Leviticus 7-8, Luke 5
But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins — he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home." – Luke 5:24 ESV
Reading through the book of Leviticus, one can't help but recognize the emphasis on sin, guilt, impurity and uncleanness. But there is also an emphasis on holiness, consecration, purity, and forgiveness. It is perfectly and painfully clear that the sin of man was a problem. It was a pervasive and inescapable reality – even among the people of God. The psalmist reminds us, "They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one" (Psalm 14:3 ESV). That sobering assessment refers to mankind in general, but most certainly includes the Israelites. They had proven themselves to be fully capable of turning aside from God and, therefore, had become corrupted by their own sinful hearts. But God had a solution. He provided a means by which they could find forgiveness for their sins and freedom from their guilt and condemnation. It would be costly. It would require a great deal of sacrifice on their part. It would be a perpetual, never-ending necessity in their lives if they wanted to continue to enjoy the presence and power of God in their lives.
What does this passage reveal about God?
The sheer number and variety of sacrifices required by God are staggering. In chapter seven alone we read of the guilt offering, peace offering, wave offering, ordination offering, grain offering, and sin offering. The various requirements associated with each can be overwhelming to keep up with. The amount of details that had to be considered, remembered and followed to the smallest detail are hard to read, let alone to obey. But it shows us the seriousness of sin and the price required for sin to be dealt with effectively. God's desire was that His people understand and appreciate their role as His chosen ones. He had personally handpicked them and set them apart as His own. And elsewhere in Scripture, God makes it clear that His choosing of them was based on one thing alone. "It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt" (Deuteronomy 7:7-8 ESV). God loved them. And all the demands He was placing on them were a reflection of that love. He wanted to cleanse them and forgive them of their sins. He wanted to remove their guilt. But He also wanted them to appreciate all that He had done for them. He wanted a people who would express love for Him in return and show their faith in Him through obedience to Him.
As His chosen ones there were going to be requirements placed on them by God. There were demands, regulations, rules, rituals and rites. They were going to have to listen to God and obey what He told them to do. Not because God was demanding and severe, but because His holiness required that sin be dealt with. His very character required that He justly and rightly deal with sin. He could not tolerate it, overlook it, or ignore it. To do so would have made Him less than God. But God is love. He wanted to express His love to His chosen people. To do so, He had to provide them with a way to satisfy His holy requirement to punish sin. That is what the entire sacrificial system is all about. And it was designed by God to provide forgiveness and cleansing from sin. It was onerous and difficult because sin was dangerous and deadly. God could not take sin lightly and He wanted His people to understand that they could not afford to do so either.
What does this passage reveal about man?
In the prophetic book of Malachi, we read a prediction made by God concerning the people of Israel. It provides a glimpse into Israel's future, long after they had arrived in the land of promise. It tells of a time that will take place after the building of the Temple and the nation of Israel has enjoyed a period of peace and prosperity in the land God had promised them. God, speaking through the prophet Malachi says:
"A son honors his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?" says the Lord Almighty. "It is you priests who show contempt for my name.
But you ask, 'How have we shown contempt for your name?'
"By offering defiled food on my altar.
“But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’
“By saying that the Lord’s table is contemptible. When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty. (Malachi 1:6-8 ESV).
The day was coming when the people would disregard God's requirements and, instead of offering the best of the best, they would offer the lame and the sick. In doing so, they would show contempt for the name of God. They would defile His altar. They would treat the sacrifices ordained by God with contempt. They would bring "injured, lame or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices" (Malachi 1:13 ESV), treating His means of forgiveness with ingratitude and disrespect.
How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?
In the book of Luke, we see the coming of the Son of God to earth. In the early chapters of Luke's gospel, we read of the coming of Jesus and the beginning stages of His ministry. While we read of His miracles and His choosing of the twelves disciples, we must not lose sight of the fact that Jesus came to forgive sins. He came to pay the penalty required by His Father for the sins of mankind. Jesus' miracles were simply a proof of His authority as the Son of God. He could heal the sick, calm the sea, cast out demons and even raise the dead. When accused by the Pharisees of blasphemy for telling a man his sins were forgiven, Jesus responded, "Why do you question in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?" (Luke 5:22-23 ESV). Proving a person's sins had been forgiven would be impossible. But proving a lame man was healed would be easily verifiable. So Jesus healed the man. His power to heal was a demonstration of His power as God to forgive sins. His mission was to go to the cross. His assignment was to offer His life as a payment for the sins of all mankind. Once again, God had provided a means by which men could receive forgiveness for and cleaning from sin. Why? Because He loved us. Paul makes this perfectly clear when he writes, "But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God's condemnation" (Romans 5:8-9 NLT).
God loved me so much that He sent His Son to die in my place. And my response to that incredible love should be to do what Paul encourages us to do in Romans 12:1: "I appeal to you therefore, brothers,by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."
Father, from the very beginning, You have had a plan for dealing with the sins of man. You knew that man was incapable of solving the sin problem. Once it began, it was like a cancer that spread throughout Your creation, infecting everyone and everything. The only solution was for the penalty for sin to be paid for. Thank You for the permanent solution provided by Your Son's death. Thank You that we are no longer under the temporary means of the Old Testament law. I am so grateful for the reality of my forgiveness and right standing with You. I don't ever want to take it for granted. I don't ever want to take sin lightly or treat Your gift of grace and forgiveness with contempt. Amen