Are You a Leper?

(Today's reading - Leviticus 13; Matthew 26: 20-54) (video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hClQlhZlI7Y&feature=youtu.be )

It has been very interesting to read the Old Testament portions along side the New the last few days. Learning about the different sacrifices and how the priests were to deal with each one has been... both tedious and fascinating. Reading about how the priests were to eat of the offering, while at the same time reading about Jesus instituting the Lord's supper was an interesting parallel. (nod to Greg Brewer for his thoughts at the Table yesterday) Jesus told His disciples that eating the bread was representative of eating His body and drinking the wine was representative of drinking His blood. As Christians, we are priests and when we partake in the supper each week, what we do points all the way back to Leviticus.

Leviticus 13 is a difficult chapter to read and get insight into spiritual matters. However, there are always little nuggets of spiritual nutrition in every chapter of every book in the Bible. God gives very specific rules when it came to leprosy. For sure, He was giving guidelines that dealt with the health of the community and the spread of disease, but I see more than that. Clean and unclean are terms that we need to dig into and gain understanding of. God cared enough about His community of people to make sure they understood what was acceptable for them to eat and how to deal with those that developed diseases. He demanded that His people live differently than those around them. His direction would produce a people that were different, a people set apart for Him.

The little section that I want to explore is from Leviticus 13: 45-46. Let's read....

"The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp".

Picture this... the person with leprosy was to wear garments that were torn, worn and ragged. They were to let their hair grow out and hang loose. Whenever they were approaching others, they were to place their hand over their mouth and yell... "Unclean, unclean". Take a moment and get that picture firmly in your mind... ragged clothing, tangled hair, skin falling off and yelling "unclean, unclean". Additionally, they were to live alone, outside of camp. No longer were they part of the community; now they were outcasts. It was to be evident to everyone that you had this awful disease. Get the picture?

So, what can we learn? If you are not a Christian, that is you. (stop here and think) If I am not a Christian, that is me. Without the cleansing that comes through Jesus' blood, spiritually we are lepers. God sees us like that. We are lepers. We are outside of the community of His people. Our lives are rags; we are unkempt and unclean. Any other picture doesn't do justice to the condition of a person that doesn't have a relationship with Jesus. (this is serious stuff)

I am reminded of His encounter with a leper in Matthew 8...  When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. This man's life was changed in an instant. The touch of the Master's hand changed everything. Notice the sequence of events... the Leper comes to Jesus, he kneels before Him and asks Him to make him clean. Jesus sees the his faith, touches him and he is cleansed.

The man knew his condition and was tired of living separated from the community. He knows that Jesus can fix his problem. That is the response He is still looking for. Jesus wants people to learn about Him; He wants us to believe the good news of His saving power. He wants us to come to Him for cleansing and He will make us clean. No more spiritual leprosy. That is what He offers. How does this happen, you might ask. Read it for yourself... Acts 2, Acts 8, Acts 9, Acts 16, Acts 18, Acts 19 and Acts 22. These are all examples of people coming to Jesus for healing. Take a few minutes and read these stories of lives being changed and leprosy (spiritual) being healed. That same healing is available today. Just do what they did... repent, be baptized and receive His Spirit and start living in the community of Christ.

Get rid of those rags and be clothed in Christ! (Galatians 3: 26-28) Move from unclean to clean and be part of the His body. (1 Cor 12: 12-14) What are you waiting for? Leprosy only gets worse with time! ... And for those that made the decision to be healed and are still living like a leper... stop it! What leper, when healed would ever chose to live in the leper camp? For sure, he would visit to tell others how to get healed; but he would never live there again. Where are you on all of this? If you need to talk, message me and I will be glad to discuss this with you. Get out of the leper colony... now!