Show yourself to the Priest
Only one realized that Jesus was the Priest that we need to submit
Only one realized that Jesus was the Priest that we need to submit
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When the God of heaven took on human form and came to this earth as Jesus Christ, His hand did not touch a precious diamond or gold; instead, it first touched a leper. Lepers were not permitted to live alongside their fellow human beings; in Jewish culture, touching a leper was considered an act of ritual impurity—a sinful act—so no human hand ever touched them. Yet, it was precisely at such a time that the hand of God touched that leper.
If a leper touched someone, fear, a curse, and defilement would seize the person who was touched; however, when Jesus Christ touched that leper, the holiness flowing from the Lord cleansed the leper and healed him of his leprosy - 40.Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” 41.Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” 42.As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed - Mark 1:40-42
However, the leper who had received such a great miracle failed to carry out a small command given by the Lord - 43.And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, 44.and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” 45.However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction - Mark 1:43-45
How could this have happened? Consider a life-term prisoner: how deeply would he love the official who granted him his freedom, and how readily would he obey that official's word? Yet, the condition of this leper was far worse than that of such a prisoner; so, why did he fail to carry out the Lord's command?
He failed to realize that Jesus Himself was the true High Priest. Instead, he sought out the priests of this world to recount what had happened, effectively making the Lord’s presence widely known. Consequently, the Lord was forced to stay in the wilderness—a desolate place filled with stones and venomous creatures—a location no one would desire. It was undoubtedly a time of great hardship for the Lord's disciples during those nights.
But now, ten lepers came to Jesus Christ and the Lord said the same to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." The disciples were the first to be disturbed. Because one leper went to the priest, we had to stay in the wilderness for many days. Those ten men are now going in search of the priests; that is likely why they were worried about how many days they might have to stay in the wilderness - 11.Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12.Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. 13.And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14.So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed - Luke 17:11-14
However, among those ten lepers, one man had no desire to go to the religious leaders of the world. He reasoned within himself: "If I go to them, they will inquire about my past and attribute my condition to a sinful life; they will examine my body from a distance to verify if I am truly healed—why should I go to them?" Instead, he decided to go to the One who had shown him mercy without questioning his past, and so he came to Jesus - 15.And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16.and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan - Luke 17:15-16
and he became a first person who found the true high priest - 26.For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, [a]harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens - Hebrew 7:26
It was then that the secret behind the command, "Go and show yourselves to the priests," was understood: it signifies drawing near to Jesus Christ, our High Priest. Furthermore, all praise, honor, and glory—symbolized by the offering commanded by Moses—belong solely to Him who laid down His life to redeem us.
But, what a surprise, the leper found not only the high priest, but the God of heaven itself through his faith - 17.So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 18.Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19.And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.” - Luke 17:17-19
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