While on earth, completing His mission
of reconciling men back to God, Jesus healed many people. At this point, in Matthew 8, a man with a chronic skin condition asked Jesus to heal him - And Jesus did. This is what Matthew said, “Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached Jesus and knelt before him. He said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” Matthew 8:2 Jesus reached out and laid hands on him. “I am willing.” “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared.” Matthew 8:3 After Jesus healed the man, he told him not to tell anyone. Instead he sent him to the priest to be examined, and told him to take the offering required in the Law, as described in the Book of Leviticus. Jesus said, “This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.” Matthew 8:4 At first, it didn’t make sense. Why would Jesus send a healed man to the priest? And why would he tell him not to tell anyone else? But then I realized this... The priest was considered a professional skin diagnoser, and he would confirm the healing occurred through the authority of God. In this way, the Law would testify to the priesthood of Jesus. Also, once the priest accepted the offering; the priest could then declare the man fit to return to the community. Everyone would know that Jesus healed him. Not to mention that Jesus was giving the priest an opportunity to consider the spirit that the healing power was coming from. In Mark, Chapter 11, the teachers of the law questioned Christ’s authority. “As Jesus was walking through the Temple area, the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders came up to him. They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right to do them?” Jesus responded, “I’ll tell you by what authority I do these things if you answer one question,” - “Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human? Answer me!” They talked it over among themselves. “If we say it was from heaven, he will ask why we didn’t believe John. But do we dare say it was merely human?” For they were afraid of what the people would do, because everyone believed that John was a prophet. So they finally replied, “We don’t know.” And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things.” Mark 11:27-33 You see, It’s not miracles or the powers that reveal the essence of God, for scripture says that Satan himself will show all kinds of power, signs and wonderful things. Rather, sheep know their shepherd’s voice, and they respond through their faith. You would think that a priest could discern the Spirit of Christ, but that is not what we see. The priest did not see the Promise of God, the Passover Lamb, the Suffering Servant, the Prince of Peace, the High Priest, standing right in front of him! As Christians, we must know, that we are in the royal priesthood; heirs to the kingdom of Almighty God. And when we walk in fellowship with God, no other human stands between us and Him. In the past, priests were humans who made intercession for all men. They were anointed and ordained and to offer sacrifices as atonement for humanity's sin. “But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises." If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. But when God found fault with the people, He said: “The day is coming, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. They did not remain faithful to my covenant, so I turned my back on them." "But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, “I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already. And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.” "When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.” Hebrews 8:6-13 “And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts, fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Let us hold tightly, without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment, and the raging fire that will consume his enemies. For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death, without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us.” Hebrews 10
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