Leprosy as a Picture of Sin

In Mark chapter one, we read about Jesus healing a leper. You may recall other accounts in scripture of Jesus healing lepers, and you may have wondered what's the big deal about leprosy? Leprosy was and is not only a very painful and chronic disease, but for Jews it was spiritually significant as well. Two chapters in Leviticus are devoted to dealing with leprosy and lepers.

In chapter 13, Moses describes the tests for leprosy, providing the information needed for the priest to diagnose the disease and the consequences of the diagnosis, which was that the person was declared unclean and from then on required to live outside the camp. Lepers had to isolate themselves so that they would not infect others.

Chapter 14 outlines the requirements for cleansing a leper. This is what Jesus was referring to when he instructed the leper in Mark chapter one to go and show himself to the priest. There were certain things the leper must do to be declared clean for his return to society, which included a series of sacrifices, bathing, washing his clothing, and shaving the head.

In his commentary on Mark, Be Diligent, Warren W. Wiersbe describes how leprosy as described in Leviticus 13 is a picture of sin and how the ceremony described in Leviticus 14 demonstrates redemption in Christ:

Like sin, leprosy is deeper than the skin (v. 3); it spreads (vv. 5-8); it defiles and isolates (vv. 44-46); and it renders things fit only for the fire (vv. 47-59). Anyone who has never trusted the Savior is in worse shape than this man was physically.

The ceremony...presents a beautiful picture in type of the work of redemption. The two birds represent two different aspects of our Lord's ministry: His incarnation and death (the bird put into the jar and then killed), and his resurrection and ascension (the bird stained with blood and set free). The blood was applied to the man's right ear (God's Word), right thumb (God's work), and the right great toe (God's walk). The oil was put on the blood, symbolizing the Holy Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit cannot come on human flesh until first the blood has been applied.

If you are in Christ, thank God that the blood has been applied to you and that you have been declared clean!