How does Leviticus 15:21 connect to New Testament teachings on purity? Setting the Scene in Leviticus 15:21 “Anyone who touches anything upon which she sits shall wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.” • The verse addresses contact with a menstruating woman’s seat or bed. • “Unclean” is ceremonial, not moral, yet it barred worship until evening. • Washing and waiting stressed that impurity required cleansing before re-entering God’s presence. What the Ritual Teaches about God’s Holiness • Sin and death-related flows (Leviticus 17:11) symbolized life lost; God, the Author of life, is separate from all that diminishes life. • The required washing displayed that purity is never self-achieved; cleansing must come from outside the sinner (ultimately, from God). • It cultivated reverence: “Be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44; echoed in 1 Peter 1:15-16). Jesus, the Woman with the Flow of Blood, and the Greater Cleansing • Mark 5:25-34 records a woman hemorrhaging twelve years—perpetually “unclean” under Leviticus 15. • She touches Jesus’ cloak; “Immediately her bleeding stopped” (Mark 5:29). • Under Leviticus, her touch should defile Him; instead, His holiness overcomes her impurity. • Point made: the old law highlighted impurity; the Messiah removes it (Isaiah 53:4-5; Hebrews 9:13-14). From External to Internal: New Testament Expansion on Purity • Jesus declares, “Nothing that enters a man from outside can defile him… What comes out of a man, that is what defiles him.” (Mark 7:15, 20) – He shifts focus from ritual contact to heart-level sin. • Acts 10:15—Peter hears, “What God has made clean, you must not call common,” showing ceremonial boundaries fulfilled in Christ. • Hebrews 10:22: “Let us draw near… having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” • Ephesians 5:25-27: Christ “gave Himself up for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word.” Enduring Call to Holiness Today • Ceremonial laws were shadows; the substance is Christ (Colossians 2:16-17). • Yet the moral principle endures: proximity to God demands purity. – 2 Corinthians 6:17: “Come out from among them and be separate.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4: “This is the will of God—your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality.” • Practical takeaways: – Guard both body and heart; sexual integrity is still non-negotiable (1 Corinthians 6:18-20). – Rely on Christ’s once-for-all cleansing, but practice regular “washing” by the Word (John 15:3). – Pursue community life marked by compassionate purity—touching the “unclean” without compromise, confident Christ makes clean (Jude 23). |
    |