141 Then the Lord spoke to Moses , saying , 2 "This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing . Now he shall be brought to the priest , 3 and the priest shall go out to the outside e of the camp . Thus the priest shall look , and if the infection of leprosy has been healed in the leper , 4 then the priest shall give orders to take two live clean birds and cedar wood and a scarlet string and hyssop for the one who is to be cleansed . 5 "The priest shall also give orders to slay the one bird in an earthenware vessel over running water . 6 "As for the live bird , he shall take it together with the cedar wood and the scarlet string and the hyssop , and shall dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird that was slain over the running water . 7 " He shall then sprinkle seven times the one who is to be cleansed from the leprosy and shall pronounce him clean , and shall let the live bird go free over the open field . 8 " The one to be cleansed shall then wash his clothes and shave off all his hair and bathe in water and be clean . Now afterward , he may enter the camp , but he shall stay outside e his tent for seven days . 9 "It will be on the seventh day that he shall shave off all his hair : he shall shave his head and his beard and his eyebrows e , even all his hair . He shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in water and be clean .
10 "Now on the eighth day he is to take two male lambs without defect , and a yearling ewe lamb without defect , and three-tenths e of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering , and one log of oil ; 11 and the priest who pronounces him clean shall present the man to be cleansed and the aforesaid before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting . 12 "Then the priest shall take the one male lamb and bring it for a guilt offering , with the log of oil , and present them as a wave offering before the Lord . 13 "Next he shall slaughter the male lamb in the place where they slaughter the sin offering and the burnt offering , at the place of the sanctuary -for the guilt offering , like the sin offering , belongs to the priest ; it is most holy . 14 "The priest shall then take some of the blood of the guilt offering , and the priest shall put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed , and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot . 15 "The priest shall also take some of the log of oil , and pour it into his left palm ; 16 the priest shall then dip his right-hand finger into the oil that is in his left palm , and with his finger sprinkle some of the oil seven times before the Lord . 17 "Of the remaining oil which is in his palm , the priest shall put some on the right ear lobe of the one to be cleansed , and on the thumb of his right hand , and on the big toe of his right foot , on the blood of the guilt offering ; 18 while the rest of the oil that is in the priest's palm , he shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed . So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf before the Lord . 19 "The priest shall next offer the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness . Then afterward , he shall slaughter the burnt offering . 20 "The priest shall offer up the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar . Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he will be clean .
21 " But if he is poor and his means are insufficient , then he is to take one male lamb for a guilt offering as a wave offering to make atonement for him, and one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering , and a log of oil , 22 and two turtledoves or two young pigeons which are within his means , the one shall be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering . 23 " Then the eighth day he shall bring them for his cleansing to the priest , at the doorway of the tent of meeting , before the Lord . 24 "The priest shall take the lamb of the guilt offering and the log of oil , and the priest shall offer them for a wave offering before the Lord . 25 "Next he shall slaughter the lamb of the guilt offering ; and the priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot . 26 "The priest shall also pour some of the oil into his left palm ; 27 and with his right-hand finger the priest shall sprinkle some of the oil that is in his left palm seven times before the Lord . 28 "The priest shall then put some of the oil that is in his palm on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed , and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot , on the place of the blood of the guilt offering . 29 "Moreover, the rest of the oil that is in the priest's palm he shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed , to make atonement on his behalf before the Lord . 30 "He shall then offer one of the turtledoves or young pigeons , which are within his means . 31 "He shall offer what he can afford e , the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering , together with the grain offering . So the priest shall make atonement before the Lord on behalf of the one to be cleansed . 32 "This is the law for him in whom there is an infection of leprosy , whose means are limited for his cleansing ."
33 The Lord further spoke to Moses and to Aaron , saying : 34 " When you enter the land of Canaan , which I give you for a possession , and I put a mark of leprosy on a house in the land of your possession , 35 then the one who owns the house shall come and tell the priest , saying , 'Something like a mark of leprosy has become visible to me in the house .' 36 "The priest shall then command that they empty the house before the priest goes in to look at the mark , so that everything in the house need not become unclean ; and afterward e the priest shall go in to look at the house . 37 "So he shall look at the mark , and if the mark on the walls of the house has greenish or reddish depressions and appears deeper than the surface , 38 then the priest shall come out of the house , to the doorway , and quarantine the house for seven days . 39 "The priest shall return on the seventh day and make an inspection . If the mark has indeed spread in the walls of the house , 40 then the priest shall order them to tear out the stones with the mark in them and throw them away at an unclean place outside e the city . 41 "He shall have the house scraped all around inside e , and they shall dump the plaster that they scrape off at an unclean place outside e the city . 42 "Then they shall take other stones and replace e those stones , and he shall take other plaster and replaster the house . 43 "If , however, the mark breaks out again in the house after he has torn out the stones and scraped the house , and after it has been replastered , 44 then the priest shall come in and make an inspection . If he sees that the mark has indeed spread in the house , it is a malignant mark in the house ; it is unclean . 45 "He shall therefore tear down the house , its stones , and its timbers , and all the plaster of the house , and he shall take them outside e e the city to an unclean place . 46 "Moreover, whoever goes into the house during the time that he has quarantined it, becomes unclean until evening . 47 "Likewise, whoever lies down in the house shall wash his clothes , and whoever eats in the house shall wash his clothes . 48 "If , on the other hand, the priest comes in and makes an inspection and the mark has not indeed spread in the house after the house has been replastered , then the priest shall pronounce the house clean because the mark has not reappeared . 49 "To cleanse the house then, he shall take two birds and cedar wood and a scarlet string and hyssop , 50 and he shall slaughter the one bird in an earthenware vessel over running water . 51 "Then he shall take the cedar wood and the hyssop and the scarlet string , with the live bird , and dip them in the blood of the slain bird as well as in the running water , and sprinkle the house seven times . 52 "He shall thus cleanse the house with the blood of the bird and with the running water , along with the live bird and with the cedar wood and with the hyssop and with the scarlet string . 53 "However, he shall let the live bird go free outside e e the city into the open field . So he shall make atonement for the house , and it will be clean ."
54 This is the law for any mark of leprosy -even for a scale , 55 and for the leprous garment or house , 56 and for a swelling , and for a scab , and for a bright spot - 57 to teach when they are unclean and when they are clean . This is the law of leprosy .
51 And behold , one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew out his sword , and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear . 52 Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its place ; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword . 53 "Or do you think that I cannot e appeal to My Father , and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels ? 54 "How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled , which say that it must happen this way ?" 55 At that time Jesus said to the crowds , "Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would against a robber ? Every day I used to sit in the temple teaching and you did not seize Me. 56 "But all this has taken place to fulfill the Scriptures of the prophets ." Then all the disciples left Him and fled .
57 Those who had seized Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas , the high priest , where the scribes and the elders were gathered together . 58 But Peter was following Him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest , and entered in, and sat down with the officers to see the outcome . 59 Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus , so that they might put Him to death . 60 They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward . But later on two came forward , 61 and said , "This man stated , ' I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days .' " 62 The high priest stood up and said to Him, "Do You not answer ? What is it that these men are testifying against You?" 63 But Jesus kept silent . And the high priest said to Him, "I adjure You by the living God , that You tell us whether You are the Christ , the Son of God ." 64 Jesus said to him, " You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter e you will see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER , and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN ." 65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said , "He has blasphemed ! What further need do we have of witnesses ? Behold , you have now heard the blasphemy ; 66 what do you think ?" They answered , " He deserves death !" 67 Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists ; and others slapped Him, 68 and said , " Prophesy to us, You Christ ; who is the one who hit You?"
69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard , and a servant-girl came to him and said , "You too were with Jesus the Galilean ." 70 But he denied it before them all , saying , "I do not know what you are talking about." 71 When he had gone out to the gateway , another servant-girl saw him and said to those who were there , "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth ." 72 And again he denied it with an oath , "I do not know the man ." 73 A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter , "Surely you too are one of them; for even the way you talk gives you away e ." 74 Then he began to curse and swear , "I do not know the man !" And immediately a rooster crowed . 75 And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said , " Before a rooster crows , you will deny Me three times ." And he went out and wept bitterly .
(Read Matthew 26:47-56)
No enemies are so much to be abhorred as those professed disciples that betray Christ with a kiss. God has no need of our services, much less of our sins, to bring about his purposes. Though Christ was crucified through weakness, it was voluntary weakness; he submitted to death. If he had not been willing to suffer, they could not conquer him. It was a great sin for those who had left all to follow Jesus; now to leave him for they knew not what. What folly, for fear of death to flee from Him, whom they knew and acknowledged to be the Fountain of life!
(Read Matthew 26:57-68)
Jesus was hurried into Jerusalem. It looks ill, and bodes worse, when those who are willing to be Christ's disciples, are not willing to be known to be so. Here began Peter's denying him: for to follow Christ afar off, is to begin to go back from him. It is more our concern to prepare for the end, whatever it may be, than curiously to ask what the end will be. The event is God's, but the duty is ours. Now the Scriptures were fulfilled, which said, False witnesses are risen up against me. Christ was accused, that we might not be condemned; and if at any time we suffer thus, let us remember we cannot expect to fare better than our Master. When Christ was made sin for us, he was silent, and left it to his blood to speak. Hitherto Jesus had seldom professed expressly to be the Christ, the Son of God; the tenor of his doctrine spoke it, and his miracles proved it; but now he would not omit to make an open confession of it. It would have looked like declining his sufferings. He thus confessed, as an example and encouragement to his followers, to confess him before men, whatever hazard they ran. Disdain, cruel mocking, and abhorrence, are the sure portion of the disciple as they were of the Master, from such as would buffet and deride the Lord of glory. These things were exactly foretold in the fiftieth chapter of Isaiah. Let us confess Christ's name, and bear the reproach, and he will confess us before his Father's throne.
(Read Matthew 26:69-75)
Peter's sin is truly related, for the Scriptures deal faithfully. Bad company leads to sin: those who needlessly thrust themselves into it, may expect to be tempted and insnared, as Peter. They scarcely can come out of such company without guilt or grief, or both. It is a great fault to be shy of Christ; and to dissemble our knowledge of him, when we are called to own him, is, in effect, to deny him. Peter's sin was aggravated; but he fell into the sin by surprise, not as Judas, with design. But conscience should be to us as the crowing of the cock, to put us in mind of the sins we had forgotten. Peter was thus left to fall, to abate his self-confidence, and render him more modest, humble, compassionate, and useful to others. The event has taught believers many things ever since, and if infidels, Pharisees, and hypocrites stumble at it or abuse it, it is at their peril. Little do we know how we should act in very difficult situations, if we were left to ourselves. Let him, therefore, that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall; let us all distrust our own hearts, and rely wholly on the Lord. Peter wept bitterly. Sorrow for sin must not be slight, but great and deep. Peter, who wept so bitterly for denying Christ, never denied him again, but confessed him often in the face of danger. True repentance for any sin will be shown by the contrary grace and duty; that is a sign of our sorrowing not only bitterly, but sincerely.
