Sun.’s Devo - Forgiveness in the Cross

Read: Leviticus 14:1-57; Mark 6:30-56; Psalm 40:1-10; Proverbs 10:11-12 Jesus healed a man of leprosy in Matthew 8:3 and told him to go show the priest so they could do this ceremony. No Jew, that we know of had ever been healed of leprosy before, so they had never done this ceremony. *** The priest was to take two birds that were clean, a stick of cedar , some scarlet yarn and a hyssop branch. The priest were to slaughter one bird over a clay pot filled with fresh water and then take the live bird, the cedar, the yarn and the hyssop and dip them into the blood. The blood was to be sprinkled over the person seven times then release the live bird in the open field to fly away. *** Both birds represented Jesus. The first bird was to represent Jesus in his death. The cedar was the cross, the scarlet thread was his blood that would pass down through the centuries. The hyssop was offered to Jesus at the cross to deaden the pain, but he refused it. *** The priest was to apply some of the blood of the guilt offering on the lobe of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand and the right toe of the right foot. This was to cleanse the man of what he hears, what he does and where he goes. The person was sprinkled seven times with oil as the number of completion because Christ’ work was finished on the cross. The oil was then put on the same lobe, thumb and toe to anoint his hearing, his works and his path. The live bird is released to represent Christ’s resurrection and this man’s own resurrection from sin. He was to walk in newness of life. *** After the purification, the people involved were to wash their clothes, shave off their hair and bathe themselves in water. Then they could return to the camp but remain outside their tents for seven days. On the seventh day, they must shave the hair from their heads, beard and eyebrows and wash their clothes and themselves in water. Then they would be ceremonially clean. *** On the eighth day, the people who have been purified were to bring two male lambs and one female along with a grain offering of three tenths of an ephah of flour moistened in oil. A guilt offering is offered of the animals and is applied like the blood of the bird and the oil as before. There were concessions given for the poor. *** Moses told Aaron that when they arrived in Canaan and displaced the people living there, they might find mildew in their houses. If they did, the priest was to inspect the house and if it does look like there is mildew, the house was to be emptied and pronounced unclean. If the mildew is greenish or reddish and appears to have sunken into the wall, he will quarantine the house for seven days. If after the seven days, he finds the mildew has spread, he will have the stones that have mildew on them taken outside the town to a designated area and the inside walls of the entire house scraped and dumped in the designated space. Other stone will be brought in to replace the old ones and the walls replastered. If that doesn’t do the trick and the mildew returns, the house is defiled. It must be torn down and all its stones carried out of town and all how had entered the house would be unclean and must wash their clothing. *** But if the priest sees that the mildew has not returned, he will pronounce it clean and the bird ritual is to be done. *** I think of the house with mildew as a picture of a ministry, family or institution that has been compromised with sin, or destructive teaching making the ones under its covering unclean. God will give them a chance to cleanse the sin out of the group. Then he will return to see if they have done this. If they haven’t then the whole ministry must be torn down. *** In Mark, the disciples tried to escape the crowds for a little rest and to eat but the crowds followed them. Jesus was filled with the compassion for the crowds and stepped out of the boat and taught them. *** When it was late, the disciples told Jesus he should send the people home so they could eat, but Jesus told them to feed them. The disciples were indignant because they had no way to feed this large of a crowd. Jesus asked them how much they had. They went out to the crowd and found five loaves and two fish. Jesus told them to have the people sit in groups of fifty or a hundred. Jesus took the loaves and fish and blessed them, then began breaking the loaves and dividing the fish. He fed 5,000 men and picked up 12 baskets of leftovers. *** Jesus immediately insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and go to the other side to Bethsaida. He sent the people home filled both spiritually and physically, while he went up to the hills to pray. *** In the middle of the night, Jesus noticed that the disciples were in trouble in the water. He walked out on the water, scarring his disciples who thought he was a ghost. Jesus calmed their fears and climbed into their boat. As he did, the wind stopped and they were amazed. They climbed out at Gennesaret, where the demon-possessed man had been. This time the people were ready for Jesus and they brought their sick and possessed people to him. His testimony had spread the gospel and prepared the people to receive Jesus this time. *** Lord, thank you that you hear us in our need and you come to rescue us and bring us your peace. Thank you that all our needs are met in you.