"And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. But Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her. And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them. And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils. And all the city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him. And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. And Simon and they that were with him followed after him. And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee. And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth. And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils. And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away; And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter."
This lesson tells of the many miracles Jesus performed in Galilee as He established His ministry across the land.
In the last part of this lesson, Jesus did something that might seem odd to some. He told the "leper" to go, show the priest that he had been cleansed, Jesus also told him to make the required offering. Jesus said, "go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them."
The action Jesus told the leper to take reflects us back to the intent of the lesson wherein Jesus was "baptized" in water in order to fulfill the Law of Moses. Jesus instructed the leper to also obey the law of Moses by demonstrating to the priest that he had first been cleansed (baptized) and was fulfilling the third required step, required by the law,to enter into worship by making an offering as was required of him.
The example in this lesson is very important because it demonstrates that after the coming of Jesus, and after he had finalized His soul saving sacrificial ordeal, the water cleansing step (baptism in water) that had been required under the law, would no longer be required since faith in Jesus would do the necessary cleansing.
I know it seems I might harp too much about water baptism and the fact that it is NOT a required part of the doctrine of Christ, but we must realize that the vast majority of "Christians" place some portion of their "faith" in water baptism as a necessary factor in the salvation of their souls.
Jesus is now the cleansing agent, there is no longer a necessity to take a water bath before worship, or as step toward eternal salvation.
(Acts 4:12), "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."~
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