So let’s draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings. Our hearts have been sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.
Dear friends, since we have these promises from God, let’s purify ourselves from everything that could make our bodies and spirits impure. Let’s be completely holy, to honor God.
The water of the flood is a picture of the way that baptism now saves you too. It doesn’t save you by washing the dirt off your body. Instead, it’s your way of promising God that you’ll keep a clear conscience by the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead.
Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere. Instead, the crowd was starting to get angry. So he took water and washed his hands in front of them. “I’m not guilty of this man’s death,” he said. “You’re accountable for that!”