TheTheOutsidersOutsiders

Leviticus 13:45-46

The Outsiders

“The human being is the only species that can’t survive alone. The human being needs another human being – otherwise he’s dead! A telephone call to a depressed person can save a life. An occasional word, a ten-minute visit, can be more effective than twenty-four hours of nursing care. You can buy nursing care. You can’t buy love.”◦Man does not do well alone.◦“The LORD God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be

alone; I will make him a helper fit for him’ ” (Gen 2:18, ESV).

The Outsiders

Scripture provides two examples of “Outsiders.”◦In the Old Testament, there is the leper.

“The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp” (Lev 13:45-46, ESV).

Not only was he quite sick, but he was segregated from the congregation of Israel.

The Outsiders

Scripture provides two examples of “Outsiders.”◦In the Old Testament, there is the leper.◦In the New Testament, there is the one who dies in sin.

“In Hades, being in torment, [the rich man] lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side” (Lk 16:23, ESV).

In the Hadean realm, the rich man is all alone.

The Outsiders

The rich man is not yet in eternal hell, but he is in the torment part of Hades.

The similarities between hell & torment seem quite real.◦In hell, “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt 8:12,

ESV) & the depiction of the rich man in torment is clearly one of “weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

◦To those on his left, the King will say, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt 25:41, ESV) & the rich man begs for water to cool his tongue in the flame.

The Outsiders

I believe the largest differences between torment & hell are these.◦Torment is temporary, but hell is eternal.◦Satan is not bound in torment, but he shall be bound in hell.

Therefore, I believe that the experiences of the rich man in torment are a prelude to the eternal torment of hell.

The Outsiders

Our purpose tonight is to explore “The Outsiders” of both the lost & the lepers.◦We wish to see what they experienced.◦In hopes that we shall never be “The Outsiders.”

A Peek

The Outsiders

Both the leper & the rich man are on the outside looking in at pleasure.◦“He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp” (Lev

13:46, ESV). Leprosy would have put a stop to everything he held dear in life. Imagine the pain lepers would have experienced.

The Outsiders

Both the leper & the rich man are on the outside looking in at pleasure.◦“He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp” (Lev

13:46, ESV).◦“The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in

torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side” (Lk 16:22-23, ESV). Dying in sin separated this man from everything he held dear. Dare we even fathom the terror this pain was experiencing?

The Outsiders

Both the leper & the rich man are outside looking in at partnership.◦“He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp” (Lev

13:46, ESV). The leper had to tear his clothes & go with his head uncovered. He also had to cover the lip.

◦This might mean he had to grow a moustache (Jewish mean generally did not wear moustaches).

◦This might also mean that he had to cover his lip with cloth. The leper had to cry “Unclean! Unclean!” Can you imagine a fate worse than segregation from society?

The Outsiders

Both the leper & the rich man are outside looking in at partnership.◦Lev 13:46.◦“Between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that

those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us” (Lk 16:26, ESV). The rich man was looking at the fellowship between Abraham &

Lazarus.◦Eating together was a sign of close fellowship in antiquity; the men would eat

with their heads in each other’s bosoms.◦The idea of Abraham’s bosom, therefore, is one of close, close fellowship.

The Outsiders

Both the leper & the rich man are outside looking in at partnership.◦Lev 13:46.◦“Between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that

those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us” (Lk 16:26, ESV). The rich man was looking at the fellowship between Abraham &

Lazarus. The rich man is able to look over & see the great fellowship between

Abraham & Lazarus.

The Outsiders

Imagine being in torment & seeing the fellowship over in Paradise.◦Imagine being in pain & having no one to comfort you, to touch

you, to soothe your hurt.◦Imagine praying to God that you never saw your family again!

The Outsiders

Both the rich man & the leper are on the outside looking at peace.◦“His dwelling shall be outside the camp” (Lev 13:46, ESV).

No help with defense from wild animals. No help with defense from enemies.

◦When the rich man asked for a drop of water to cool his tongue, “Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish’ ” (Luke 16:25, ESV). The rich man was tormented while he saw the peace & comfort of

Lazarus. Imagine waiting for hell while seeing the great comfort of others!

A Pardon

The Outsiders

There is pleasure in pardon for both the leper & the sinner.◦After the leper has been cleansed, “the priest shall offer the burnt

offering and the grain offering on the altar. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean” (Lev 14:20, ESV). The priest would take two birds, kill one of them, release the other

after dipping it in the first bird’s blood, and sprinkle the blood on the one who formerly had leprosy. Then, 8 days later, the priest would place the blood of a lamb on the man’s right ear, his right thumb, & the big toe on the right foot.

Because of blood, the one-time leper could have his life back.

The Outsiders

The rich man had no pleasure.◦In fact, he has no hope of pardon whatsoever.◦But, he desperately wanted his brothers to have that pardon.

He says to Abraham, “I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house—for I have five brothers —so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment” (Lk 16:27-28, ESV).

His brothers could have pardon.◦“Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times

of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19-20, ESV).◦That pardon comes through blood: “In him we have redemption through his

blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses” (Eph 1:7, ESV).◦That pardon brings rejoicing: After he was baptized, the eunuch “went on his

way rejoicing” (Acts 8:39, ESV).

The Outsiders

There is also the pleasure of partnership for “The Outsiders.”◦“He who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes and shave off all

his hair and bathe himself in water, and he shall be clean. And after that he may come into the camp” (Lev 14:8). Because of his cleansing, the leper was no longer looking at

partnership from afar. He was reunited with his family.

The Outsiders

There is also the pleasure of partnership for “The Outsiders.”◦Lev 14:8.◦The lost are outside the people of God because of sin.

“Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you” (Is 59:2, ESV).

But, the lost have the opportunity of pardon.◦“In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as

were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal 3:26-27, ESV).◦“When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman,

born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God” (Gal 4:4-7, ESV).

The Outsiders

There is also peace available for both groups of “Outsiders.”◦“The priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean”

(Lev 14:20, ESV).◦The jailer “rejoiced along with his entire household that he had

believed in God” (Acts 16:34, ESV). The jailer had peace because of pardon. He was only moments away from committing suicide when he learned

he could have peace.

Are you an outsider?Do you need to come to Jesus to have peace?