A false priest serves the political or religious establishment. He will call the clean unclean and the unclean clean if it suits the powers of the day. Such priesthood might well work in harmony with the kingly authority of the Messiah. The cleansing of the leper demonstrates that one is here who has messianic powers. Such cleansing occurred only twice in the Tenach, and the rabbis said it was as hard to cleanse a leper as to raise the dead.
Priests have great authority, but only kingdom authority can transform lives.
This transformation is a testimony that the powers of the age to come have drawn near. And it may become a testimony against the priests if they certify this cleansing and then fail to acknowledge Yeshua as Messiah. As followers of Messiah, we bear kingdom authority, but we're not always willing to touch the lepers. We join the debate over issues such as homosexuality, abortion, or drug abuse to defend the perspective of Scripture. We rightly object to such rulings, but we are called to go beyond this debate.