Jesus came to fulfill the law. Jesus consistently flouted the ceremonial laws of cleanliness. How can we put these two statements together?
Perhaps the “uncleanness” laws are misnamed. The intention of the laws is not to invent new ways to be estranged and exiled from God. The heart of the laws is instead the mechanism for cleansing, renewal, restoration. They are “cleansing laws,” showing Israel how she can be liberated from death and dirt and enter the presence of God. By cleansing lepers, casting out unclean spirits, entering rooms with dead bodies to raise them, allowing himself to be touched by a woman with a 12-year issue of blood, Jesus was fulfilling all that these laws intended – the cleansing of Israel.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
Moral Certitude and the Iran War
The current military engagement with Iran calls renewed attention to just war theory in the Catholic tradition.…
The Slow Death of England: New and Notable Books
The fate of England is much in the news as popular resistance to mass immigration grows, limits…
Ethics of Rhetoric in Times of War
What we say matters. And the way we say it matters. This is especially true in times…
