Today’s Bible Reading from the Five Day Bible Reading Plan: Leviticus 12-14, Psalm 111, Hebrews 5

In Leviticus 13-14, God gave Moses at the Levitical priesthood 116 verses on how to identify leprosy (Leviticus 13) and then how to provide cleansing (Leviticus 14). If someone was diagnosed with leprosy, they were consigned to a leper colony outside the camp and a devastating life awaited them, for there was no cure at the time.

Lepers were prevalent in Jesus’ day. The law of Moses noted that if a leper touched anyone or anyone touched a leper, then both would become unclean. In Mark 1:40-45, we see that a leper came up to Jesus (illegal) and that Jesus touched the leper to make him clean (illegal). Jesus showed that the law was there to help clean people stay clean, but that His Kingdom comes to make those who have no hope or help of being clean, clean.

The lepers stood as the closest analogy to everyone’s condition outside of Christ. We are cut off, alienated, separated, unclean. And as Jesus with a touch, with a word, made those lepers clean, so with a touch, with a word, He makes all whom He rescues and all who call upon His name spiritual, perpetually, and eternally clean!

Come to Christ! He will make you clean!