (living in the way that He taught and lived), and to seal our faith in believer’s baptism.
Baptism means to be immersed into the waters to signify (as an outer “sign”) a cleansing that has now taken place in the soul. To follow Christ means to believe not only that He exists and that He does what He said and says He will do, but to believe on (trust) Him with our whole lives. We look to Him for guidance and example and hope and acceptance and belonging. We can be cleansed, forgiven, and “walk in the newness of life” (Romans 6:4).
That sounds like a wonderful New Year’s renewable resolution!
“Yes, but I’ve messed up too much.”
“I’m on the outside. Nothing will ever change for me.”
“Yeah, I’m already a Christian. I’ve disappointed God too many times and can’t keep crawling back. It’s over for me, right?”
All May Come!
All who feel dirty of soul and whose lives are filthy with the confusion and tangled errors of poor decisions (our own as well as the infiltration of the sins of others) can be made clean; not only on the outside as appearances go, but truly on the inside with hope for a fresh new life — forgiven and made new.
Even those of us who are already Christians can receive fresh forgiveness (Matthew 18:21-22) and renew our sense of wonder at Christ’s work of purification in our lives.
We, too, as Peter found out, need Christ to wash us before we can receive the fresh wonders of His provision. If not our whole body — since we’re already made clean in Christ and one only needs to be baptized once — our feet! The feet symbolizes our hearts and minds and emotions which still experience the daily grind of this mortal life. We still collect the daily irritations and annoyances and fears and prideful self-protection. Daily we get dirty in this world and daily we can be cleansed. He is just that good and gracious and loving!
How Can I Be Cleansed?
Jesus has already given the invitation:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give y ou rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30)
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9)
Prayer is the medium.
This prayer of King David (Psalm 51) was written during the time of temple sacrifices. Since Jesus came, there are no more animal sacrifices, as Jesus is the One and only sacrifice that is offered for the forgiveness of sin.
David knew the sinfulness of his own heart, being born into the need for salvation, into the need for correction and heart change. Before David could worship in the Tabernacle of God with tangible sacrifices, he had to offer up himself in willing sacrifice and worship. He did this by faith in the promise of his loving God for salvation.
1Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in [the human nature of] sin did my mother conceive me [i.e., I am a flawed and sinful human].
6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem;
19 then will you delight in right sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on your altar. (English Standard Version, Psalm 51)
David was confident of the righteous and just character of God (v. 16-17, 19).
Andrew Kerr, in “Was David fully forgiven?”, reminds us that David knew well and believed the Mosaic writings (Kerr; Ex. 34:5-7):
“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and children’s children to the third and forth generation.”
David believed that God would indeed forgive, even though the Messiah had not yet come. Why? Because reconciliation is God’s desire (Genesis 3:15). David relied upon the good and loving character of God. We, who live in the confirmation of the Messiah’s life, death and Resurrection, can also rely on God’s unfailing goodness (Psalm 136; Roman 5:8).
David did receive forgiveness, even though his sin had been great. Though his sin affected others deeply, he knew it was against God that he had truly sinned.
David followed through on his confession to live a life teaching others about God’s forgiveness and worship (v. 13-15).
Unconfessed and unrepented sin is generational. We tend to pass on not only inherent sin as human beings (“in sin my mother conceived me”) but enculturated sin that we commit by the actions of our wayward-tending heart. But David knew that God is merciful to forgive ALL of our sin and to create in us a new spirit with new behaviors and a fresh witness of faith in Him.
David’s prayer is given to us as a model that we can pray in truth of soul and receive our fresh clean start.
Receive your cleansing today!
This new year, as we set goals, we know that we will inevitably fail along the way. We joke about it and carry on.
But rather than abandon those goals as futile, let’s join King David in a prayer of renewal that goes deeper than resolutions. Let that renewal begin today rather than rely on promises for tomorrow.
I am.
Praying the blessing of Christ’s presence in you this New Year!
ReadPsalm119.com
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NOTES:
Hyssop is “a small bushy plant with minty leaves which can be used in cooking. The plant has also been used for medicinal purposes. In Scripture, hyssop is a wild shrub used for purification. Scripture shares how hyssop was used as a sign of spiritual cleansing (Psalm 51:7 NIV).” (Henderson, Melissa. “What is Hyssop in the Bible and Why Do We “Wash” in It?”, Oct 19, 2021, Crosswalk.com)
Works Cited
Kerr, Andrew. “Was David Fully Forgiven.” Forgiveness in the Old Testament, GentleReformation, 27 April 2020.com, https://gentlereformation.com/2020/04/27/was-david-fully-forgiven/.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
© 2025. ReadPsalm119.com. Updated: 30 Jun.
