“Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.”
(Heb 13:12-13, NKJV)
Readers will discover that this sub-theme about the blood of Jesus is more comprehensive than any of the other sections of these teachings that had been handled earlier. This is so, because, in the words of Col 1:20 (GNB) – “Through the Son, then, God decided to bring the whole universe back to himself. God made peace through his Son’s blood on the cross and so brought back to himself all things, both on earth and in heaven.” The blood of Jesus is thus the most inclusive subject that one could write about, as it has so many endless possibilities of application! And ironically it is a subject that theological studies often give a half-baked treatment as something merely involved in the issue of redemption.
Today we want to spend some time delving into the Old Testament’s treatment of blood, projecting it onto its prophetic fulfillment in the new Covenant.
In Scripture we find that the illness of leprosy bears a deeper reference to sin that clings to man –“for the raw flesh is unclean. It is leprosy.” (Lev 13:15b). A person who suspected that he might be leprous had to firstly be taken to the priest (Lev 14:2); the priest had to leave the confines of the laager. People suffering from leprosy always had to be outside the gates of the settlement, so that they could not infect others (Lev 13:46; 2 Kings 7:3). Then the leper (according to Lev 14:5-8) had to gather two living clean birds and cedar wood and scarlet thread and hyssop. The priest had to command them to slaughter the one bird in an earthen pot placed over fresh water. He would then take the living bird, along with the cedar wood, scarlet thread and hyssop, and stick it into the blood of the bird which had been slaughtered over the fresh water. He would sprinkle the leper with the blood seven times, cleansing him, and then free the living bird. Then the leper would wash his clothes, shave off his hair and take a bath, upon which he would be declared clean.
This ritual clearly points to the manner in which we are cleansed by the High Priest, Jesus Christ (Heb 2:17 & 3:1). Cedar wood refers to the cross (Jer 22:7) and scarlet thread to the (spiritual) umbilical cord of Jesus Christ, that which Rahab had prophetically thrown over the wall of Jericho to ensure her redemption (Joshua 2:18; 6:25; Matt 1:5; Heb 11:31). [Scarlet was produced by pressing the lifeblood and juices from a small worm. In Ps 22:6 Jesus prophetically has the following to say about himself, through David –“But I am a worm, and no man”.] Hyssop bears the promise of the ridding of sin (Ps 51:9). The two birds can point to the sacrificial offering made by the poor – one as sacrifice for sin, the other as burnt offering (Lev 5:7; Luke 2:24). The sacrifice for sin acts as atonement for the sin and leads to a burnt offering which is presented as an offering of praise (Heb 13:15). In this case a different route is followed than with general sacrifices – the one bird had to be slaughtered in an earthen pot, symbolic of human beings, us (2 Cor 4:7). It points to the death of self, your life as sacrifice (Rom 12:1). The cleansing points to washing with the water of Scripture (Heb 10:22; Eph 5:26). After the sacrifice Jesus offers you freedom (symbolized by the second bird – Gal 5:1 & 13; James 1:25). The bath that then follows points to the baptism of the believer, and the shaving of the hair to the new Covenant that you have now made (Acts 18:18). Only the blood of Jesus can offer you all this. Let us go forth to Him …
- Sela: Explain to someone the OT typology in terms of the NT.
- Read: Lev 27; Zech 9; Ezek 1
- Memorise: Zech 9:11 (see the synchronization!)
