Anyone who touches its flesh will become consecrated; and when any of its blood splashes on a garment, in a holy place you shall wash what was splashed on. Leviticus 6:27 (NASB)

When Jesus walked the streets and roads of Israel, unclean people regularly touched him, but, instead of his becoming unclean, as the Law demanded, contact with him made the unclean person clean. What an amazing thing! How could this be?

We get a wonderful hint from the verse in Leviticus quoted above. Jesus came to this planet to die as sin offering for us. He is the Lamb of God, a title ascribed to him by John the Baptist, which he fulfilled by his crucifixion. Whoever touched the sin offering became holy, which means consecrated or set apart to God. The sin offering had the power to make the unclean clean!

One Perfect Sacrifice – Past, Present, and Future

Jesus made advance draws on the “paycheck” of Calvary. This is because, from God’s perspective, Christ’s atoning death was a done deal, even before it happened. Its benefits extended back into the past and into the future. Consider the following Bible verses.

(as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”). He is our father in the presence of God whom he believed — the God who makes the dead alive and summons the things that do not yet exist as though they already do. Romans 4:17 (NET1)

All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast–all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world. Revelation 13:8 (NIV)

But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. 13 Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, 14 because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. Hebrews 10:12-14 (NIV)

What do we learn?

• God is not bound by time. He sees the end from the beginning, and that which is still in our future is already accomplished from his perspective. That is why he says that we are already glorified, even though it remains in our future. (Romans 8:30)
• The benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection are eternal. Depending on how the second verse above is translated, either Jesus death on the cross is eternal or our being included in the benefits of his death is eternal. Practically speaking, for us, it does not matter. That means before the foundation of the world and before we were ever born, we were included as a beneficiary of Christ’s sacrifice. This agrees with Ephesians 1:4.
• Christ’s perfect sin offering eternally perfects its beneficiaries. Since all of our sins were future when Jesus died, we must acknowledge that they were covered before they were ever committed. Therefore, every future sin already has been cleansed. This gives us great confidence when we confess our sins to the Lord. He is continually transforming those he has already perfectly cleansed.

When Jesus offered forgiveness and cleansed the unclean, he drew on his future death on the cross. He gave freely, but knowing that it would cost him everything. What an amazing Savior!

Making the Unclean Clean

The Old Covenant Law strictly required anyone who touched something unclean to go through proper rituals to re-establish his or her cleanness. This Law did not apply to Jesus, because he was God’s Lamb, the perfect sin offering.

Think of those persons who were cleansed through making contact with Jesus: the woman with the issue of blood, the lepers, the Samaritan woman (Jesus was not defiled by drinking from her cup.), the widow’s dead son, and the daughter of Jairus. Those are the ones who come to mind. There are probably more. Jesus was a walking, talking manifestation of God’s cleansing power. He was not afraid to touch what others regarded as untouchable. By doing so, he transformed their lives.

Jesus freely forgave sins, which offended the Jewish leaders, who knew that only God could do that. They did not recognize God’s Lamb when he stood in their presence. All who come to Jesus can find forgiveness and cleansing, even today.

Will you come to him?

Prayer

Jesus, I thank you that you came as God’s perfect sin offering, as the Lamb of God. Thank you that you died to make me clean and to forgive my sins. I receive your forgiveness and cleansing right now, and I give you my life in return. I acknowledge your lordship over my life and dedicate myself to serving you as long as a I live. Amen

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 (NIV)