Suggested reading: Job chapter 14 verse 1.

The Bible raises questions that we are incapable of answering. JOB, an Old Testament character, was described as ‘the greatest of all the people of the East’, Job chapter 1 verse 3; yet, there were questions that he was unable to answer. As he considered the frailty of humanity, he was left in despair. The brevity of life, man’s sin and the impossibility of reversing the downward trend led him to raise the question, ‘Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?’, verse 4. His meditations led him to the only conclusion: ‘NO ONE!’, verse 4.

Nevertheless, as we turn over the pages of our Bibles, we discover that the only One capable of bringing a clean thing out of an unclean is God Himself. At the incarnation of the Lord Jesus, He did exactly that. The angel said to Mary: ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God’, Luke chapter 1 verse 35.

At the outset of His public ministry, Jesus was approached by a leper, Mark chapter 1 verses 40-43. Lepers were considered to be unclean; therefore, they were to be avoided. They lived in caves outside of cities and had to declare themselves as unclean. This leper believed, by faith, that Jesus could make him clean, but he doubted whether He would be willing to do so. Jesus’s response would have astounded any onlookers. He identified Himself with the man by touching him and saying, ‘I am willing; be cleansed’, verse 41.

The Bible teaches us that, like lepers, ‘we are all like an UNCLEAN thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags’, Isaiah chapter 64 verse 6. Jesus is the only One to have been born without sin; yet, willingly He gave His life on the cross as a sacrifice to God for our sin.