Easter and the Old Testament

As Easter nears, I have been trying to figure out how to get my focus on the cross. With Good Friday only being a couple days away, I feel like I am a little late.

I've been reading in the Old Testament, so I feel like unless I go and read the gospel accounts, I'm not really going to be able to get my focus where it needs to be this week.

But then this morning I happened upon the story of Naaman. If you're not familiar, the story is found in 2 Kings 5 and is an account of an army commander from a pagan nation who suffered from leprosy.

One day Naaman's wife's slave girl (an Israelite captured in a raid) comes to Naaman's wife and suggests that Naaman see the prophet in Samaria, confident that the prophet would be able to heal him of his leprosy. Naaman decides to follow her suggestion, and goes to see his King to see what he thinks. The King tells him to go and sends some gifts along to help adequately compensate the prophet for his healing.

When Naaman arrives, the Israelite King is not real happy about the request, but Elisha (the prophet) shows up and tells the King to let him take care of it:

" But when Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes in dismay, he sent this message to him: “Why are you so upset? Send Naaman to me, and he will learn that there is a true prophet here in Israel.” (2 Kings 5:8)

So Naaman goes to the prophet Elisha's house with all his horses and chariots and waits for him to come out. But instead of coming out, Elisha sends out a messenger with this message:

"Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River. Then your skin will be restored, and you will be healed of your leprosy." (v 10)

Naaman is not happy with the response. "He's not even going to come out here? I expected him to come out and wave his hand over me and pray to the Lord his God and heal me! He wants me to go to this cruddy river in Israel when there are all these sparkling clean rivers I could be going to instead? Forget it!" (v 11-12 paraphrased)

Thankfully Naaman had some levelheaded officers to reason with him:

"Sir, if the prophet had told you to do something very difficult, wouldn’t you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply, ‘Go and wash and be cured!" (v 13)

Apparently Naaman respected their wisdom. He went down to the Jordan and dipped himself seven times, just as Elisha said, and was instantly healed.

It surely wasn't easy for Naaman to humble himself and go to an Israelite (the enemy) for help. It definitely wasn't easy to believe that by simply dunking himself in the Jordan 7 times he would be healed. But it was that simple.

Wash and be clean.

We're all in need of healing. Like Naaman, we suffer from a contagious disease, which reaps havoc on our souls. Sin seeks to destroy us, but God seeks to heal us.

That's what this week is all about. There's no set of rules or sacrifices that are required of us-just the simple yet sometimes humbling and difficult task of believing that what Jesus did was enough. His sacrifice paid it all, it was his entire purpose in coming to this Earth.

Friday is often times viewed as a solemn and sad day, because it's the day we remember that Jesus died. But's also the day that he willingly fulfilled his purpose, which was to pay the price for our sins, and that was no small matter. In a moment of separateness a holy God turned away from his perfect son as he took on the sins of the world:

"Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" (Mark 15:34)

It's not easy. It wasn't easy for Jesus. But it's simple. He came and he died so that you could live-so that you could be healed.

Naaman took a chance. It wasn't easy, but it was simple:

Wash and be healed. Believe that it is enough.

I hope this Easter that you will do the same.

Lord, now indeed I find,
Thy power, and thine alone,
Can change the leper's spots,
And melt the heart of stone.

Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.