Day 152/260: Read Matthew 27

“It’s not my fault!” Parents with young children (and sometimes not so young children) may hear this phrase quite a bit. Perhaps the child was caught misbehaving in school, and the teacher sends a note home, and the child defends himself with the irrefutable, “It’s not my fault!”

This is the same thing the chief priests and elders said to a remorseful Judas, the betrayer of Jesus. When the Lord was delivered to Pontius Pilate the governor, Judas attempted to return the thirty pieces of silver, but the Jewish leaders said, in effect, “It’s not my fault!” They refused to acknowledge their part in Judas’ sin, saying, “What is that to us? You see to it!”

Just a handful of verses later, Pontius Pilate the governor said the same thing to the multitude when they chose the release of “a notorious prisoner called Barabbas” over the innocent Jesus. In order to maintain peace and avoid a riot, “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.’”

How do we react when we are confronted with a personal indiscretion? When our sin stares us down, do we throw our hands up and say, “It’s not my fault! You see to it!”? Or do we accept our responsibility in the matter, repent of our wrongdoing, and beg for forgiveness from the Almighty?

Memory (Copy into a notebook 5-10 times)

Matthew 26:28. “For this is the blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”

Pray

Pray for forgiveness for your sin, and for strength in dealing with the temptation to refuse the responsibility for your actions.