Mark 1:40
And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, "If you will, you can make me clean." The Torah spends a considerable amount of time detailing a condition called leprosy. It tells us about people’s leprosy, but also about leprosy in beards, fabrics, and houses (Leviticus 13:18–59). Leprosy in the Bible seems to relate not only to the loathsome disease by that name, but also to all sorts of corruption and decay. The term seems to be used to refer to the advance of death and corruption in matter (Leviticus 13:4–8). On a metaphorical level, Jewish sages referred to leprosy as the disease the snake inherited as part of the curse. Ritual contamination and mortality is part of the curse brought on man because of sin so the metaphor is certainly befitting. Leprosy is also associated with one of the most important sin in the Bible, the one called lashon harah which literally means the evil tongue. The term refers to gossip and slander because after slandering Moses, her brother and divinely appointed leader of Israel, Miriam was afflicted by this leprosy (Numbers 12). Leprosy and the state of ritual impurity are irrelevant today because they technically only relates to the Temple in Jerusalem which does not exist at this present time. At the time when religiosity accorded undue emphasis to ritual purity, Yeshua came to put it back in its proper perspective. In the days of the Master, Priests and Levites were so obsessed with ritual purity that they would ignore the commandments about mercy and helping those in need for fear of defiling themselves. We can see this in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:33). Yeshua on the other hand was not afraid of being defiled by leprosy. On some occasions he even voluntarily touched a leper to heal him (Matthew 8:2-3). He even entered the house of Simon the Leper to eat with him, and this is where he met Mary-Magdalene (Matthew 26:6-7). The Talmud tells of one called, The Leper Messiah. It presents a supposed discourse between the great Rabbi Joshua ben Levi and the prophet Elijah. The rabbi asks "When will the Messiah come and by what sign may I recognize him?" Elijah tells the rabbi to go to the gate of the city where he will find the Messiah sitting among the poor lepers. The Messiah, says the prophet, sits bandaging his leprous sores one at a time, unlike the rest of the sufferers, who bandage them all at once. Why? Because he might be needed at any time and would not want to be delayed (Sanhedrin 98a). While this may seem to be a far-fetched story, it is not the only Jewish text which associates Messiah with leprosy. One of the names of the coming Messiah in the Talmud is: ‘The Leper Scholar’. Unlike the exclusive religious leaders of his days who stayed away, Yeshua came to us and voluntarily put on the decaying condition of mortality. He even contaminated himself by touching our leprosy. While were still in our mortal decaying condition, he entered our house to fellowship with us. But the story doesn't end here; the most wonderful part of it is that as he goes back to his Father and our God, he takes us with him to partake of his pure resurrected body. What a wonderful Messiah we have. Amen and Amen. May it be soon, even in our days! P. Gabriel Lumbroso www.thelumbrosos.com For P. Gabriel Lumbroso's devotional UNDER THE FIG TREE in Kindle edition click here.
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Matthew 8:3
And Yeshua stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. One of the identifying signs of Messiah is that He would heal lepers, and He did. It was such a known fact that that some lepers even traveled from afar to ask Him to heal them. The apostolic texts also inform us that Yeshua only did healing when people confessed Him to be the Messiah. When He did not ask for this confession, it was because the people’s actions denoted of it. Such was the case with those who touched the side fringes of His garment (Matthew 13:46; Numbers 15:38; Malachi 4:2) and the blind men who asked for sight calling Him ‘Son of David’, one of the Names of Messiah (Matthew 20:30-34). The text also tells us that many people He couldn’t heal because of their lack of faith (that he was the Messiah). This does not mean that failure to obtain divine healing is the result of not having faith that He is the Messiah though. For one reason or another sometimes He chooses that we remain sick. There will even be a time when no matter how much we pray and have faith, He will let us die. These are the times to not sin nor charge God with wrong and say with Job, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. Adonai gave, and Adonai has taken away; blessed be the Name of the Adonai" (Job 1:21-22). Our timing is in His hands. We are owed nothing; we deserve nothing; and even in the worst of situations we get away easy! Healing when it occurs though, is always tied to confession; that’s why even the disciples healed in His Name. One of the most overlooked elements of Yeshua healing lepers is that He touched them, therefore rendering Himself ritually unclean. Again we notice that Messiah did not come here trying to remain in His purity; He came and put on the clothing of sinful humanity. He had contact with lepers and with those with an issue of blood and hanged around with some of the lowest strata of society, all in order to fulfill the Messianic role He was sent by the Father to fulfill. This is particularly interesting when we realize that the Talmud interprets Isaiah 53: 4 and 5 by calling the Messiah ‘The Leper of the House of Study’, which would mean ‘The Scholar Leper’. Another Talmudic interpretation describes Elijah telling Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi that he could find the Messiah by the gates of Rome among the poor lepers bandaging their wounds, meaning in the most unlikely of places. Would you find Messiah today? Seek no longer among the pompous holiness of religious scholars, teachers, and congregations. Messiah is still found in the most unlikely of places. You may find Him among the dregs of society bandaging the wounds of those the world leaves by the way side. He might also be found healing the leprosy of an enemy of our people (2 Kings 5), or even the spiritual and physical blindness of one of our worst persecutor (Acts 9). He was sent to the ‘Lost sheep of the House of Israel’ (the Israelites of the twelve tribes)’, and as a light for revelation to the gentiles (Matthew 15:24; Luke 2:32). As He came to us taking upon Himself our diseases and the iniquity of our sin, He became the ‘Leper Messiah’. As He mingled with us, He trusted the Father for His own sanctity: we should not fear to do the same! |
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