Day before yesterday, I wrote about the command of God in both the Old and New Testament to “Be holy for I am holy.”
Holiness has another meaning, not just “wholly other/wholly above” as God is, and “wholly set apart” as we are, but “wholeness.” It means to be completely healthy. We see this expressed by our Savior in Luke’s Gospel when Jesus met up with the ten lepers in Chapter 17. Luke tells as that as Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee, He was approached by ten men who had leprosy. They called out to Him, “Jesus, Master, have mercy (pity) on us!”
Jesus’ response was to tell them to do what the Scriptures outlined, go show themselves to the priests to have their leprosy evaluated. Along the way all were “cleansed” or “made clean.” When one of the lepers saw that he was healed, he did an about-face and headed back to Jesus. There he began to shout praises to God and threw himself at Jesus’ feet thanking Him.
This amazed Jesus, first because he was the only one who returned when all ten were healed, and secondly because he was a Samaritan, one considered an outcast by the Jews. Jesus’ response, “Get up and go on your way. Your faith has made you well.” [v 19 Christian Standard Bible]
The word Luke employed and often translated as “well” is sozo (sode’-zo), and the King James translates it as “whole.” It means to be or make whole. Wholeness. No longer broken apart or fragmented by sin and guilt. No long torn asunder by failure, addictions, bondages, perversions, or oppression. All our pieces are brought together and re-created into a whole, new, creation.
Jesus not only cleanses and heals, He brings holiness, “wholeness,” to those who come to Him by faith. Praise His Holy Name. Amen and Amen.
