How does Leviticus 15:15 connect to New Testament teachings on cleanliness and holiness?

◄ Leviticus 15:15 and New Testament link? ►

• Ritual impurity from bodily discharge required two sacrifices.

• “The priest is to offer them, one for a sin offering” (Leviticus 15:15a).

• “and the other for a burnt offering. And the priest shall make atonement” (Leviticus 15:15b).

• God tied cleansing to substitutionary sacrifice and priestly mediation.

From Ritual Cleansing to Heart Cleansing

• The sin offering addressed guilt; the burnt offering expressed total dedication.

• Both pointed forward to Christ, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29, excerpt).

• External washing plus sacrifice foreshadowed the need for inner purification by blood (Hebrews 9:13-14).

Jesus and the Fulfillment of Ritual Law

• Jesus touched the unclean leper and said, “I am willing; be clean” (Mark 1:41, excerpt). Physical and ceremonial barriers vanished in Him.

• He sent the healed man to the priest (Mark 1:44), honoring the Law while revealing its completion in His person.

• On the cross He became both sin offering and burnt offering, “offering Himself without blemish to God” (Hebrews 9:14, excerpt).

Holiness: External Signs and Internal Reality

• Old-covenant washings dealt with “regulations for the body” (Hebrews 9:10, excerpt).

• New-covenant cleansing reaches conscience: “the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7, excerpt).

• Holiness now flows outward from a regenerated heart, not merely inward from ritual.

Living Out New Testament Cleanliness Today

• Pursue moral purity: “Let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of body and spirit” (2 Corinthians 7:1, excerpt).

• Embrace continual washing by the Word: Christ “cleansed her by the washing with water through the word” (Ephesians 5:26, excerpt).

• Maintain fellowship with the High Priest who “always lives to intercede” (Hebrews 7:25, excerpt).

Key Takeaways

• Leviticus 15:15 ties cleansing to sacrifice; the New Testament reveals Christ as that sacrifice.

• Priestly mediation then prefigures Christ’s present intercession.

• Ritual purity anticipated the holistic holiness now possible through the Spirit.