Hebrews 9:11-14
PDF Manuscript: Good Friday Service - A Cleansed Conscience One of Shakespeare’s darker plays is about a brave Scottish general, Macbeth, who is consumed with wanting to one day become king of Scotland. His wife, Lady Macbeth, spurs him on to action, and he murders King Duncan in an attempt to take the throne. He is plagued by guilt. His wife assures him that just a little water will clear them of the deed. But it’s not so easy after that. The bloodbath continues as they commit more murders to protect themselves.
Lady Macbeth herself begins to come undone by the weight of their crimes. Neither she nor her husband can sleep, and even when they do, they have nightmares about the bloodshed. There’s one scene where she is walking and talking in her sleep. As she does, she’s rubbing her hands as though washing them, trying to get rid of the blood. She keeps rubbing, trying to erase the blood, but can’t. “Here’s yet a spot,” she cries, desperately rubbing. “Here’s the smell of blood still.” It didn’t matter how much she rubbed her hands; nothing could take away her guilt.
All of us understand what it means to have a guilty conscience. All of us know what it’s like to have a conscience that is troubled by what we have done or what we haven’t done. All of us know what it's like to have a conscience that is unsettled and riddled with negative feelings. Our conscience brings to us an awareness that we have failed to meet a standard of morality.
The human conscience is imprinted on our souls. You feel it when, at the end of the day, you reflect on the harsh words you spoke to your kids or the white lie you told to your employer or the unholy thoughts that consumed you. You feel it when you think about the great chasm that exists between you and God—whose holiness is unmatched. You feel it when you realize that there are not enough good works in your life to ever cause you to measure up. The most basic need of the human heart is what to do with a guilty conscience. What do we do with a guilt-ridden heart, heavy with the weight of our own sin? Because as much as the conscience has the power to make us feel guilty, it doesn’t have the power to make us innocent. Our conscience can bring us to a place where we rightly see our need for cleansing, but it can’t bring us to a place of wholeness or freedom. How can we be at peace with God when our conscience incessantly stabs at us with reminders of our sin and guilt? The answer: the blood of Christ.