So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

— Revelation 7:14

And they have conquered him [Satan the accuser] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

— Revelation 12:11

God presented Him as an atoning sacrifice in His blood through faith, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand.

— Romans 3:25

Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.

— Revelation 22:14

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace and mercy to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

When one of the 24 elders in God’s throne room told John that all in the crowd had washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. The expression “blood of the Lamb” refers to the death of God’s sinless Son on the cross in our place. At the cross, Jesus defeated the powers of evil and won an irreversible victory for all who believe. How can the filth of our sin and the stain of our treacherous rebellion against God be removed? No amount of scrubbing and no number of good deeds can make us clean. God graciously made a way for His people to have their sins atoned for and be at one with Him. Faith in the Lamb, who yielded His lifeblood to cleanse us, is the only remedy for the guilt, shame, and sorrow of sin.

Jesus lived His righteous life for us; His death atoned for our sin. Only Jesus, who shed His blood for sin, could satisfy God’s righteous wrath, pay the debt for our sin in full, and bring us back to God. To be washed in His blood means to participate in the life and death of Jesus. The great crowd before the throne had aligned themselves with the Messiah and spent their lives for Him. How true is this of us?