Pilate, seeing that it was doing no good and that a riot was rising instead, took water, washed his hands before the crowd, and said, “I am not guilty of this Righteous One’s blood. You know.”
This action of Pilate was, outwardly, an attempt at self-justification, but inwardly, a frightened confession of conscience. He saw that the crowd was not calming down and chose peace instead of justice. The washing of hands expressed a Jewish symbol, a sign of “being free from sin,” yet the real guilt remained upon him, because the condemnation was issued by his authority. By saying, “I have no guilt for the blood of this Righteous One,” he in fact acknowledged Jesus’ innocence, but did not dare to defend Him. This moment became a testimony of human weakness, when a person’s conscience recognizes the truth, but that person does not act in accordance with it. Pilate’s washed hands became a symbol of guilt, by which a person tries to escape responsibility. But the reality is that such a person cannot cleanse himself from an unjust decision.