Mark 1
One of the enigmas of Jesus is when he says, "See that you don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them." Mark 1:44
In our Bible reading journey we are now in both Leviticus and the gospel of Mark. There is an interesting intersection between them in this passage.
Because of the compassion of Jesus, he heals a man of leprosy. But Jesus also shows his compassion because he gives an incredible witness to his most vocal enemies.
These priests have been in seminary for years studying an elaborate procedure for a person cured of leprosy. There are actually 18 steps in the process, from taking an hour walk to giving the person a complete haircut and a bath. That is an elaborate ceremony!!! But as far as we know, there were only two people cured of leprosy in the first 2000 years of Jewish history. One was Miriam and the other was General Naaman in 2 Kings 5. So, these seminary guys learned this stuff and then they placed their notes aside of other useless materials like "Famous Egyptian Ballet Dancers" or "Egyptian Chariot Driving Techniques for Snowy Roads."
Then one day there is a knock on the temple door. The person on the other side shouts, "I've been healed of leprosy." All of a sudden the priests start scrambling around looking for the notes from that seminary class. The next day 3 more former lepers appear. Then the next week 10 guys show up. The priests start asking, "How were you healed?" The name Jesus comes up every time. I believe God hid this elaborate ceremony in the middle of Leviticus to give the priests in Jesus' time overwhelming evidence that the Messiah had arrived.
A big wow for the plan of God to show the world that Jesus is the Messiah. And a double wow for Jesus who healed people because he cared about them. We have such an incredible Savior!!
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