It’s easy to see why Jesus had to die, shedding His blood to pay the penalty that our sinful actions deserve. Sin, at its root, is really nothing less than rebellion against God, treason against God. And everyone knows that traitors get the death penalty.

But why would a blood sacrifice have to be made for physical sickness? In these days of concern about flu and COVID-19, we can perhaps understand the need to isolate victims of a contagious disease, such as leprosy seemed to be (Leviticus 13:45-46). But why would a sin offering need to be made to restore a sick man to the community once he got well (Leviticus 14:12-13)? And why would God consider the natural emission of bodily fluids somehow unclean for men or women (Leviticus 15:16-24)? What does any of this natural, physical stuff have to do with sin?

Remember, all these ceremonial laws were object lessons that pointed to the coming Savior. And blood was clearly symbolic of life (Leviticus 17:14). It is therefore likely that, just as certain animals were considered unclean because they ate dead things, so the loss of blood and other bodily fluids was suggestive of the death that is the inevitable consequence of sin.

And so we can see that God’s people were to separate themselves from death, whether that meant staying away from skin that appeared to be dying (Leviticus 13:10), staying away from houses in which decay was spreading (Leviticus 14:37), or cleansing themselves after the loss of life-giving fluids. Shunning anything that had to do with death was one way they could separate themselves from sin, if only symbolically.

So, what does all this have to do with the Work of Christ? In dying for us, Jesus came not just to ensure that the Father would declare us to be not guilty. He came to give us life, abundant life (John 10:10). Moreover, He came to restore life and health to the natural world, which is currently groaning because of the effects of our sin (Romans 8:20-21). That means He had to die to restore not just our sinful souls, but our bodies as well.

So, what does all this mean for us? We must be just as vigilant, just as thorough in putting sin away from ourselves as God’s Old Testament people were in putting away ceremonial uncleanness. We must pursue holiness because the Lord our God is holy (Leviticus 10:45). In this way, we both distance ourselves from death and remain loyal to the Holy One Who gives us life.

Leviticus 14:19-20 (NASB)

19 “The priest shall next offer the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness. Then afterward, he shall slaughter the burnt offering.
20 “And the priest shall offer up the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean.