It’s easy to see why Jesus had to die, shedding His blood to pay the penalty that our sinful actions deserve.  Sin, at its root, is really nothing less than rebellion against God, treason against God.  And everyone knows that traitors get the death penalty.

But what does a blood sacrifice have to be made for physical sickness?  In these days of concern about the coronavirus in China, we can perhaps understand the need to isolate victims of a contagious disease, such as leprosy seemed to be (Leviticus 13:45-46).  But why would a sin offering need to be made to restore a sick man to the community once he got well (Leviticus 14:12-13)?  And why would God consider the natural emission of bodily fluids somehow unclean for men or women (Leviticus 15:16-24)?  What does any of this natural, physical stuff have to do with sin?

Remember, all these ceremonial laws were object lessons that pointed to the coming Savior.  And blood was clearly symbolic of life (Leviticus 17:14).  It is therefore likely that, just as certain animals were considered unclean because they ate dead things, so the loss of blood and other bodily fluids was suggestive of death.  God’s people were thus to separate themselves from death, whether that meant staying away from skin that appeared to be dying (Leviticus 13:10), staying away from houses in which decay was spreading (Leviticus 14:37), or cleansing themselves after the loss of life-giving fluids.

So, what does all this have to do with Jesus and His sacrifice for sin?  In dying for us, Jesus came not just to insure that God would declare us to be not guilty.  He came to give us life, abundant life (John 10:10).  Moreover, He came to restore life and health to the natural world, which is currently groaning because of the effects of our sin (Romans 8:20-21).  That means He had to die to restore not just our sinful souls, but our bodies as well.

So, what does all this mean for us?  We must be just as vigilant, just as thorough in putting sin away from ourselves as God’s Old Testament people were in putting away ceremonial uncleanness.  We must pursue holiness because the Lord our God is holy (Leviticus 10:45).  In this way, we both distance ourselves from death and remain loyal to the Holy One Who gives us life.

Leviticus 14:19-20 (ESV)

¹⁹ The priest shall offer the sin offering, to make atonement for him who is to be cleansed from his uncleanness. And afterward he shall kill the burnt offering.  ²⁰ And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean.