"And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him. And he charged him to tell no man: but go, and shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities. And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed."
Today's is a short lesson, but it contains a very important point. After cleansing the leper, Jesus told him to go and show himself to the priest and make an offering for his healing. This was required of the leper so as to demonstrate obedience to the Law of Moses, which demanded that for forgiveness of sin, one must first be washed, or cleansed (baptized), and then must the make the appropriate offering for the sin. Jesus had provided the cleansing (baptism) so it was left to the leper to complete the requirement.
By cleansing the leper before sending him to the priest, Jesus was demonstrating to that priest that He was indeed the Son of God and that He had power over the sin that had caused the leper's illness.
Most "faiths" today, contend that Jesus taught "Christianity", that is only true in that He taught the COMING of Christianity.
Jesus taught the exact same message that was taught by John the Baptist and the twelve Apostles, (Matt. 3:1-2, "In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.", Matt. 10:5-7, "These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand."), Matt. 4:17, "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Jesus did not teach that the kingdom was present with Him, He taught that the kingdom was "at hand", or was soon to come.
Jesus, being an obedient Jew, was bound to teach within the constraints of Mosiac law, and He could only teach Jews, since Gentiles were "unclean" and "Christian" redemption could not be accomplished until Jesus had fulfilled the Law.
This is very, very, important to remember as we continue this study.~
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