Then the priest shall look, and if the leprous disease has covered all his body, he shall pronounce him clean of the disease; it has all turned white, and he is clean. Lev. 13:13
Jesus will pronounce many people “unclean” when they stand before him because they do not accept the deeper teaching of this verse. This passage may seem strange to many of today’s readers, but if leprosy had only covered part of the body and not all the flesh was white, that man would be pronounced unclean. On the other hand, if the disease covered his entire body, the man would be pronounced clean. This is because the flesh that was not yet white was still contagious, but if his flesh was completely white, the disease was no longer dangerous.
As interesting as this is, this text teaches us something much more profound, for leprosy in scripture is a picture of sin. We are lepers. We are diseased with sin and utterly full of guilt, but in our natural state, we strive to deny that truth. We go to great lengths to refute our unworthiness before God, thinking we can justify ourselves. Even if we admit we are sinful, we often believe God should see some good in us and accept us on that basis.
Some may say, “Lord, I know I am a sinner, but see how much I love and care for my family. In that, have mercy on me.” Countless other red patches of leprosy can show themselves, too. Some point to their involvement in the church, others care for the poor, others do their best to live by the Ten Commandments, and some even preach the Word of God. As good as all those things are, they do not make us right with God. Our sin has separated us from him, and these works cannot atone for them.
If we go to God thinking that somehow our good deeds are the reason he should overlook our sins, the true high priest, Jesus Christ, will pronounce us unclean. It is not until we stand before him in complete poverty of spirit, knowing we have nothing to offer Him, admitting that sin has tainted every part of us, even our good deed, that Christ says to us, “You are clean.”
Though we have nothing to offer
We must go to the High Priest
To present our empty coffer
With self-righteousness deceased
With hearts as black as dross
Filled with the obscene
All paid for on the cross
He’ll there pronounce us clean
-D. Eaton
The Fight of Faith 