121_What is holiness? Lev 21:1-9 And the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, No one shall make himself unclean for the dead among his people, 2 except for his closest relatives, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, 3 or his virgin sister (who is near to him because she has had no husband; for her he may make himself unclean). 4 He shall not make himself unclean as a husband among his people and so profane himself. 5 They shall not make bald patches on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts on their body. 6 They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. For they offer the Lord's food offerings, the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy. 7 They shall not marry a prostitute or a woman who has been defiled, neither shall they marry a woman divorced from her husband, for the priest is holy to his God. 8 You shall sanctify him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I, the Lord, who sanctify you, am holy. 9 And the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by whoring, profanes her father; she shall be burned with fire. Chapters like Leviticus 21 & 22 primarily refer to the Old Testament priests of Aaron’s line. There were several ways in which the priests could be defiled. For instance, touching a dead body, having a physical blemish, and marrying outside the prescribed categories. At first sight, they seem to have little to do with us. Yet they are of great relevance to us as well. The Lord stated, Matt 5:17-18 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” The scribes and the Pharisees often accused the Lord and his disciples of not keeping the law of Moses. But the Lord repeatedly showed them the meaning of the law, not from his own imagination or thinking, but from the scriptures themselves. They were hung up on the words of the law rather than understanding its revelation of God’s mind and heart. Therefore, they could not recognize Jesus as Messiah, and as the fulfillment of the law. They made some basic errors in interpreting the law. Firstly, they thought that they were the spiritual elite, holier than the people, because of their high standard of ceremonial cleanliness. But actually, the higher standard of separation from all that was unclean for the priests and Levites was simply because they were called to bear the iniquity of the people before God. A greater task meant greater responsibility but not greater intrinsic holiness. “To whom much is given, much is required.” (cf. Luke 12:48).