Chapters thirteen and fourteen discuss the topic of what is commonly called leprosy. The exact Hebrew word “tzara’at” is used over twenty times in these two passages alone. The word is used to describe an infectious skin disease. In most cases, the skin disease renders the inflicted person “tamei,” that is ritually impure. The instructions given to the priests is to examine the individual, and if found unclean, they were to leave the commonwealth of the camp (vs. 45, 46). An interesting side note to this pronouncement is that anyone coming in contact with the “unclean” was himself rendered “unclean.” Similarly, this type of disease, if chronic, was seldom if ever completely healed. There are isolated individuals, such as Na’aman in our haftarah portion (2 Kings 4:42-5:19), that were completely and miraculously healed. Yet, one of the signs (among many signs) that was said to follow the genuine promised messiah, was the healing of tzara’at (read Matthew 11:2-6; 12:22-23; John 9:1-41). Why wouldn’t the uncleanness of the afflicted render the messiah unclean? The proof that the coming messiah was a genuine and not a phony was demonstrated not only that he would heal the afflicted individual, but that he himself would not become defiled! In Yeshua’s example given in Mattityahu 8:1-4, our LORD instructed the former leper to go to the priest as a “testimony unto them” (KJV). This was done for at least two reasons: (1) in obedience to the very mitzvah found in our current parashah, vindicating Yeshua’s adherence to the Torah of Moshe, and (2) to authenticate the miracle—thus proving his claims to messiahship! In every single instance where he healed the inflicted, or raised the dead, his holiness did not decrease! His state of clean never diminished! On the contrary—disease and death always fled from his presence (reference the quote above by Marvin Wilson)! Surely he was The Messiah for those days! Surely he is The Messiah for us today! Thus we learn in at least these two instances (the one involving Yeshua’s parents, and the instance with the leper) that HaShem’s masterful instructions, as outlined in the Torah, demonstrate their usefulness on a grander scale than just for those participants of the pre-Common Era community. His specific instructions—every minute detail would serve as historical and prophetic fulfillment of the life and ministry of the greatest Cohen Gadol (High Priest) that the Nation of Isra’el would ever know!