Spiritual Lepers

I'll be presenting this lesson tomorrow morning at Church.  We'll be reading the first 18 verses of Leviticus 13.  I would suggest you do that, but I know, since you're reading blogs, that you probably won't. 

Mark 1:40-45: And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.

    Though this is ceremonial law, and therefore we do not keep it, that does not mean that it is not beneficial for the Christian to read.  Today we are going to see the true spirit of these laws regarding leprosy.

    But first, what is leprosy?  The leprosy that we read of in the Bible is probably not leprosy as we define it in our modern era.  In fact, it was probably not even one distinct disease, but was rather a set of symptoms brought on by several different conditions.  Basically the leper would progressively become covered in blisters and boils.  Contrary to popular thought, lepers’ body parts do not fall off.  However, the nerve endings did become deadened and the leper could burn or cut himself badly without feeling it. 

    If you were to read the entirety of Leviticus 13, which I would commend doing, you would find the priests’ instructions on how to judge whether or not someone was indeed leprous.  The Old Testament word translated leprosy is sara’at.  It basically means infectious skin disease.  The root of the word may mean to smite, indicating the stigma that it was a punishment for sin.   

    Leprosy played a significant role in the Old Testament.  It was often, but not necessarily, a sign of divine punishment.  In Numbers 11 we see Miriam struck with leprosy for opposing her brother, Moses.  In 2 Kings 5 we see Gehazi struck with leprosy for his greed, and in 2 Chronicles 26 we see King Uzziah punished with leprosy for offering incense as only a priest was allowed.  In Isaiah 1:5-6, Judah’s sin is described as leprosy. “Why will you be struck down?  Why will you continue to rebel?  The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.  From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds; they are not pressed out or bound up or softened with oil.”    

    In addition to this divine judgment, leprosy was also feared because it was considered incurable and because once contracted, it condemned a person to a life of solitude.  The only company a leper could keep was other lepers.  In fact, Jewish tradition tells us that a leper was required to stand at least six feet away from other people, unless there was a noticeable wind.  In that case, he would have to be at least 100 feet away.  Verses 45 and 46 of Leviticus 13 show us the terrible plight of the leper.  It says, “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.”  Surely learning you had this disease would be a devastating discovery.  Being unclean meant you couldn’t enter the Temple.  It meant you could never partake of the Passover or of any of the other ritual feasts.  Being unclean meant you lived a life of loneliness and, due to the stigma, were labeled as a Godless sinner.

    Leprosy was a visual picture of the effects of sin.  Hear this quote from David B. Curtis.  “Leprosy serves as a biblical illustration of sin.  It shows how God views sin.  Leprosy was the most graphic illustration that there was of sin.  Sin defiles the whole body.  Sin is ugly and loathsome.  It is incurable.  It contaminates the entire body, and it brings about eventual death.”  These ceremonial laws about uncleanness were not merely laws for Jewish worship, but were given to help God’s people understand the wretched nature of sin.  Sin destroys lives.  It slowly eats away at the body and soul.  Most significantly, it separates us from God. 

    And now we come to Mark 1.  A leper approaches Jesus.  Instead of backing away from him, Jesus draws close to him and touches him.  Allow this to sink in for just a minute.  An infectious leper who is ceremonially unclean and physically morbid comes up to you.  What do you do?  My first instinct would be to run away.  Not only does Jesus not run away, He actually touches the leper.  We often read right past that and don’t give it a second thought.  It is, however, very significant.  Jesus had healed many people without touching them, and He could have done so this time, but He was making a statement. 

    According to the law, the leper was ceremonially unclean and so was anyone who touched him.  The law condemned the leper and left him as a hopeless outcast.  Jesus, however, overcame the weakness of the law and gave the man a new life.  Jesus should have become unclean, but instead, the leper became clean.  Jesus gave him his life back.  It was as if he had been born again. This is the power of our Savior.  All the law could do was to declare the leper unclean and protect the society from him.  The Law cast the leper out of the presence of God.  The same is true with the sinner.  The Law tells us that we are damnable sinners.  It shows us how ugly we are by nature, but it has no power to rescue us from our dark estate.  But Jesus overcame the weakness of the Law and gave us new life.  He restored us to the Presence of God and to fellowship with our brethren.  Whereas before we were infected with the leprosy of sin and therefore shut out from the presence of God, now we are white as snow and we are told to approach the throne of God.

    Paul lays this out Romans 8:1-4: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.  For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.  By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”  This is what Jesus was demonstrating for us visibly when He healed the leper.  Ceremonial law held no power over He who had given the Law.  Diseased human flesh held no power over He who had created all flesh.  Even so, sinful flesh is not outside the reach of God’s redeeming Hand.  He has cleansed us.  He has purchased us with the blood of His Son.  He has given us new life. 

    In conclusion, let us consider our response to this knowledge.  Firstly, we who have experienced the life-changing power of the Gospel must not shy away from spiritual lepers.  We must not wait inside the walls of the church for God to heal them and bring them to us.  We must approach them and share the knowledge of freedom from the guilt and stain of sin.  We must have compassion, just as our Savior did, on those who are outcast.  We must show God’s grace to those whose sin is eating away at their lives.  Only the Gospel can bring new life.  How will they hear if no one tells them? 

   Secondly, when the leper was healed, do you think he went and lived in the same infected place?  Do you think he wore the same infected clothes?  Certainly not!  So we too must abandon our sinful ways and follow the paths of righteousness.  We must live Spirit-driven lives defined by joyful obedience to the revealed will of God.  The Law no longer condemns us.  We no longer live under its threatening shadow.  We are now free to keep the Law cheerfully and to serve God without fear. 

    This week, let us praise God for His cleansing power and enjoy His sanctifying presence.