Let us turn to God's Word and
we turn again to the portion we were considering this morning
in Luke chapter 5. In Luke chapter 5 and verses 12,
13 and 14. 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 show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing
according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. We were considering this morning
something of the mystery of this disease, of leprosy. And now I want us to turn, as
it were, from the mystery of the disease and to consider the
cleansing that comes by the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember what we
said this morning concerning the significance of leprosy. Those in the Old Testament who
were considered to be those who had been struck down with such
a disease were directed not to the physician but they were to
go to the priest. They were to go to the priest.
We saw that in the instruction that is given in Leviticus 13
the chapter previous to what we were reading just now chapter
14 we have the cleansing of the leper but in the previous 13th
chapter we have the record concerning how the priests were to examine
the man and discern the various symptoms of that disease. And here, of course, we see how
as he heals the leper, so the Lord Jesus then directs him to
go to the priest He's mindful of those Levitical laws in chapters
13 and 14. He says here then, show thyself
to the priest and offer for thy cleansing according as Moses
commanded for a testimony unto them. And I said, leprosy then
is a typical disease. Some say it is simply a type
of sin. But I said, really, it's something
more than a type of sin. It's a type of that person who
has been made aware of his sinful condition. As Joseph Hart says
in the hymn, though all are sinners in God's sight, there are but
few so in their own. Sin itself is certainly of the
creature. God is not the author of sin. But a sense of sin, a realization
of what we are as sinners, that can come only from God. And therefore we said this morning
that we're to think more in terms of that sinner who in some measure
has been awakened. There are some symptoms. They
might only be small, we might say even insignificant, and yet
they're there. And God directs the priest with
regards to how thorough he is to be in his dealings with such
individuals. But where there is that healing of the disease, then
there is that ceremonial cleaning that we read of in Leviticus
chapter 14. And there's a great deal of detail
that is given with regards to all that is to be observed in
the way of various sacrifices. But amongst other things we see
how there was to be the purging as it were with hyssop. And again
this morning we referred to those words of of David in Psalm 51
where David is so very much aware of his great sin. And he cries
out, it's sinned, it's sinned against Bathsheba, it's sinned
against Uriah her husband, he was guilty of gross sins. And
then he cries out against thee, thee only have I sinned. And
on this evil in thy sight he is so conscious of what he is
before a God who is the Holy One. And he asked that God would
purge him from his sin. Purge me with hyssop, he says,
and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter
than snow. And there is that hyssop that
was involved there in the cleansing of the leper. The priest is to attend to all those great
details. We saw it as we read that 14th
chapter. Leviticus 14. It says the priest
shall go forth out of the camp. Here is the leper you see. He
was excluded from the camp of Israel. He was cut off. He was
unclean. But now he is cleansed, it would
seem. There's been healing, and the
priest shall go forth out of the camp. And the priest shall
look, and behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper,
then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be
cleansed too, birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet,
and hyssop, and then subsequently there's also that detail with
regards to the necessity of taking certain lambs for sacrifice for
a trespass offering and a sin offering and a burnt offering
as well as that that was necessary for a meat offering and also
the oil for anointing. There's a great deal of detail
that must be attended to Clearly then, we have to recognize in
all of those details that leprosy was no ordinary disease. It was no ordinary disease. There's
a spiritual significance to the disease of leprosy. And I Remind you, I say it again,
that we're to think in terms of that sinner who is now so
very much aware of his sin, as David was so aware there in Psalm
51. And here, of course, in the context,
we observe this morning that Peter, before the Lord Jesus
Christ, as Christ performs that miracle at the beginning of the
chapter in the miraculous draft, of fish, when the disciples had
been toiling so long at their nets and it had all been so fruitless. But when the Lord directs them,
they take in a remarkable catch. And now Peter is brought to recognizing
the wonder of this person. Verse 8, When Simon Peter saw
it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me, for I
am a sinful man, O Lord. how the man feels his sinnership
before the Lord Jesus Christ. And so it was also with this
leper, how he was made, as it were, to fall on his face before
Christ. Verse 12. Christ is in a certain
city, it says, 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. Well, as we come to consider
something more in this portion, verses 12, 13, and 14 tonight,
I want us to consider the cleansing of the leper, the commandment
and the compassion that we see in the Lord Jesus Christ. First
of all, we have here Christ's recognition of the law of Moses. Christ has regards for the commandments
of that law of Moses. As he says to the man whom he
has just cleansed, Verse 14, show thyself to the priest and
offer for thy cleansing according as Moses commanded. It's that sense in which the
law of Moses is still in place. The Lord Jesus Christ has come,
of course, to accomplish all that was required under that
law. He was made of a woman, he was
made under the law. and He will honor and He will
magnify that law. But He has not yet completed
that great work that the Father had sent Him to do. And so here
we see our Christ certainly as a regard for what was required
in the law. Remember those words that we
were referring to this morning there in Leviticus 13.9? When
the plague of leprosy is in a man, he shall be brought unto the
priest. And as it was when the plague
was in the man, so as we see at the beginning of chapter 14
there in Leviticus, when the man is healed, also the priest
is to go to him. And this is the context in which
we're to understand the words and the instruction that the
Lord is giving to this man. Offer for thy cleansing, he says,
according as Moses commanded. Oh, the Lord Jesus Christ is
that one who comes in to honour the law of God. And we see it
in the course of his ministry, in his preaching. Think of his
language there in the Sermon on the Mount. In a sense, he
brings out the full vigor of the Lord of Moses. He shows quite
clearly that that law is a spiritual law. That's what Paul says in
Romans 7. The Lord is spiritual, but I
am carnal. Saul understood. He never thought
like that when he was a Pharisee. When he saw the Pharisee, he
thought, touching the righteousness which is in the Lord, that he
was blameless. But then when the Lord dealt
with him, he understood something of that spiritual nature of the
Lord. And that's what Christ brings out in the course of his
preaching, remember, how he deals with the commandments. He says,
the command says thou shalt not kill, but if you hate your brother
unjustly, if you attack him in his reputation, you're guilty of transgressing
that commandment the commandment says I shall
not commit adultery but if you look wantonly upon a woman you're
a transgressor of that commandment says the law it brings out the
fact that the law doesn't have to do simply with our actions
it has to do also with the thoughts and the intents of our hearts
or the Lord doesn't come in any way to destroy the law. Look at what he says here in
the sermon, the Sermon on the Mount there in Matthew 5 verse
17. Think not that I am come to destroy
the law or the prophets. I am not come to destroy but
to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till
heaven and earth pass one jot or one tittle, shall ye know
what is passed from the Lord, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever
therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and
shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom
of heaven. But whosoever shall do and teach
them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. And then he continues. and he
speaks specifically of the Pharisees, you see, and their inadequate
understanding of the law. I say unto you that except your
righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes
and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of
heaven. Or Saul, the Pharisee, he thought
that touching the righteousness of the Lord he was blameless.
He was not. What is the ministration of the
law? It's a ministration of condemnation, a ministration of death. By the
law is the knowledge of sin. And that's what Saul, the Pharisee,
had to be brought to. And how he was made to feel what
he was as a sinner when the Lord began to apply that holy law
to him. And he saw and felt something
of the spirituality of it. Oh, he was carnal, he was sold
on the scene. He was dead in trespasses and
in sins. But here we see the Lord Jesus
as that one who has a regard for the law. He doesn't come
in any way to undermine it or to destroy it, but he comes as
that one who will fulfill it. and he fulfills also all that
was typified in that ceremonial cleansing of the leper. All that detail that we read,
how there were to be those two birds, the cedarwood, the scarlet,
the hyssop, and then those three lambs, and the meat offering,
and the log of oil, all all that detail was honoured by the Lord
Jesus Christ Christ honours the law but Christ also is clearly
that one in the way in which he behaves towards the leper
is above the law he is above the law we're told in verse 13
how he put forth his hand and touched him but remember how
the leper was so unclean and the leper was one who was to
be utterly cast out he was to be put outside the camp and he
was to constantly declare his uncleanness this morning we concluded
our reading there in Leviticus 13 verses 45 and 46 it says the
leper in whom the plague is his clothes shall be rent and his
head bare and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip and shall
cry unclean unclean all the days wherein the plague shall be in
him he shall be defiled he is unclean he shall dwell alone
without the camp shall his habitation be and yet the Lord Jesus comes
and touches the man. Contrary to what the law says
concerning such a man, he has this awful disease, this terribly
contagious disease. But Christ touches him and far
from becoming unclean himself. All that could never be. The
Lord Jesus Christ could never be infected by any disease. Remember what is his human nature
was. It's that holy thing. That holy
thing that was conceived in the Virgin Mary's womb by the power
of the Holy Ghost free from every taint of original sin. No cause
of death in him. That human nature, as I said
this morning, was an immortal human nature. He would never
have died. He died because God imputed to
him all the sins of his people. That was the cause of his dying.
He died to atone for sins not his own. There was no possibility
that he could be contagious with the leprosy. On the contrary,
as he touches the leper, so the leper is clean. And what does it say? The Lord
touched him, saying, I will be thou clean. And immediately, immediately the leprosy departed
from him. Oh, this is that one, you see,
who is God's, God's manifest in the flesh, who has power to
heal all manner of disease. Oh, he is altogether above, above
the law. The law says the sinner is cut
off but Christ comes and Christ touches the man and the man is
immediately healed and immediately restored. How the Lord Jesus
Christ has come to satisfy all the demands of that Holy Lord
of God. Not only made of a woman Not
only that one, it was the fulfillment of the first promise of the Gospel
that we have back in Genesis 3.15 concerning the seed of the
woman. He is the seed of the woman. Made of a woman, but also
made under the law. When the fullness of the time
was come, God sent forth His Son, we're told, made of a woman. Made under the law to redeem
them that were under the law. that they might receive the adoption
of sons. He is the end of the law for
righteousness to all that believe. In that
sense he is clearly above the law. Christ is the one who has
the priority over the law. Wherefore then serveth the Lord,
asks the Apostle Paul to the Galatians. It was added because
of transgression, till the seed shall come to whom the promise
was made." And he clearly has the priority, as Paul makes so
plain there in Galatians chapter 3, because it was some 430 years
before the Lord of Moses. The Gospel as the priority. The
Gospel is given before the law. The Gospel was that covenant
that God entered into with Abraham. And Christ is that one who comes
as the seed of Abraham. This is the argument of Paul
there in Galatians chapter 3. Verse 16, "...to Abraham and
his seed were the promises made." He saith, Not unto seeds as of
many, but as of one, unto thy seed which is Christ. That promised seed of Abraham
is not so much Isaac. Isaac is a type. And Christ is the anti-type.
Thy seed which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant
that was confirmed before of God in Christ the Law, which
was 430 years after, cannot disannul that you'd make the promise of
non-effect. Clearly, you see, the Gospel
as the priority of Christ has come. Christ has redeemed us
from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us. For it is
written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. Or what is the Lord saying then
to this man? He's healed the man, he has regard,
he has respect to the Lord of Moses, he's come to honour it
and magnify it, that's why he was born under it, but ultimately
he's over it. The man is told, show thyself
to the priest, offer for thy cleansing according as Moses
commanded, for a testimony unto them. Oh, what a testimony is
this, that the Lord Jesus Christ is that one who is altogether
above and over the law, who has come to fulfill the law, and
has saved his people from all the curse of the broken law.
They were the transgressors, but Christ has satisfied that
Lord of God which is holy, that commandment of God which is holy
and just and good, Christ is satisfied. He has redeemed his
people. But then, as Christ has regard
for the command of Moses, observe also in the second place here
we have the commandment of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. He
gives a charge to this leper here in verse 14, He charged
him to tell no man. For the Lord had just performed
a remarkable feat, a remarkable miracle. He had healed a leprous
man and the healing was an immediate healing and yet He now gives
him this charge. Why did He charge him? Why did
He give such a command as we have here at the beginning of
verse 14. Well, we have to consider the
ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ as he is exercising his ministry
here in the gospel. What is that ministry? He comes
really to to proclaim the gospel and the glory of the gospel We
can consider the glories of the gospel in comparison to the Lord. It's more glorious than the Lord.
Doesn't Paul say that in 2 Corinthians chapter 3? Oh, there's a glory in the Lord,
but there's a far greater glory in the gospel. But what is the
glory of the gospel? Well, carnal men might say it's
the miracles. But it's not really the miracles,
is it? What is the main purpose of the miracles? The miracles
are given to authenticate the teaching and the preaching of
the Lord Jesus Christ, the message that He is proclaiming. That's
what the miracles do, they authenticate Him as that One who is truly
the Promised One, the Messiah, the Christ of God. And as his own ministry was authenticated
by the miracles, also there's an authentication of the ministry
of his own apostles. Remember what Paul says there,
writing in the second chapter of the epistle to the Hebrews.
In verse 3 he says, How shall we escape if we neglect so great
salvation? which at the first began to be
spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him,
God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders,
and with divest miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost according
to his own will." We see here that what the miracles do is to confirm
the message that is being spoken. It's that great salvation which
at the first was spoken by the Lord, then confirmed by the apostles in their own preaching,
and then God bearing them witness with signs, wonders, diverse
miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost. The miracles simply authenticate
the message of salvation. And that is always the point
and purpose of the miracles in the New Testament. As you know,
as I've said it many a time in John's Gospel, the word that
we have as miracle is literally the Greek word for a sign. They're
all signs. And the first miracle there in
Cana of Galilee, where He turns the water into wine, this beginning
of miracles, this beginning of signs, did Jesus in Cana of Galilee
and His disciples believed on Him. how the miracle was a sign
and it's pointing and it's pointing to who this person is this is
none other than the Christ the Son of God and subsequently here
in John in the seventh chapter we read how the disciples of
John the Baptist come to inquire whether Jesus of Nazareth is
really that promised one. Is this really the Christ? What does the Lord say to them? There in chapter 7 verse 20,
When the men were come unto him, they said, John the Baptist hath
sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come, or
look we for another? And this is how the Lord responds.
In that same hour, He cured many of their infirmities and plagues
and of evil spirits, and unto many that were blind He gave
sight. Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell
John what things ye have seen and heard, how the blind see,
the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the
dead are raised and to the poor the gospel is preached and blessed
is he whosoever shall not be offended in me and what the Lord
answers all builds up to that doesn't it to the poor the gospel
is preached ultimately that is the most significant aspect of
the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ and all those miracles
are but the confirmation of that truth that he is that one who
is the great prophet. The law was given by Moses. Grace and truth came by Jesus
Christ. And notice the primacy of the word
here in what follows verse 15. So much more went there Fame
abroad of him and great multitudes came together to hear and to
be healed by him of their infirmities. All the multitudes they gathered
to him to hear, to hear. Hearest thou not, my daughter?
Remember the words we were looking at there in Ruth chapter 2 only
last Lord's Day evening, the words of Boaz when he first speaks
to Ruth, the very first words he utters to her, Hearest thou
not? And our Boaz, the Lord Jesus
Christ, is that one that we have to hear, that's the important
thing. That is the vital thing. Or the Lord preaches. We have
the sermon on the mounts. And it's interesting because
we have a very similar sermon here in Luke, in Luke chapter
6. It's not the same incident that's
being recorded by Luke. It seems to be another occasion
when the Lord preaches a very similar sermon to what He preached
on the mount, but this time we see Him quite evidently preaching
in the plain. Here in chapter 6, verse 17 we're told he came down
with them and stood in the plain and the company of his disciples
and a great multitude of people out of all Judea and Jerusalem
and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon which came to hear
him and to be healed of their diseases there's a priority they
come to hear him then to be healed and they that were vexed with
unclean spirits and they were healed And the whole multitude
sought to touch him, and there went virtue out of him, and healed
them all. And he lifted up his eyes on
his disciples and said, Blessed be ye poor, for yours is the
kingdom of God. Blessed are ye that hunger now,
for ye shall be filled. So similar to the Beatitudes
there in Matthew chapter 5. But the Lord is evidently one
who comes to preach. And that's what we see the Lord
doing, the importance of that preaching. Faith cometh. by hearing,
hearing by the Word of God. This is God's ordinance. And how it's that that was wonderfully
discovered, of course, at the time of the Protestant Reformation
here in England. If anything, what was the Reformation
in England? It was a Reformation that didn't
center in an individual. There was a sense, of course,
in Germany that it centered very much in Martin Luther. We can
think of Calvin at Geneva there in Switzerland, or John Knox
in Scotland. There were great men raised up
in England, but the whole movement here in England centered in the
book, in the Bible. The great Bible placed in every
parish church. But not only that, also the homilies
that were to be read when the people gathered to hear the Bible
being read, and they were great preachers. Eulatima, he says
of his preaching, this is the only office that God has ordained
to save us by. Or let us maintain this, the
preaching. This is a significant sin of
the commandment of the Lord Jesus Christ. He charged him to tell
no man. But we are told, verse 15, 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. The commandments of Moses we
have, and the Lord's regard for it, He is under that Lord, He
will fulfil it, He will honour it, He will magnify it. We have
the commandment, the charge that the Lord Jesus Christ gives.
Finally tonight, let me say something with regards to the leper and
what we might call the cry of the leper, the request of the
leper and Christ's compassion in the way in which He responds
to this man. Here in verse 12 Do we not see
something of the faith of the leper? 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. He doesn't come saying he's going
to do anything or asking what he should do. We were reading this morning
at home that passage where we have the rich young ruler who
comes and says to Christ, good master, what must I do to be
saved? And the Lord speaks in terms
of law. He speaks of doing. Thou knowest the commandments.
In the same chapter we have the blind beggar. And what does the beggar say?
He doesn't say, what must I do? He says, Jesus, thou son of David,
have mercy on me. And the Lord deals with him in
terms of the gospel. And it's the same, is it not,
with this man full of leprosy. Seeing Jesus, he fell on his
face and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst
make me clean. Isn't that the language of faith. Well, we see it also in that
passage that we read, that short portion in chapter 17. That stranger,
that Samaritan, just one out of the ten who turned back to
give glory to God. And what does the Lord say to
him? Arise, go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole. Thy faith
hath made thee whole. It's where that faith centers,
isn't it? All that faith has to centre in the person of the
Lord Jesus Christ. That's faith. It's the object
that's so important. That faith comes from Christ.
He is the author and finisher of our faith. And as that faith
comes from Him, so that faith looks to Him. It's looking on
to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. And how this man
comes, Interesting, when we compare the different accounts, as I
said, what we have here is not only recorded in Luke, it's in
the other synoptic Gospels, it's in Matthew, it's also in Mark. We have three accounts, and that's
not without significance, as I said this morning. But when
we compare them, in Matthew's account, Matthew 8 and verse
2, It says, Behold, there came a leper and worshipped him. There came a leper and worshipped
him. It's the same here. He fell on
his face. Oh, this is obeisance. He's humbled
before the Lord Jesus Christ. This is worship. And it's only
God who is to be worshipped. It's only God who is to be worshipped.
When Satan comes to the Lord Jesus Christ, remember we have
the account of the temptations here in this gospel in chapter
4. Remember how the devil comes
to Christ after he's baptizing. The devil says, If thou be the
Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus
answered him, saying, It is written that man shall not lived by bread
alone, but by every word of God. And the devil taking him up into
a high mountain showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world
in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him,
All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them. For that
is delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will I give it.
If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto
him, Get thee behind me, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt
worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Thou
shalt worship the Lord thy God. Only God is to be worshipped. When, at the end of the Revelation
there in chapter 19, John would worship the angel, showing him
these things. But what does the angel say to
John? Worship God. worship God. Or did this leper
altogether comprehend the fullness of what he is doing and what
he is saying? Seeing Jesus falling at his feet,
beseeching him, Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me whole. There's more here than he probably
realized at the time. the law condemned this man he
was condemned, he was cut off by the law but here we have him
who has authority that one who has honoured and magnified and
fulfilled all the law of God the law condemned him but Christ
is able to cleanse him Christ is able to cleanse him. I'm going
to sing in our last praise at hymn 306. It's a long hymn. But I was struck by that sixth
verse concerning the leprous soul. Leprous soul, press through
the crowd in thy foul condition. Struggle hard and call aloud
on the great position. Wait till thy disease he cleansed,
begging, trusting, pleading. When and where and by what means
to his wisdom leaving. Well we need to come then in
the spirit of this man what does he say to the Lord if thou wilt?
Lord if thou wilt and Christ is willing Why? Because Christ is the fulfillment. He is the fulfillment of all
that we read in that 14th chapter of Leviticus. All those ceremonies,
all those laws that had to be attended to. Remember what was
to be done initially. There at the beginning of the
chapter, verse 4, then shall the priest command to take for
him that is to be cleansed two birds, alive and clean, and cedar
wood, and scarlet and hyssop. And the priest shall command
that one of the birds be killed in a northern vessel over running
water, over fresh water. As for the living birds, he shall
take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop,
and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird
that was killed over the running water. And he shall sprinkle
upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times,
and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird
loose into the open field. See what is happening here. two
birds, and one killed, and the blood caught in a bowl, and then
all these other things taken and dipped in the blood, even
the living bird, but he takes a hyssop, you see, and you sprinkle
that blood upon him that is to be cleansed from his leprosy
seven times, and then the bird, the living bird, is released.
It's a wonderful, wonderful Gospel picture that we have, a wonderful
Gospel picture. And there we have two birds. In fact, we have so much detail.
Subsequently, of course, we see that there were also to be lambs
that were taken and offered. One for a trespass offering,
one for a sin offering, one for a burnt offering. Time and again
in the Levitical laws we we see something in a sense of the inadequacy
of the time. In chapter 16 of Leviticus we
read of the Day of Atonement. And on that day, the great day,
when the high priest would go into the holiest of all, the
most holy place, beyond the second veil, before the mercy seat,
and he would take the blood of sacrifice and sprinkle it upon
the mercy seat. And the instruction is given.
There in chapter 16 of Leviticus, verse 5 and verse 8, the priest
was to take, it says, of the congregation of the children
of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering. Two kids
of the goats for a, for one sin offering. And Aaron shall cast
lots upon the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other
lot for the scapegoat. and the one goat is sacrificed as an offering to the Lord the
other goat, the scapegoat the high priest confesses over the
head of that goat all the sins of the children of Israel and
the strong man is to take that goat into the wilderness to release
it. It's the removal of all that
sin you see that is being atoned on that great atonement day All
that sin separated now. It's on the head of the scapegoat.
And the other goat has been sacrificed as a sin offering. But the sin
is no more. It's as far from them as the
East is from the West. It's a gospel picture. It's the
same there in chapter 14 of Leviticus. Those two birds. The one killed. And none of that blood allowed
to fall upon the ground. It's caught in that earthen vessel
that it might be made use of, that it might be applied. None
of Christ's blood was shed in vain, was it? All those for whom
Christ died, they must all have their place ultimately in heaven.
That's what we believe, that's particular redemption. That blood
can never lose its power till all the ransomed church of God
is saved to sin no more, but then that living bird that was
also dipped in the blood is let free. Oh, it's deliverance. It's deliverance from all the
sin that was the lepers. And it's all fulfilled in the
Lord Jesus Christ. There's a hymn of William Cooper's,
John Newton's great friend, of course. It's in the only hymns. It's not in Gadsby's, but let
me just conclude with a verse from the hymn by William Cooper
on the type. On the type. He says this, dipped
in his fellow's blood, the living bird went free, the type well
understood expressed the sinner's ploy and by a Saviour's death
discharged described a guilty soul at large." Well, that's
what it is, you see. It's all that the Lord Jesus
Christ has done. The leprosy is gone. The sin is atoned for. There's
a blessed application. Oh, that the Lord would bring
us in into into these things, into the realization of these
things, to know these things, that blessed application. The
hyssop dipped in that blood and sprinkled seven times upon the
leper and the man cleansed now, cleansed from all his sin. And what is his cry? We have
his faith here in this twelfth verse, seeing Jesus. He fell
on his face and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou
canst make me clean. And Christ puts forth his hands
and touches him and says, I will. I will be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed
from him. Amen.