Lameness
Summary
Physical disability of the legs or feet; blemished Levites were excluded from priestly service, but Jesus healed many lame people.
☩Old Testament Regulations
Under Mosaic law, a priest with lameness could not approach the altar to offer sacrifices, though he could eat the holy food (Leviticus 21:18-22). Lame animals were unacceptable for sacrifice (Deuteronomy 15:21; Malachi 1:8, 13). These regulations emphasized the requirement of wholeness and perfection in approaching God.
☩Messianic Healing
Isaiah prophesied that in the Messianic age 'the lame man shall leap as an hart' (Isaiah 35:6). Jesus fulfilled this: 'the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk' (Matthew 11:5). He healed lame people throughout His ministry (Matthew 15:30-31; 21:14). Peter and John healed the lame man at the Temple gate (Acts 3:1-10), and Philip's ministry in Samaria included healing many lame (Acts 8:7).
Related Verses9 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Lameness," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. V (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Lameness," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. III (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).