by Desiree Bustamante

Only the blood of Jesus can wash our sin away.

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“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘The following instructions are for those seeking ceremonial purification from a skin disease. Those who have been healed must be brought to the priest, who will examine them at a place outside the camp. If the priest finds that someone has been healed of a serious skin disease, he will perform a purification ceremony, using two live birds that are ceremonially clean, a stick of cedar, some scarlet yarn, and a hyssop branch.’”

“Then the priest must present the sin offering to purify the person who was cured of the skin disease. After that, the priest will slaughter the burnt offering and offer it on the altar along with the grain offering. Through this process, the priest will purify the person who was healed, and the person will be ceremonially clean.”
Leviticus 14:1-4, 19-20 New Living Translation

Because lepers were unclean, they couldn’t go out in public to obtain the required sacrifices for themselves. God ordained the priests to pick up lepers’ sacrifices on their behalf so they could offer them and be ceremonially clean. The entire process symbolized purification, forgiveness, and reconciliation with God after being unclean. The rituals allowed the healed individual to be reintegrated into the community and to return to fellowship.

These commands, created years before Christ came to earth, revealed God‘s plan in Christ for us. We are all unclean and cannot do anything to atone for our sin, so Jesus was offered instead as the high priest and sacrifice made to save us.

We are no longer bound by the traditional sacrifice Israel had to make to be cleansed. The blood of Jesus makes us clean and our hearts pure without us offering anything but accepting Him into our hearts. We are welcomed into the community of believers because of His sacrifice.

How precious is this gift from our Lord and Savior!

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado