“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” [Jeremiah 31:33-34 (NLT)]
The book of Leviticus outlined several things that could make someone ceremonially or ritually unclean. These things included bodily discharges, touching a corpse, and skin infections, as well as contact with any unclean person or thing. By Jesus’ day, even entering a Gentile’s home made someone unclean. Anything and anyone an unclean person touched became unclean and, anyone who touched them or what they touched also became unclean.
People deemed unclean were barred from participating in worship, offering sacrifices, and having access to the Temple. Because ritual impurity was contagious, anyone unclean had to remain separated from the community. Purification ceremonies were required before returning to a state of ritual cleanness and they varied with the severity of the uncleanness. Because uncleanness could come from normal bodily functions or factors beyond their control, even devout Jews became unclean at some time. Nevertheless, people didn’t deliberately put themselves in situations that would make them unclean. Jesus was the exception to the rule!
Along with their miraculous restoration, the three people Jesus healed in Mark 5 have something else in common—their ritual uncleanness. Living among the dead in the burial caves made the demoniac unclean. Since pigs fed on the hillside near him, he also was unclean because of contact with them. Considering the demoniac’s wild behavior, he probably was soiled by his or the pigs’ feces or urine which also made him ritually unclean (as well as filthy). Jesus, however, didn’t see an unclean Gentile demoniac; he saw a child of God who desperately needed to be freed from Satan’s control!
While Jesus was on the way to Jairus’ home to heal the man’s daughter, He was approached by a woman who had been hemorrhaging for twelve years. Because her bodily discharge made her ritually unclean, she was a pariah who shouldn’t have been out in public. Just by touching Jesus’ robe, she would have passed her uncleanness to Him but, rather than rebuke the woman for her action, He called her “Daughter,” commended her faith, and healed her.
While Jesus was speaking to the bleeding woman, messengers arrived to tell Jairus his daughter was dead. Undeterred, Jesus continued to the man’s home and went into the room where the dead girl lay. Even though He could raise the dead with just a word (as He did with Lazarus), Jesus deliberately held the child’s hand before telling her to get up. Although having direct contact with a corpse made Him ritually unclean, the moment He took her hand, she transformed from an unclean dead body into a living child.
Those weren’t the only times Jesus put His concern for people before ritual purity. He offered to go to the Roman centurion’s home to heal the man’s servant even though entering a Gentile’s home would make him ceremonially unclean. When Jesus returned to the Gerasenes, he had no qualms about laying hands on a Gentile deaf man. Perhaps the most shocking of Jesus’ actions is found in Mark 1 when a leper kneeling before Him asked to be made clean. In an amazing display of compassion, Jesus deliberately reached out and touched the man to heal him. Rather than being made unclean by the leper, the leper was made clean by Jesus’ touch!
Ritual impurity made people unfit to be in the presence of God. Although many of the things Jesus did would have made a normal Israelite impure, we never read of Him undergoing any sort of purification ritual. Jesus, however, wasn’t an ordinary Israelite. He didn’t need to be purified to enter into the presence of God; He was God! Rather than becoming polluted by touching the unclean, Jesus transformed their impurity to purity because His holiness was contagious! In the New Covenant, people’s purity no longer depends on external regulations; it now depends on the cleansing power of Jesus Christ. His purity is greater than our impurity! Thank you, Lord.
So then, my brothers and sisters, we have boldness to go into the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus. He has inaugurated a brand new, living path through the curtain (that is, his earthly body). We have a high priest who is over God’s house. Let us therefore come to worship, with a true heart, in complete assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. [Hebrews 10:19-22 (NTE)]
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In Mark 5, we find three stories of miraculous healings: the demoniac living among the graves in the Gerasenes, the woman who bled for twelve years, and the daughter of Jairus who was brought back to life. These are beautiful stories, but what about all the other people in 2,000 years for whom there has been no healing? Like the woman with the blood disorder, my friend has suffered for more than twelve years, tried every remedy, and gotten no relief. This man of deep faith prays for healing as do all his family and friends. His faith is as strong as that of the nameless woman and yet he’s had no relief.
Last month we took a driving trip through Virginia and North Carolina to enjoy the fall colors in the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains. While taking a train ride along the Nantahala River Gorge, we commented on the beautiful vines covering the hillside. Our seat-mate told us this lovely looking plant is a destructive weed called kudzu. Native to Asia, this semi-woody vine was introduced to the U.S. back in 1876 during the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Originally advertised as an ornamental plant, kudzu’s ability to grow up to a foot day (and up to 60-feet a year), overtake, grow over, and smother just about anything in its path, has given it a new name: “the vine that ate the South.”
Last year, our family rented a lake home in Idaho. Although we never saw our next-door neighbors, we saw their landscaper nearly every day. A robotic lawnmower, it was meticulous about not missing even a small patch of grass on their expansive lawn. About twice the size of our robotic vacuum, this mower puts our little vac to shame. Rather than going in seemingly random circles, it efficiently cut in back-and-forth straight lines. The gizmo never strayed onto the beach, got lost in the shrubbery, banged into lawn furniture, or wandered into our yard! From lakeside to house, it went up and down the slope without slowing down and returned to its charging station when its power ran low. An obedient and hard-working servant, it was on call 24/7 and would have mowed all night if so directed. The mower’s schedule, boundaries, and grass height requirement were controlled by its master’s smartphone! Because that technology came with a hefty price tag, it also came with a built-in-alarm system, GPS theft-tracking, and a pin code.
Yosemite Sam, the cartoon arch enemy of Bugs Bunny, used to exclaim “Jumpin’ Jehosophat!” I was an adult before learning that Jehosophat was the fourth king of the southern kingdom of Judah. It’s ironic that the king said to be jumping in Sam’s pseudo-swear is best known for standing still in 2 Chronicles!
Saul, a man willing to kill his son rather than concede his error in making a foolish vow, wasn’t quite as eager to fulfill other vows he made. Later, he promised his daughter (along with exemption from taxes and military service) to the man who killed Goliath. While the vow prohibiting his men from eating came from his desire for revenge, this one may have come from fear. It was the king’s job to lead his men into battle and Saul, as the tallest man and the only one with bronze armor like Goliath’s, was the obvious choice to take on the Philistine. Perhaps Saul hoped the promise of wealth, honor, and a place at the king’s table would be incentive enough for someone else to volunteer to face the Philistine. For 40 days Goliath had taunted Israel but there were no takers until David.
Devotions of the Heart 