Jesus was the new Moses and more
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| Moses with the tablets of the Ten Commandments, painting by Rembrandt (1659) (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
proof to them’” (v. 4).
The first evangelist has shown our Savior to be a new Moses in his gospel. Like Moses, Jesus was in mortal danger shortly after His birth (Ex. 1:8–2:10; Matt. 2:16–18). Christ, the new covenant mediator, delivered God’s word on a
mountain just as Moses received the Torah (the Law) on Sinai (Ex. 19:20–23:33; Matt. 5–7). However, Jesus comes not as Moses’ equal, but as his superior. Unlike Moses, our Lord explains the Law by His own authority (7:28–29). Moreover, Jesus comes down from the mountain to cleanse His people after declaring His Father’s will (8:1–4). Christ is better than Moses, who came
down with commands that could only pronounce them “unclean” (Ex. 34:29; Lev. 13:1–8).
According to the Mosaic law, leprosy renders a person unclean, and the leper
who approaches Jesus in today’s passage is used to living apart from the
community in isolation or in a leper colony (Lev. 13:45–46). Since lepers are
outcasts in Jesus’ day, the diseased man acts with audacity when he comes for healing, at least in the view of his culture. Yet the leper displays faith,
not arrogance, when he kneels before the Christ. Convinced of the Savior’s
power, the man knows that Jesus can make him clean if the Lord is willing to
exercise His healing touch (Matt. 8:1–2). Truly, the leper’s recognition that
Christ’s will is determinative is an example of how all are to come before Him
(6:10).
Jesus could heal the man with His word alone (8:5–13), but He chooses to touch the leper (vv. 3–4). This point helps us interpret this text since Matthew
emphasizes the touch with the “unnecessary” detail of Christ stretching out
His hand (v. 3). Contact with a leper should render Jesus ceremonially unclean
(Num. 5:1–4), but He is not defiled. Instead, His contact purifies the
diseased man (Matt. 8:3–4), showing Him to be the fulfillment of the Law.
Ceremonial regulations, including the leprosy laws, show us our need to be
separated from all pollution, but such separation is ultimately possible only
if men and women are themselves clean. Jesus’ touch cleanses His people,
lepers or not, and will make it unnecessary to follow the letter of the ritual
purity laws any longer.
Though not all diseases will be healed before the Lord returns to consummate
His kingdom, we can be sure that He will cleanse the sins of everyone who
confesses Him as Savior and follows Him as Lord (1 John 1:8–9). If you feel
unclean this day, know that Jesus has indeed cleansed you if you love Him and have turned from your sin, placing your faith in Him. Pray for His continued cleansing and look forward to the day when all creation will be made new.
