When our kids play outside and get a bit sweaty, we will often say to them, “OK, jump in the shower and do a quick rinse-off.” Other times, when they have played outside for hours and they need more than just a quick rinse—they need a deep-cleaning shower or a soak in the tub.

In some ways, the old cove­nant laws of cleansing after a time of uncleanness provided just a quick rinse. It wasn’t a deep-down cleaning. But the people needed to be cleansed through and through. We all need to be fully cleansed from our lives of sin.

What the old laws pointed to was someone who could provide a full, deep cleaning. That someone is Jesus Christ, whose death for our sake provided purification once for all.

The Old Testament law included ceremonial practices of washing to be clean. But the cleaning was never complete. People would get dirty again.

Jesus’ sacrifice for us, however, cleans us thoroughly, providing such a deep-down cleaning that we receive new life. As Hebrews 9:14 explains, the blood of Christ, shed for our sake, cleanses “our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!”

For all who trust in Christ, we are washed in his blood, fully cleansed from sin so that we may serve him!