Jesus Has Made Us Clean

Leviticus 11:24-25
24 You will make yourselves unclean by these; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening. 25 Whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening.

Mark 15:37-39
37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. 38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”

Being “unclean” is a common state of being in the Old Testament, especially Leviticus. As a book of holiness and cleanliness laws for the Israelites, Leviticus is full of these rules, covering everything from appropriate dress for all of the different social groups to appropriate foods for them to consume, and everything in between. This particular set of verses ends off a section discussing which insects and birds are clean and unclean to eat.

As Christians, we do not necessarily follow all the traditions laid down in Leviticus anymore, mainly because we believe that Jesus was the ultimate and final sacrifice for our sins. We no longer have to follow these restrictive codes to be “pure” or “good” enough for God, because Jesus has made us good enough when we believe in Him. The symbolic tearing of the veil at Jesus’ death, described in Mark, shows us that no longer do we have to be separate from God because of our sin.

Believing in Jesus’ sacrifice does not exempt us from ever sinning again, of course, but it is the first and most important part of declaring our faith. Accepting Jesus’ sacrifice, the final and everlasting sin offering, as a gift meant for you means that you accept Him as Savior, as indeed He was and is. Leviticus served its purpose of maintaining holiness for those who lived before the Messiah came…and Jesus now serves the same purpose, as the way to Heaven.

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