Israel’s existence was balanced on a knife’s edge according to this overall concept of purity. On the one side were the basic impurities which God categorically would not tolerate. On the other side was the holiness which destroyed even what was pure by simple contact. Defining what is pure was held to be Israel’s charter for existence.
Jesus’ Authority to pronounce purity
In this account Luke reveals three marvelous, yet controversial, truths about Jesus’ mission:
