Pronounced Clean

Leviticus 13:13 ~ “Then the priest shall look, and if the leprous disease has covered all his body, he shall pronounce him clean of the disease; it has all turned white, and he is clean.”
 
Communicable diseases, especially those that could be transmitted through some casual touch of skin, caused those in the camp of Israel to be declared “unclean.” This would prevent the unclean person from freely navigating about the camp, spreading the contagion and causing a massive outbreak of sickness among the nation. These skin diseases were often described in the Scriptures as leprosy. It did not specifically mean the exact malady, but any skin disease that could be transmitted from one person to another. The individual who was afflicted would be taken outside of the camp of Israel and quarantined until the priest would declare the person clean.
 
It only took a small mark of disease to declare a person unclean. Leviticus 13:9-11 speaks of this, “When a man is afflicted with a leprous disease, he shall be brought to the priest, and the priest shall look. And if there is a white swelling in the skin that has turned the hair white, and there is raw flesh in the swelling, it is a chronic leprous disease in the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean.” As we consider this situation, we must consider its analogous expression, for the skin disease that has broken out is an indication of a sickness that is raging within. And such it is with sin. So often, until the sin is broken out so that it becomes evident to all, it remains a hidden and corrupting inner condition. And, like a disease, it will eventually rupture through and show itself. An inner heart of deception will break forth in outward lies. A prideful heart will show in some way through boastful actions. Greed will corrupt the heart and prove itself through materialism. A bitter spirit will be exposed through angry words. Beloved, the list is long—for it is the inner corruptions of the life that defile a person. Jesus said as such in Mark 7:21-23, “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
 
But now let’s consider our text for today. Consider what it says about the leprous individual: “and if the leprous disease has covered all his body.” Our first response might be to think that this individual is so far gone that there is no coming back to a life that is clean. Every inch of skin is covered, no clean patch remains. How can this be anything but the full and final corruption of the man? Yet, that is NOT what the text declares: “he shall pronounce him clean of the disease; it has all turned white, and he is clean.” From an outward perspective, this is a ludicrous pronouncement. How can a man be clean when he is covered with the disease? Because, beloved, the body on the inside has fought off the disease and driven it out. It can do nothing more than fall off the body and be gone forever. The inner corruption is destroyed.
 
And so, it is with all who come to Christ by faith. You must understand that it is the inner corruptions that defile a man. Remember what God told Samuel concerning the king that He would select? “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). And though the outward expression might still have the remnants of a sinful condition, yet the inner life of the born-again soul is transformed by the power of Christ. Now, all that remains is the continual shedding of the old life, revealing the pure, clean and holy condition that God has created in the new man.
 
The problem with many who see only the outward appearance is that they are desperate to cleanse the shell and not the heart. Jesus warned the Pharisees of this very thing in Matthew 23:25-26, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.” The transformation of the outer life can only come from the cleansing of the heart.
 
So, let me ask you this: has Jesus, our High Priest, pronounced you clean? Has your heart been changed by the LORD so that you love righteousness and hate wickedness? Do you love the LORD your God and have humbled yourself before the Savior, receiving His promised pardon? Jesus said to Peter that those who have taken a bath (been born-again) are completely clean (see John 13:10). My friends, if Jesus has cleansed you on the inside, it will eventually be revealed on the outside as well.
 
In His Grace,
Pastor Michael

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