Cleanse Me with Hyssop

"A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on the stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, 'It is finished.' With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit."
John 19:29-30

Who would ever give the hyssop plant a second thought? Who would even think that it has anything to do with us? In fact, unless you are educated in herbs and remedies, you may not have even heard of it. But the hyssop plant is used in the Bible to bring us to a knowledge of the forgiveness of God, and the incredible work that was accomplished at the cross of Christ.
    The hyssop plant first appears in the book of Exodus. When God was about to deliver the final plague on the Egyptians, he instructed Moses to have the Hebrew people place the blood of a lamb on the doorposts of their houses. This is known as the Passover. The death angel would pass by those houses with the blood there. The instructions were clear, they were to apply the blood using a hyssop plant. This foreshadowed the death of Christ as our ultimate sacrificial Lamb.
    In Psalm 51: 7 David said, "Cleanse me with hyssop and I will be clean." This of course, was part of David's amazing prayer of repentance after his sin with Bathsheba. Finally, at the cross, the hyssop plant shows up again. It was used to give Jesus one final drink before he gave up his spirit.
    Hyssop is used to aid in defending our bodies against many diseases. In fact, it has been directly linked with success against 81 different illnesses. It is also used in purification ceremonies within Judaism.
    Today, remember that the ultimate purification has been accomplished. Jesus gave everyone of us the opportunity to be pure through him. He died for us. He took the idea of the hyssop plant and made it an eternal reality. We are no longer cleansed by hyssop, we are cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, who died for us. When Jesus died, he declared, "It is finished!" And it was. We had been redeemed, Satan had been defeated, the kingdom of God had been restored, and the promise of eternal life was returned to mankind. It's better than hyssop, it is the blood of Jesus, shed for us. Remember!