Volume 3 Issue 8

CLEANSED

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nd it came about that while He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man full of 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.’ And He stretched out His hand, and touched him, saying, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’ And immediately the leprosy left him” (Luke 5:12-13). Leprosy is unique in the Bible in that, though it is a disease, it is rarely, if at all, cured; rather, the leper is spoken of as being cleansed. In Biblical times when lepers found themselves approaching or being approached by others, they were required to cry out, “Unclean, unclean!” If they were to touch another human, their defilement would be transmitted to them; they too would become unclean. As such, leprosy is a fitting symbol for sin. It is also a fitting symbol for sin in that it is not the leprosy that directly maims or kills the infected person; rather, it is leprosy’s deadening effect upon the PAIN nerves in the body that leaves the victim susceptible to infection. Without the GIFT of pain we cannot live. Without the sense of pain to warn us of danger we could put our hand upon a hot burner and our brain would not instruct us to remove it, resulting in the destruction of flesh which, in turn, allows bacteria to enter into our bodies which, in turn results in the loss of the hand or even death if our white blood cells are overcome by the infection. Nevertheless, the insidious nature of leprosy is not revealed by such an extreme example. The danger of leprosy is much more subtle. If your feet were infected with leprosy and you purchased a brand new pair of leather shoes, put them on, walked in them all day, and took them off at night without checking your feet, you may have made a fatal mistake. Chances are good that the new, unyielding leather of the shoes, rubbed a blister on some part of your foot, because without the sense of pain, you would not have adjusted your gait to compensate for the injury you were inflicting upon yourself. Thus, the body, now exposed to germs through the hole made in your flesh, becomes highly vulnerable to the same fate suffered by the man whose hand was burned. This is how sin works within us. It desensitizes us to the danger living life without God and of relying upon our own wisdom to make decisions contrary to God’s commandments. We believe we are not being hurt, but unless our sin nature is exposed and CLEANSED by the shed blood of Jesus Christ, we discover all too soon that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). As members of a fallen human race, we are not cured from sin – we are cleansed from sin, and the Good News (Gospel) of forgiveness and restoration that sinners so desperately seek, having become glaringly aware of their lost condition, finds its fulfillment in Jesus’ reply to the leper: “I AM WILLING; be cleansed.”

The Old Testament book of Leviticus gives a vivid picture of the cleansing of 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 brought to the priest, and the priest shall go out to the outside of the camp. Thus the priest shall look, and if the infection of leprosy has been healed in the leper, then the priest shall give orders to take two live CLEAN birds and cedar wood and a scarlet string and hyssop for the one who is to be cleansed’” (Leviticus 14:1-4). It is important to note that the priest was required to go OUTSIDE of the camp to meet the leper. This was necessary because the leper was banned from the camp; his disease made him an outcast. The only way the priest (symbolic of the heavenly Father) could minister to him was if he took the initiative. He provided the sacrifice, two live, clean birds, that would be offered for the leper’s cleansing. As we shall see, one of the birds is killed and the other set free. This pictures Jesus’ death and resurrection as He willingly went to the cross to be crucified OUTSIDE the city. “Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Hence, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach” (Hebrews 13:12-13).

“The priest shall also give orders to slay the one bird in an EARTHENWARE vessel over running water. As for the live bird, he shall take it, together with the cedar wood and the scarlet string and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird that was slain over the running water. He shall then sprinkle SEVEN times the one who is to be cleansed from the leprosy, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the live bird go free over the open field” (Leviticus 14:5-7). The bird killed in the earthenware vessel is a vivid picture of the body of the Lord Jesus. Paul speaks of those who have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior as, “hav[ing] this treasure in EARTHEN vessels” (2 Corinthians 4:7). Jesus’ body, His earthen vessel, as it hung upon the cross, was slain, but in His death, running (literally – LIVING) water CLEANSED the sacrifice. Though Jesus took the sins of all mankind upon Himself as He died upon the cross, He was Himself, NEVER, AT ANY TIME, sinful. He was a pure, holy, CLEAN, sacrifice. The other bird, along with the cedar wood, scarlet string, and hyssop, were dipped in the blood of the slain bird, after which the bird was set free. This is a picture of the resurrection. Thus, in this short section of Scripture, we have a very clear picture of how the death and resurrection of Jesus, typified by the two birds, CLEANSES mankind from his sins (justification) and begins the process of making him holy (sanctification), a process that begins at the moment of salvation and lasts a lifetime, culminating at our death.

This process of sanctification begins when we forsake and turn away from all that characterizes our old, sinful lifestyle; a lifestyle embodied by the chief of sins – pride; for it is pride that deceives man into believing dependence upon God is unnecessary and a yoke of slavery, a real PAIN, if you will; whereas, independence from God will free him to become his own god, answerable to no one, free from the PAIN of GUILT. Thus, sanctification begins when we react, in a positive way, to the pain of conviction that salvation brings by accepting our guilt as a GIFT from the Holy Spirit rather than living in denial. This is portrayed when the newly cleansed leper is instructed to “wash his clothes and shave off all his hair, and bathe in water and be clean” (Leviticus 14:8). We accept the fact that washing is necessary; we no longer deny that filthiness clings to us as a result of our rebellion against the Lord, and to ensure that nothing of the old, sinful life remains in contact with us, we shave off all the hair upon our bodies. Hair, when washed and groomed is an adornment, pleasing to the sight and smell, but left unattended it becomes oily and greasy, causing all kinds of dirt and debris to become entangled in it, to the point that it becomes impossible to adequately clean and straighten. Like a child that has put chewing gum in his hair, the only recourse to remove the gum is to cut off the hair. So it is with our old, unregenerated, sinful flesh; if all we do is wash the OUTSIDE, rather than deal with what springs from WITHIN (hair), we will be nothing more than good sinners, but certainly not born-again saints. Indeed, the words of Jesus to the Pharisees exposed their spiritual leprosy when He said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the OUTSIDE of the cup and of the dish, but INSIDE they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also” (Matthew 23:25-26). The Pharisees had desensitized themselves, by works of the Law, to the PAIN of conviction that their sins should have caused. Paul sums up this thought by stating, “Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her; that He might SANCTIFY her, having CLEANSED her by the WASHING OF WATER WITH THE WORD, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she should be holy and blameless.” (Ephesians 5:25-27) It is our “bathing” with the Bible, reading it, studying it, and mediating upon the truths therein, that “let(s) us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily ENTANGLES us” (Hebrews 12:1). This is the removal of the hair.

However, as stated above, sanctification is a lifelong process; not a once-for-all operation. The slaying of the two birds and the washing of the leper is a SEVEN-day event. It is interesting to note that God created the world and all that the universe contains in seven days, and that He takes the same amount of time to bring about a NEW CREATION in the cleansing of the leper. Seven is God’s number in THIS creation to signify spiritual perfection. It represents God’s completed work to bring about His will in THIS creation. I stress this because, from God’s point of view, we are holy and sanctified when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, but from our human point of view, we are, IN EXPERIENCE, far from holy and far from sanctified, as our new found spiritual PAIN nerves remind us. The peace we long for, the forgiveness we long for, the acceptance we long for, are all reminders that salvation alone does not fill the empty void within our hearts. Some of the most downcast and joyless people in the world are Christians. We are saved, we have reached “seventh” heaven, so to speak, but we look above us and see “cloud nine”. Like the leper we have been given access to the camp where fellowship among other people is restored, but not to the sanctuary, where fellowship with the Lord is restored. “Now afterward, (after the slaying of the two birds and his purification rite) he may enter the camp, but he shall stay outside his tent for seven days” (Leviticus 14:8).

It is the eighth day to which we now turn. It is significant to note that the number eight is the number for RESURRECTION; it is the number for Jesus. Four is the number for creation and eight is four plus four, or a NEW CREATION! Eight is also two cubed; that is, 2 x 2 x2; two raised to the THIRD power. Two the number for witness and also Jesus, Him being the SECOND Person of the Trinity and three is the number for God as represented by the Godhead – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Thus, eight, resurrection, is Jesus RAISED by the power of THREE. It does all tie together and the study of numbers in the Bible can be fascinating as long as we are careful about it.

“Now on the eighth day he (the cleansed leper) is to take two male lambs without defect, and a yearling ewe lamb without defect, and three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, and one log of oil; 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” (Leviticus 14:10-11) As discussed, the leper was previously cleansed by the sacrifice of the two birds which represented the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, thus ushering in a new creation. What is happening on the eighth day is the cleansed leper’s WORSHIP of God. We may pass from sinner to saint as a result of accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, but if that is as far as our relationship with Him goes, we will remain spiritual babes. We will continue to be burdened by the guilt of our sins, “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7). Worship and truth are inexorably linked. Jesus told the Woman at the well, “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in SPIRIT AND TRUTH; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24). Thus, Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). No worship, no truth; no truth, no freedom. Therefore, the worship required of the cleansed leper on the eighth day is crucial if freedom from the past is to be realized.

“Then the priest shall take the one male lamb and bring it for a GUILT offering, with the log of oil, and present them as a wave offering before the Lord” (Leviticus 14:12). The guilt offering is also called the TRESPASS offering. This is the first offering offered because it is our transgressions, our overstepping God’s commands, our ACTS of rebellion that Jesus brings to our consciences. This is likely why the “Jerusalem Bible” refers to the guilt offering as the sacrifice of REPARATION, with reparation being defined as “The act or process of repairing”. The guilt offering starts the process of repairing the broken relationship sinners have with God. Thus, behavior that once did not bother us now causes GUILT; we are PAINED by our past actions and, having been cleansed through salvation, seek forgiveness while “trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:10). Forgiveness and freedom from guilt begin with the slaying of the Guilt (Trespass) offering. “The priest shall then take some of the blood of the guilt offering, and the priest shall put it on the lobe of the RIGHT EAR of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his RIGHT HAND, and on the big toe of his RIGHT FOOT” (Leviticus 14:14). The right ear, that we might “hear what the Spirit says to the churches (literally – the Called Out Ones)” (Revelation 3:6); the right hand “that we may work the works of God” (John 6:28); the right foot so that we “might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).

Furthermore, the guilt offering does not stop with the shedding and application of the blood. The priest puts some of the oil in his left hand and sprinkles it SEVEN times before the Lord, and then anoints, using his right finger, the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the big toe of the right foot of the cleansed leper. The oil is applied on top of the blood. In addition, the remainder of the oil in the priest’s hand is poured over the head of the former leper signifying, in essence, the total man coming under its influence. This is significant because the oil is representative of the sealing and consecration the believer receives from the Holy Spirit. “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and ANOINTED us is God, who also SEALED us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22). “In Him, you also, after listening to the message oftruth, the gospel of your salvation-- having also believed, you were SEALED in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13). The death of Jesus upon the cross which resulted in His blood being shed makes salvation possible as it begins the restoration of the broken relationship between sinner and God and His resurrection from the dead made possible the sending of the Holy Spirit into our hearts, consecrating every aspect of our lives until we too are holy.

The next step in the former leper’s rite of purification is the sin offering. The sin offering is very similar to the guilt or trespass offering and it is sometimes difficult to differentiate between them. However, whereas the guilt offering most likely addresses the ACTS of rebellion the sinner is guilty of, the sin offering seems to address the sin NATURE; that is, it deals with who the sinner IS rather than what he DOES. Thus, Leviticus tells us, “The priest shall next offer the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his UNCLEANNESS” (Leviticus 14:19). Acts are not, in and of themselves, clean or unclean. It depends upon the MOTIVE that perpetuates them. Is the motive pure, in response to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, or is it tainted by the desires of the unregenerated flesh? This must be dealt with, for even if our actions become noble in the sight of men, the spirit remains in bondage to sin. Thus, Paul says, “Having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of FLESH AND SPIRIT, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1) Without the sin offering, the leper is not truly clean. He may look like he has been healed, just like people who perform good works may look like Christians, but are nothing more than religious pagans. It is to such people that the prophet Jeremiah speaks when he says, “‘Behold, the days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘that I will punish all who are CIRCUMCISED AND YET UNCIRCUMCISED’” (Jeremiah 9:25) Unless the INWARD man is dealt with, the healing is only superficial. The consequences to such a life is a man who smiles on the outside, but never “smiles” on the inside. Forgiveness and peace, though longed for, and diligently searched for, are never found, for the reality of the INNATE sinfulness he possesses is denied. This is why good works tease the sinner into thinking that confessing and forsaking (representative of the guilt offering) what he considers “bad” works is enough to save him and is perplexed when the fallacy of such thinking is exposes itself as he realizes forgiveness and peace have still escaped him. As the rich young ruler said to Jesus “Teacher, what GOOD THING shall I do that I may obtain eternal life” (Matthew 19:16)? The young man obviously felt an unfulfilled need in his life, but when Jesus told him how to fill that need, he was unwilling to offer the SACRIFICE required. The guilt offering without the sin offering is useless.

Lastly, the priest sacrificed the burnt offering. The burnt offering is unique in that the animal is TOTALLY given unto the Lord as an offering by fire, with nothing remaining for the priest or leper to partake of. Only a portion of the guilt and sin offerings was burned upon the altar; the priest and leper shared the remainder. Not so with the burnt offering. All of it was consumed upon the altar. It signifies the COMPLETE surrender of our lives in the service of the Lord. Paul exhorts us “by the mercies of God, to present your bodies A LIVING AND HOLY SACRIFICE, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship” (Romans 12:1). This is the dying to self that Jesus speaks of. It sounds so easy, so noble, but being a LIVING sacrifice is impossible without Jesus because the PAIN of remaining on the altar is too great. Thus, the leper says, “Lord, IF YOU ARE WILLING, You can make me clean” (Matthew 8:2). Jesus’ reply is what makes our salvation, sanctification, and glorification possible: “I AM WILLING; be cleansed” (Matthew 8:3).

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