RTTSS IS CHRIST CENTERED AND ROOTED IN CHRIST, HIS WORD, HIS WILL, HIS SPIRIT.
Leviticus 17–18; Mark 2
God Decides What Cleanses — Not Us
Key Verses
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls…” — Leviticus 17:11 (NASB 2020)
“But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” — Mark 2:10 (NASB 2020)
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Leviticus 17 makes something very clear — life belongs to God.
That’s why the blood belonged to Him. It wasn’t common. It wasn’t casual. It was given for one purpose: atonement.
God decides how sin is dealt with.
Then chapter 18 moves into how God’s people are supposed to live. The command keeps repeating: don’t live like Egypt, don’t live like Canaan. Don’t copy what everyone else is doing. Especially when it comes to sexual sin and moral boundaries, God draws very clear lines.
And the reason is simple:
“I am the LORD.”
Not culture.
Not preference.
Not feeling.
God.
He decides what is right. He decides what is clean. He decides how His people live.
Then you turn to Mark 2 and see that same authority standing in a room.
A paralyzed man is brought to Jesus, and instead of healing him first, Jesus says his sins are forgiven. The religious leaders react immediately — who can forgive sins but God alone?
They were right about that.
And Jesus proves the point by healing the man in front of them. He shows that He has the authority to forgive because He is the One Leviticus was pointing toward all along.
Leviticus says God provides the blood for atonement.
Mark shows the One who will give His own.
Leviticus says God sets the boundaries for holiness.
Mark shows the One with authority over sin itself.
What both readings expose is something in us — the tendency to decide our own standards, to soften what God calls sin, to define forgiveness on our terms, to live close to the line and assume everything is fine.
But God never hands that authority over.
He decides what cleanses.
He decides what restores.
He decides what obedience looks like.
And in Mark 2, that authority is not an idea — it’s a person.
Jesus doesn’t just teach about forgiveness.
He carries the authority to give it.
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Prayer
Father,
You alone define what is right and what makes us clean.
Keep my heart from reshaping Your standards to fit my life.
Teach me to trust the forgiveness You provide through Christ and to walk in obedience before You.
Amen.