The Cutting Room Floor: Lepers and the Temple
Every so often, I might post some thoughts I’ve had to edit out of a sermon for clarity or length. Sometimes, these thoughts started somewhere, and I’ve jotted them down, only to realise later that they didn’t really contribute as much as I’d want to the sermon. I heard M. Night Shyamalan once say that in film school, he was taught to ‘kill your babies’ - i.e. cut out or edit out your favourite scenes if they do not add to or contribute to the final movie. I know in my sermons I have to be careful not to nurture my particular babies - things I get excited by in the text that I lose the main point and purpose.
But that’s the bonus of running your own website - you can post them here.
So, my hope is these offcuts don’t just remain edits on the cutting room floor but can be posted for your encouragement as well.
Onto the subject for today - Lepers and the Temple.
Leprosy causes you to become unclean. The idea behind ‘unclean’ has to do with holiness and purity. It wasn’t to say that it was purely the fault of the person who became unclean – but it is to say that they were now restricted access to the Temple and God’s presence. The Temple is the place where man and God meet in perfect harmony. Why the restriction? God is pure; anything unclean cannot be in his presence – because their presence would cause the Temple to become unclean:
Numbers 19:13
[13] Whoever touches a dead person, the body of anyone who has died, and does not cleanse himself, defiles the tabernacle of the LORD, and that person shall be cut off from Israel…
Numbers 19:20
[20] “If the man who is unclean does not cleanse himself, that person shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, since he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD…
Leviticus 15:31
[31] “Thus you shall keep the people of Israel separate from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness by defiling my tabernacle that is in their midst.”
The Tabernacle and Temple were representative of the literal presence of God dwelling among the people. Keeping it undefiled was crucial – as it taught the people that God is perfect and holy and that nothing undefiled could draw near; otherwise, the purity of God’s presence would destroy that which was unclean.
But in Jesus, things start turning around. What do we see in the Leper approaching Jesus?
The unclean approach the Temple of God. Jesus being the place where man and God meet together in perfect harmony.
But this time, instead of the leper’s uncleanness being contagious and infecting Jesus, Jesus’ holiness and purity are contagious to man. He is healed and made holy.
Mark pushes into this idea more when he ends the same story with the healed man restored to the community but Jesus being forced outside the camp. Jesus’ holiness not only passes to the leper, but the leper’s uncleanness passes to Jesus who ends up being cut off from the community. There’s a double imputation that happens here.
What does this all mean?
First, it’s an important reminder to read the Bible as one cohesive story rather than as bits and pieces that we want to relate to ourselves somehow.
Second, these connections between Old and New highlight how great and wonderful and awesome Jesus is. Worthy of our complete devotion, praise and worship.
