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[Kata Plasma]

Did Jesus become ritually impure when he touched the dead/lepers? If so, did he purify himself according to Mosaic Law?

Jesus seems to advise other Jews to purify themselves of ritual impurity as mandated by Moses' Law.

To a leper Jesus says "See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them” (Mark 1:44).

To his disciples he says "So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift (Matthew 5:23-24) and "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice" (Matthew 23:2-3).

If Jesus encouraged others to obey the laws of ritual purity, did he himself maintain that purity? Was he capable of contracting impurity?

[jimwalton]

No, he didn't. The touch would have made Jesus ceremonially unclean in the minds of the religious leaders of the day, but there was no such law in Moses. It was against their Pharisaic rules, but not against the law. It was an unheard-of act of compassion, but not against the Mosaic law. If you can show me a text that says it was against the law to touch a leper, making that person ceremonially unclean, I'll be glad to discuss this further with you.

[Kata Plasma]

> The touch would have made Jesus ceremonially unclean in the minds of the religious leaders of the day, but there was no such law in Moses.

No such laws? What about Numbers 19:11; 21-22 and Leviticus 5:2-3, 22:4-6? I assume the regulations in Lev 13:45 have to do with potential contamination as the commentaries I see suggest.

Elliot's Commentary for English Readers:

As leprosy was most defiling, and as the very entrance of a leper into a house rendered everything in it unclean, the person thus afflicted had to warn off the passers by, lest they should approach him, and by contact with him become defiled. In some instances this was done by a herald, who preceded the leper.

[jimwalton]

Thanks for responding. Let's take a look.

> Num. 19.11, 21-22

In Lk. 7.14, touching the coffin would have made him ceremonially unclean for one day. So we can presume he would have become ritually impure for 24 hours on that occasion

Mt. 9.25; Mk. 5.41; ; Lk. 8.54. Yep. He touched the girl's corpse and raised her. Was He ceremonially unclean for a week? Could be.

> Lev. 5.2-3

Contacting impurity is not a sin, nor forbidden by the law. Having done so requires a period of cleansing.

> Lev. 22.4-6

Here it's the person with the skin disease or bodily discharge that is unclean. And then, of course, touching a corpse renders one ceremonially unclean (though not touching a leper). There is no indication that the cause of uncleanness was considered sinful.

> Lev. 13.45

Again, this is talking about the leper himself, not about anyone who touches him or her.

So, I'm trying to figure out what your point is. You want to know, "Did Jesus become ritually impure when he touched the dead/lepers?" Possibly, yeah.

You want to know, "did he purify himself according to Mosaic Law?" We're not told, but since Jesus obeyed the law (not the Pharisees' lists and rules), we have every reason to believe he would have.

Jesus observed many practices associated with the Jewish piety of his day: giving alms, prayer, and fasting (Mt. 6.1-18). Jesus fasted (Mk. 1.12-13); he prayed and taught his disciples to pray (Mt. 6.7-15; Lk. 11.1-13; 22.39-46); he and his disciples gave alms, and he taught others to do likewise (Lk. 11.41; 12.33; Jn. 13.29). Jesus presupposed the validity of the temple, the sacrifices, and Israel's holy days (Mt. 5.23-24; Mk. 414.14). He read and quoted from the Jewish Scriptures and regarded them as authoritative (Lk. 4.16-22; 10.25-28; Mk. 10.19; 12.24-34). Apparently he attended synagogue services regularly (Lk. 4.16).

Jesus also accepted the authority of the Torah. He did not reject the Law. What he opposed were certain interpretations and applications of the Law. In Mt. 5.21-48, for instance, Jesus doesn’t contradict the commands of Moses; he challenges conventional interpretations and applications of those laws.

So did he purify himself according to Mosaic Law? There's every reason to believe yes, unless you have evidence of otherwise. The text doesn't tell us. But since he was known to observe the law, we can assume so.

I guess I still don't see what's the point or the problem. If you elaborate what's behind your question, I'll be glad to keep discussing it with you.

[Kata Plasma]

I didn't imply it was sinful to be ritually unclean.

I think the answer to the original question is obvious: Jesus became unclean like any other Jew and dealt with that impurity like any other Jew. I think for some Christians this is difficult to believe.

You initially claimed that Jesus would not have contracted impurity by touching a leper or a dead person. Which doesn't appear to be a viable interpretation of the Law.

>5:2-3
Touching "human uncleanness" and becoming unclean seems to refer to touching an unclean human.

>Lev. 13.45
yes, this verse is talking about the leper, but I'm saying these precautions are put in place because contact with lepers spreads ritual impurity.

[jimwalton]

Sure. Ritual uncleanness affected one's ability to enter the Temple for a specified period of time, but nothing else. It's ceremonially, not moral or spiritual. I don't see where it much matters whether Jesus occasionally became ritually unclean, as did unavoidably every human being.