Strong’s Greek 121 expresses the idea of being free from guilt, blame, or legal liability. It portrays moral purity as evaluated both by divine law and by human courts. Scripture employs the term for Jesus Christ alone, capturing the unanimous heavenly verdict that He is without fault even while standing trial before sinful men.

Occurrences in the New Testament

1. Matthew 27:4 – Judas confesses, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.”
2. Matthew 27:24 – Pilate washes his hands, declaring, “I am innocent of this Man’s blood; you bear the responsibility.”

Both statements occur within the same judicial narrative, framing the crucifixion with a double attestation to Jesus’ blamelessness—first from His betrayer, then from His judge.

Old Testament Background and Conceptual Parallels

• Deuteronomy 19:10; 21:8–9 identify “innocent blood” as sacred and demand its protection.
• Psalm 15:5 and Proverbs 6:17 condemn those who shed it.
• Isaiah 53:9 foretells that the Suffering Servant would suffer despite committing no violence.

The word therefore resonates with the Hebrew insistence that only the guilty should be punished. By contrast, the Gospels show the innocent Son of God bearing the penalty due to the guilty.

Legal and Cultural Context in First-Century Judea

Roman governors were charged with upholding justice and protecting the innocent. Pilate’s public hand-washing echoes Deuteronomy 21:6–9, where elders absolve themselves of innocent blood. Yet his formal claim of innocence cannot remove his responsibility; instead it underscores the miscarriage of justice occurring under Roman authority while fulfilling God’s redemptive plan.

Theological Significance

1. Vindication of Christ – The twofold acknowledgment that Jesus is innocent fulfills Psalm 2 and foreshadows Acts 2:24, where God overturns the unjust sentence by raising Him from the dead.
2. Substitutionary Atonement – The innocent for the guilty is the heart of the Gospel. “For God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
3. Divine Justice – God remains righteous even while justifying sinners, because the penalty is paid by a guiltless substitute (Romans 3:25-26).

Christological Implications

The evangelists present Jesus as:
• The blemish-free Passover Lamb (John 19:36; 1 Peter 1:19).
• The righteous sufferer of Psalm 22.
• The Servant who “committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth” (1 Peter 2:22).

The term therefore underlines His unique qualification to bear the sins of the world (John 1:29).

Pastoral and Ministry Applications

• Assurance of Salvation – Believers rest on the finished work of One who was completely innocent, ensuring the sufficiency of His sacrifice (Hebrews 10:14).
• Call to Integrity – Because Christ was innocent, His followers pursue lives “blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation” (Philippians 2:15).
• Advocacy for Justice – The biblical concern for innocent blood motivates Christian defense of the defenseless, from the unborn to the persecuted (Proverbs 24:11-12).

Related Biblical Themes

Blamelessness (Genesis 17:1; Philippians 3:6), Justification (Romans 5:1), Bloodguilt (Genesis 4:10; Matthew 23:35), and the Final Judgment where only those washed in the Lamb’s blood stand acquitted (Revelation 7:14).

Summary

Strong’s Greek 121 encapsulates the moral purity of Jesus Christ, the tragedy of unjust condemnation, and the triumph of God’s redemptive purpose. Its sparse but potent use in Matthew 27 anchors the doctrine that the flawless Son of God was delivered to death so that the guilty might go free, calling every generation to place faith in His spotless righteousness and to mirror His integrity before the world.