This weekend is celebrated
as the most significant event in all human history: the death and resurrection
of Jesus Christ. But for many of us, this week has another significance.
Because of the Covid-19
epidemic, many special Resurrection Sunday celebrations have been canceled. It
has been several weeks of decreasing freedoms and limited grocery supplies.
Many of us are forced to create new routines for our families and work schedules.
On top of that, the seasons have changed outside and being confined indoors when
spring is happening is close to torture.
As a stay-at-home Mom,
managing a routine for myself and my kids is already in place, but the weekends
are when it hits me hardest, especially Sundays. My family has been tuning into
several live-streamed church services over the past few weeks, and they’ve been
such a blessing. I’m incredibly thankful that we live in a time period when this
is available.
But compared to the real
thing, they’re just … not the same. I miss the realness of hugs, hand-shakes,
and that spark of recognition in another brother or sister’s eyes. I miss serving
at the church building and accompanying the congregation with the piano during
the service. I miss getting together afterwards for spontaneous hospitality.
I realize this separation is
temporary. I understand that masks, hand sanitizer, traffic control, and
quantity control are for the greater good. But my heart is restless.
The lack of freedom strikes
hard on so many levels. With Resurrection Sunday right in the middle of it all,
I feel especially frustrated. This is a bigger celebration than Christmas, and we’re
stuck like outcasts in our own homes.
Like outcasts.
THE LIVING DEAD
Recently I watched a
sermon live-streamed by a long-time pastor friend of mine. He had been preaching
through Leviticus and happened to arrive at chapter 14 which talks about
how a leper is restored into the community.
At first, it seemed like a
strange, irrelevant topic right in the middle of an international crisis. But
the more I listened, the more I realized just how timely his sermon was.
Because
of Covid-19, we are experiencing isolation, deprivation, loneliness, fear, and even
our mortality. But compared to leprosy in Bible times, our experience is only a
fraction of what a person went through when they contracted one of the most feared
diseases in the known world. Leprosy was highly contagious and had no known
cure. We are forced to stay in our homes, but leprosy was a disease of shame that
forced the leper to leave their homes and live in separate communities, relying
on the charity of others for their daily needs.
Not only did leprosy take
away the individual’s social freedom, but also physical freedom. Slowly,
slowly, the sense of touch was deadened as nerves were consumed by the disease.
Going without familial affection isolated the individual even more. Pain and
touch silenced, infection set in easily as the leper unknowingly hurt his hands
and feet. Beauty disappeared into the hideousness of gnarled stumps and disfigurement.
Leprosy doomed a person to
watch the steady oncoming march of death as people around them succumbed to the
disease. They carried the weight of something they had no control over. Dying
while yet alive, lepers led a zombie-like existence, trapped in shame, fear,
and isolation.
As I listened to this
sermon, I was suddenly ashamed. All the discomfort and cancellations and
rearranged schedules and precautionary measures we are suffering are not really
… suffering. I think about true suffering throughout history, of mass genocides
of people simply because they’re unwanted, of plagues killing people by the
millions because of medical ignorance, of children selfishly murdered in their
mother’s wombs through abortion, of abuse, natural disasters, slavery, and a
million other situations.
Yes, we should take the
Covid-19 virus seriously and many people have suffered and died from its
effects. But we aren’t the first generation to experience our lives and
schedules flipped upside-down. We aren’t the first to feel completely helpless and
afraid in a very real, inescapable situation.
In fact, every single
person on the planet is affected by a greater problem than any epidemic the
world has ever known. There is another disease that is completely inescapable and
has a 100% mortality rate. Our planet is a giant incubator of this disease which
is why we don’t always recognize it for what it is. But SIN is slowly, slowly
killing us.
Psalm 14:1-3 emphasizes the worldwide corruption of the disease,
The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; there is no one who does good.The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.
Ephesians 2:1-3 further describes sin’s inescapability,
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
From the moment of
conception, sin is passed on to us from our parents. Like leprosy, it’s almost
imperceptible at first. But as time goes on, it grows in corruption, numbing
the senses and deforming the conscience. Because sin is easily hidden and
disguised, we need a mirror that will show our true condition. That mirror is
the word of God which living and active and reveals the truth (Heb. 4:12-13).
Think about the leper who
is suddenly faced with the reality of the situation. It would be ridiculous for
him to go about his life and work as though nothing happened. Denial would eventually
become impossible as the disease grew. From the moment the leprosy was
confirmed, the individual became an outcast. After that, all he would be able
to think of was hoping for a cure.
For us, no matter how hard
we try, we cannot remove the guilt and shame we feel. The fact that we spend so
much energy trying to escape from it proves that something is terribly wrong. Facing
reality will change our life, but it’s the beginning of where we need to be. We
must see ourselves as mortally sin-sick outcasts before we will also see our
need for a physician. Jesus says in Matthew 9:12-13, “It is not those
who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn
what this means: ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come
to call the righteous, but sinners.”
We don’t know when we will
die. Perhaps you have friends or family who have died recently from Covid-19.
We have no real control over other vehicles on the road, or natural disasters
that come, or the way our organs will function. We have no guarantee that there
will even be a tomorrow. Like the leper, we need a hope that is timeless, unaffected
by our circumstances and stronger than our guilt and shame.
What a glorious relief to
know that this remedy exists! The same enduring hope which the leper found in Leviticus
14 is the same hope for us today.
HOPE FOR THE HOPELESS
For mysterious reasons, sometimes
leprosy suddenly stopped progressing and receded. Can you imagine the hesitant
excitement in a leper’s heart? That all the loss he’d experienced could …
possibly … maybe … be restored?
But what should he do?
Where could he go? If the leprosy was really gone, there was no reason to
remain in shame as an outcast. But he certainly couldn’t return to town unless
he knew for sure. In Leviticus 14, this dilemma is remedied through the intervention
of a priest who had special access to God. The leper needed his mediator to
come to him (Lev. 14:2-3).
For us, our sins have made
it impossible for us to come to God, but this separation is not impossible for
God (Mark 10:26-27). Through the incarnation of Jesus Christ, God entered our world
as a sinless human being. Our mediator came to us.
Hebrews 2:17-18 says, Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.
But the priest didn’t merely
perform a check-up on the leper in the medical tent. It was a three-step
process and its significance went beyond the leprosy itself:
Step 1
In Leviticus 14:4-6, the
priest took two clean birds: the sacrifice of a person who had
absolutely nothing, also symbols of peace and the Holy Spirit. The priest tied one
bird with a scarlet thread (faith) to a board of cedar (value)
and a branch of hyssop (healing). The other bird is slaughtered (substitution)
in a clay pot (human nature) over running water (life).
For us, we can see the
same pictures realized in Jesus who was crucified as a substitute for sinners.
Through His death, He gives restoration, forgiveness, value, and healing as His
“blood and water” were spilled on our behalf (Isa. 53; Rom. 5:9; Heb. 9:13; 1
John 5:6). His sacrifice is applied to outcasts through faith (Eph. 2:4-9).
But the first step wasn’t
done yet. The priest then took the remaining live bird, dipped it in the blood
of the dead bird and sprinkled the leper seven times (the number of
completion) before setting it free. This same emphasis is heard in the seven
last words of Jesus on the cross (Luke 23:34, 43, 46; John 19:26-30; Matt.
27:46). As we realize the finished work of Christ’s atonement, He sets our
souls free with peace and glorious life through the Holy Spirit (John 14:25-27;
Eph. 2:13-16; Phil. 3:8-11)!
Step 2
The leper was then placed
in quarantine, most likely a tent off by himself. He had to shave every part of
himself, wash every article of clothing, and bathe his body so that he was as smooth
and clean as a newborn baby (Lev. 14:8-9). Then he waited.
Days went by. A week
passed. On the eighth day, he was finally allowed to leave (Lev.14:10). The
eighth day represented new birth as seen in the beginning of the new creation
week in Genesis and the sign of circumcision when a male infant was added to
the people of God. As the leper emerged from his tent, he was literally “born
again”, no longer a leper, no longer an outcast, and he takes his first baby
steps towards the tabernacle for the final step of the process.
For us, the eighth day has
greater significance. It is the day Jesus powerfully rose from the dead (Luke 24:1).
Jesus is our resurrection reality and has conquered sin and death on our
behalf. Because of His resurrection, He can give new life to all who come to Him
by faith (John 11:25-26; 2 Cor. 4:7-12). Through God’s great mercy, we are “born
again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead” (1
Peter 1:3-4).
Step 3
For the leper, it still
wasn’t over. He must be declared clean by the priest before being welcomed back
into fellowship with God’s people (Lev. 14:10). He approaches the tabernacle
with several animals for his sacrifice, and carefully walks past the
questioning looks and fearful glances of those who recognized him as a leper
before. Yet in faith, step-by-step, he approaches the tabernacle.
And glorious joy! The
priest recognizes him and has been expecting him (Lev. 14:11). Taking
the man, the priest turns him around to face the waiting crowd and vouches for
him. He kills the man’s sacrifice in acceptance of his offering. But as the man
starts to leave, the priest stops him with a twinkle in his eye.
The outcast is about to
experience the extravagant love of God.
Taking the blood of the sacrifice,
the priest smears blood on the man’s right ear, right thumb, and right big toe,
repeating the same procedure with oil. The man looks at the priest in surprise.
This was the same ceremonial consecration done to the priests (Ex. 29:20-21). God
had not only cleansed the outcast; He also made him holy, setting him
apart with a new identity before restoring him to the people of God.
Can you imagine how much joy
this outcast would have felt? As 1 Samuel 2:8 declares, “He raises
the poor from the dust, He lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit
with nobles, and inherit the seat of honor.” Through Jesus Christ, we also
know this is true!
We are not only forgiven,
but also set apart in holiness. God covers us with the beautiful priestly robes
of Jesus’s righteousness (Isa. 61:10; Rom. 5:19; 2 Cor. 5:21). He redeems our
thoughts, actions, and lifestyle to be lived to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31;
1 Peter 1:14-16, 18-19). He has made us a kingdom of priests with the greatest privilege
of serving the One who has set us free (1 Peter 2:9-12). He has given us
confidence to access the throne of God Himself (Heb. 4:16; Heb. 10:19-22).
Just as the priest
liberally sprinkled oil on the man throughout the process, so God gives His
children the abundant – and increasing! – oil of joy as they grow in
their new identity in Christ (Jer. 31:13-14; John 15:11)!
LIVING HOPE
Ready or not, the Covid-19
virus is a merciful reality check that flips every stability upside-down. It forces
us to think about our mortality. We suddenly feel the fragility of life like a
spider’s web. Everyone dies. Everyone carries the tremendous weight of guilt
and shame.
The story of the leper
from Leviticus 14 is good news for every human being. Jesus is the only living,
resurrected Savior who has overpowered sin and death. He freely gives a living
hope to all who believe in Him that can never be taken away, not by leprosy,
not by Covid-19, not even by death itself. Jesus Christ is the timeless remedy
our souls have been longing for.
Romans 8:33-35, 37, Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
1 Peter 1:3-9 beautifully describes this reality,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,To obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.
May you find joy in
everything Jesus Christ has done for you, even amid present difficulties and
suffering!
This post is based on a
sermon preached by Pastor Mark Chanski of Harbor Church in Holland, Michigan on
April 5, 2020. You can listen to the sermon HERE.
All Scripture is taken
from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise noted.
All Photos are Public
Domain, unless otherwise noted.
“Sunrise on the Cliff” photo
by Broken Sparrow Confessions
