Bible Story of the Day: The Leper

https://hubpages.com/religion-philosophy/Bible-Story-of-the-Day-The-Leper

Bible Story of the Day

Scripture is the story of Jesus, from Genesis to Revelation. There are over 400 prophecies and representations of Jesus in the Old Testament alone. The Old Testament pointed forward to the coming Christ, and the New Testament points back to Jesus. The Bible is a record of redemption through Jesus Christ who conquered sin and death when He died on the cross and resurrected three days later. The New Testament was written almost 2000 years ago. Some of the Old Testament was written over 4000 years ago. The Bible Story of the Day not only shows Jesus throughout scripture but shows how scripture is relevant to our lives today. Seeing Jesus in scripture is a major step into understanding who our God is, and how He impacts and affects our lives in every moment. I pray that the Holy Spirit opens your mind to understanding the verses and how they affect your life and gives you a better understanding of our Lord Jesus Christ. I will post a link to the chapter that each passage is from, so that you can read further on your own.

The Leper

Leviticus 14:11

¹¹ and the priest who pronounces him clean shall present the man to be cleansed and the aforesaid before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting. (NASB).

Where is Jesus and What Does This Mean to Us?

In the days of Moses, the priest was tasked with the duty of cleansing a leper and determining if a leper was clean. Leprosy is defined by Miriam-Webster as “a contagious disease that affects the skin, mucous membranes, and nerves, causing discoloration and lumps on the skin and, in severe cases, disfigurement and deformities.” A leper is one that has leprosy. The treatment for leprosy, if you were infected today, would take 6-12 months. Why the science lesson about leprosy? Simple, to understand the seriousness of the disease today and moreso 2000-4000 years ago. This was a serious issue. The priests had their work cut out for them in healing and containing this disease. Leviticus provided thorough instructions on how to deal with lepers.

Now for the good part.

Luke 5:12-14

12 While He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” 13 And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And He ordered him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” (NASB).

Jesus showed His priesthood by healing the leper. As we read above in Leviticus, it was the priest’s duty to tend to lepers. Jesus healed this leper in Luke chapter 5 to show who He is. Jesus is our priest. Remember how long curing leprosy today takes? 6-12 months. Jesus healed the leper immediately. The man believed Jesus could heal him, and because of that belief the leper was healed.

As serious as leprosy is, God is not focused on the physical ailment. Leprosy is a physical representation of our spiritual lives. Priests are charged with handling our spiritual care. They are our shepherds to guide us. They represent Jesus on earth. The people brought their offerings and sacrifices to God and it was the priests that received them. They were the intermediaries. Jesus came to be our priest. He is now our intermediary to God. We no longer need another human to go between. The spiritual aspect of leprosy is disbelief in God. Disbelief is infectious. Disbelief is deadly. Those that do not believe in God are unclean.

What does this mean to us? It means that we can be made clean by the blood of Jesus. He can cleanse us of our spiritual leprosy. Leprosy takes a long time to cure, just as disbelief often takes time to change. However, as written in Luke, Jesus can cure leprosy immediately just as He can cure disbelief immediately. Take a moment to read chapter 14 of Leviticus and see the tedious process required to cure a leper then read Luke and see how Jesus handles the same situation. There are no 12 steps. There is no verse you have to recite. There is no lengthy process to become clean. All that is required is that you believe in Jesus. The leper said to Jesus, “I am willing to be cleansed” and he was. We are offered the same simplicity in cleansing our spiritual leprosy. Romans 10:9, “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus asLord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Resource

• Lev 14 NASB – Law of Cleansing a Leper
  Law of Cleansing a Leper – Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing. Now he shall be