2026 Reading Plan Reflections - Day 45

“All the people replied, ‘Let his blood be on us and on our children.’” Matthew 27:25 (CEB)

There are moments in Scripture that expose the human heart without flinching. This is one of them.

The crowd stands before Pilate. Voices rise. Pressure builds. The innocent One is before them, and the guilty one—Barabbas—stands nearby. Pontius Pilate attempts to wash his hands of responsibility. Barabbas walks free.

And the crowd shouts: “Let his blood be on us and on our children.”

They mean it as liability. As blame. As a declaration of ownership for what is about to happen. They do not yet understand the mercy wrapped inside their own words.

The Tragedy — and the Grace
Historically, this verse has been misused in terrible ways. But this is not the guilt of one ethnic group or one generation. It is the story of humanity. When we read this scene, we are not spectators. We are participants.

We have all preferred Barabbas at some point. We have all chosen what feels safer, more comfortable, more politically convenient, instead of surrendering to the lordship of Christ.
The crowd’s cry is not uniquely theirs. It is ours. And yet—here is where the gospel overturns the moment.

In the providence of God, the blood they invoke as a curse becomes the very means of grace.

Prevenient Grace at the Cross
Even in their blindness, grace has not withdrawn. Wesley insisted that grace goes before—prevenient grace awakening, stirring, pursuing long before we are aware of it. That means even in that courtyard, while voices shouted in ignorance, God was already moving toward redemption.

The same blood cried out in anger would later be proclaimed in Jerusalem as hope “Repent and be baptized… for the forgiveness of your sins” (Acts 2). Some in that very city who once rejected Him would come to trust Him.

Grace was already ahead of them. Grace was already ahead of us.

Not Just Pardon — Power
The blood of Christ does forgive. It cleanses. It justifies. That is gloriously true. But in a Wesleyan understanding, it does not stop there. The atoning blood does not merely cancel guilt; it breaks sin’s dominion. It does not merely cover the record; it begins to heal the will. It restores our capacity to love God and neighbor rightly.

If His blood is “on us,” then it is not for condemnation—it is for transformation. We are not only declared forgiven. We are invited into new birth. We are called forward into holiness. Holiness not as cold perfectionism. Holiness as love perfected in us.

A Hard but Necessary Question
Have I reduced the cross to a transaction? Or have I allowed it to reshape me?

It is possible to speak of being covered by the blood and still live unchanged. But real encounter with Christ leaves a mark. The crowd that day spoke rashly. We, however, have the benefit of knowing what that blood accomplishes. So the question is not whether His blood is on us. The question is whether we are being made new because of it.

Lord Jesus,
Your blood was not spilled to leave me as I am.
Forgive my sin.
Break its power.
Heal what is bent in me.
Perfect my love.
If Your blood is upon me,
let it cleanse me
and continue the work of making me holy.