Washed Whiter Than Snow
Feb 7 2025 - Eric Buresh
A study exercise I really enjoy is pulling on threads in the Bible and following them from start to finish to get the full Biblical picture. This morning, I was reading Jeremiah and ran into 2:22: “For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap, Yet your iniquity is stained before Me, says the Lord God.” This verse is the beginning of a thread on stains and washing, a thread that pictures the gospel that God would ultimately reveal to His people.
The thread begins with a picture of sin and the uselessness of human effort. Sin is the great stain upon humanity. Its defilement marks every heart, its pollution taints every deed, and its corruption renders us unfit for the eternal life in the presence of a holy God that He created us to enjoy. Sin is not a mere surface blemish that can be scrubbed away with earthly means. It penetrates deep into the soul, a crimson mark of rebellion against the Creator. The prophet’s imagery is striking: lye, a strong cleansing agent, and soap, symbols of human effort to purify oneself. But these are powerless against the stain of sin. Before the searching gaze of God, sin remains “marked,” unhidden and undeniable. Left to ourselves, we stand condemned and helpless, stained beyond remedy. But, oh, the grace of our God, who does not leave us in our hopeless state!
As we continue to pull at the thread, the prophet Isaiah gives us the great promise of the gospel: “Come now, and let us reason together, Says the Lord, Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18. Isaiah didn’t provide the details of how this cleansing transformation would be brought about, but as we keep pulling the thread, Revelation gives us the answer: “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Revelation 7:14. Jesus’ blood is the cleansing agent!
The paradox is astounding. Blood, which typically stains, is the agent for cleansing the untouchable stain of sin. The blood of Christ, shed for sinners, has the power to remove what no earthly means can touch. His sacrifice satisfies the justice of God, absorbs the penalty of sin, and purifies the sinner. Picture the saints in glory, their robes gleaming white, not through their own righteousness but because they are washed in the blood of the Lamb. So it is with every believer. No sin is too deep, no stain too indelible for the cleansing power of Christ’s blood.
Finally, Paul reminds the Corinthians: “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:11. The saints are not those who were sinless but those who were washed. Let us not only marvel at the cleansing power of Christ but live in the joy and gratitude of it. If you are washed, you are clean indeed—no stain remains. Do not allow the accuser to trouble you with sins that are covered by the blood. But also, let the memory of your washing humble you. As Paul remembered his former state and gave thanks, so too should we often think on the grace that has made us clean and made us whole.