Pawkara Ma Wenuwen

For sinful me, on the cross that day,
you suffered, thinking only of me
you offered up your life for my sin
Jesus, your blood flowed
and washed away every one of my sins

For my sin, on the cross, you gave your life
you carried my sin and freed me from the curse
your love I feel, always, my Lord
Jesus, your blood flowed
and washed away every one of my sins

In all my life, no one has loved me as you have
even if everyone else abandons me, you have never abandoned me
your love I feel, always, my Lord
Jesus, your blood flowed and washed away every one of my sins

This is a heartfelt Passion hymn of gratitude, and its whole meaning turns on the smallness of the singer set against the greatness of what Christ did for him. It opens with a striking thought: “for sinful me, on the cross that day, you suffered, thinking only of me.” The believer imagines that in the middle of his agony, Jesus’ thoughts were on him personally, and out of that love “offered up your life for my sin.”

The refrain returns again and again to the cleansing power of the cross, “Jesus, your blood flowed and washed away every one of my sins.” This is the image at the centre of the song: sin as a stain, and Christ’s blood as the thing that removes it completely. The second verse adds the language of rescue, “you carried my sin and freed me from the curse,” the idea that Jesus took upon himself the penalty that belonged to the sinner.

The final verse is the most tender and the most personal. “In all my life, no one has loved me as you have,” and then the line that gives the whole hymn its comfort, “even if everyone else abandons me, you have never abandoned me.” Human love can fail and people can walk away, but this love proved itself unbreakable on the cross. What the listener is left with is the deep security of the forgiven, a heart amazed to be thought of, washed clean, and loved by someone who will never let go.