Mattew 8:1-4 Cleansing of the Leper

When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." [Matthew 8:1‭-‬4 NASB]

It seems that Jesus made it a point to outrage the religious establishment. Leprosy made a man unclean. A Pharisee would no sooner touch a leper than he would eat lunch out of a dead body.

This is what the Levitical law has to say about a leper: "As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be uncovered, and he shall cover his mustache and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ “He shall remain unclean all the days during which he has the infection; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp." [Leviticus 13:45-46 NASB]

Under the law, the leper was unclean, and was ostracized. Jewish tradition went even further. One would have to stay at lease 6 feet away from him, or if the leper was upwind one would have to stay 150 feet away.

If anyone touched a leper, he would become unclean and would need to go through ceremonial cleansing to become clean again. When Jesus touched the leper, He did not become unclean because, as God, He is pure and incapable of becoming unclean. Instead, the purity of Jesus cleansed the leper.

Jesus told the man to go to the priest and present the offering of cleansing. This was not necessary for him to become clean again, because Jesus already took care of that. The offering was done, not to be cleansed, but to be a testimony.

When Jesus died on the cross, his blood cleansed the world. We have only to accept Him by faith to receive that cleansing.

This means sins are forgiven, and whatever is filthy and dark in our lives is made clean and shiny. 

When we are baptized, we are not baptized for the forgiveness of sins. That was the baptism of John the Baptist. The forgiveness of sins is already ours when we confess them to God and ask his forgiveness. The blood of Jesus has cleansed us from our sins. We are not baptized for cleansing, but as an outward testimony of what the Holy Spirit has done within.