Have you ever felt excluded?
Have you ever felt unnecessarily confined or restricted?
Have you ever found it difficult to fit into a group or to be accepted, or felt isolated?
Maybe it was because you haven’t lived in an area long enough, have enough money, from the right family, you have or haven’t completed a university degree etc.
If so then you would have a glimpse of what life would have been for the ten lepers before they were healed by Jesus….
A life restricted by barriers
Being a leper meant they were ostracized
In the Old Testament book Leviticus there is an entire section of how to deal with those who have leprosy
Listen to a few of these verses
From Leviticus 13 42 to 46
if someone has a reddish-white sore on their bald head or forehead, it is an infectious disease breaking out on their head or forehead. 43 The priest is to examine them, and if the swollen sore on their head or forehead is reddish-white like an infectious skin disease, 44 the person is diseased and is unclean. The priest shall pronounce them unclean because of the sore on their head.
(but wait there is more)
45 “The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ (How would you feel walking down the street saying that?) 46 As long as they have the infection they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp.
Imagine living like that cut off from your family and friends
Now these measures were put in place for a good reason
It was a away for the community to be protected from diseases
Much like people are told to stay home from work or school if they have the flu, so others don’t get sick
So the barrier that was in place was necessary
However it was also devastating for those who had been inflicted with the disease
Anyone with leprosy would be cut off from associating with their family or friends
And this is not healthy
Because as humans God has created us to live in relationship with each other.
Remember in Genesis, God says it is not good for man to be alone
and as we heard in the Jesus all about life course this week
As people we need to be in relationship with others
In Australia the early prison authorities knew this
To control and break the really bad prisoners
They developed a solitary confinement gaol at Port Arthur,
Where prisoners could have no contact with anyone else
they were kept in a dark cell
and even the prison guards wore cloth on their feet when they were on duty so they could not be heard
Even in chapel, they were lead into chapel with bags over their heads and led into their cubical where they could see no one else but the pastor/priest.
This lack of interaction with other people, broke most people and even sent a few people crazy
So being cut off from your family and friends, like a leper is not healthy
However one of the saddest things about humanity is that we want to construct and reinforce barriers and obstacles between us and others
Look in the media, how many of the stories are about constructing or reinforcing barriers
Can you think of any barriers you have created or reinforced between yourself and:
A family member
Another person in the community
A particular group of people
Now we probably think we can justify every barrier that exists
However there are two things I would like you to think about in regards to the barriers that you have between yourself and others?
First of all:
Is this the way of God?
Is this what God wants?
this is something we will explore a little further today
Secondly, I would like you to consider that your dealings with a person or an issue where a barrier exists
Ask yourself is there another way, apart from constructing or reinforcing barriers?
Whilst the Old Testament reveals a way for humans to deal with leprosy,
That is to isolate them and leave them to their own devices until they are healed
Such an approach offers little hope.
However in the New Testament a new approach is unveiled
Jesus does not ignore the problem and say everything will be ok
Jesus, doesn’t say to lepers, hey just go back into the community everything will be ok.
No he recognises their is a problem
In healing the lepers, Jesus shows his respect that leprosy is a problem
But he deals with it
And in dealing with it,
he removes the barriers for the entire ten lepers that exist for them in being part of the community
In being healed they are now able to live with their friends and family
But did you notice something
the leper who returned and thanked God
was a Samaritan,
and Jesus said to Him your faith has made you well
This Samaritan leper was healed of more than just physical healing
He was also healed spiritually
He came back to thank and praise God for his healing.
He acknowledged that God had made it possible for him to have a future.
Now l don’t think anyone of us has leprosy
But lets think about this situation in relation to our own lives
Particularly in relation to sin
Sin has disastrous affects on our relationships with God and with all other people
There was once a little boy called Bob who had received a clown puppet for his birthday
he was so proud of this puppet that he wanted to take it to school and show it off
However after getting dressed for school
he couldn’t find it anywhere
he knew his little sister had probably taken it and hidden it
he asked her where it was....
However she wouldn’t answer, she was hiding
Their mother eventually found her and said, "Come and tell your brother where the puppet is."
She replied, "No i don’t want to talk to him, i don’t want to see him"
Eventually she was persuaded to come and see him but looked down at the ground with a frown and said,"I don’t know where it is"
So Bob went off to school sad and angry
On the way home he devised a plan that he wouldn’t speak to his sister or play with her
When he got home, his mum said, hey I’ve found your puppet, it was tucked up safely on the loaf of bread in the bread bin.
Bob snatched it and ran to his room, and wouldn’t speak or play with his sister that day
because of this one action there was now barriers between Bob and his sister
Sin does something very similar to leprosy
It creates a barrier between us and God
Between us and others
From the very first sin in the Garden of Eden…
Sin causes us to hide or stay away from those we have sinned against..
Remember just after they ate from the tree, as God walked through the garden, where were Adam and Eve?
They were hiding
Sin is the start of the barrier being constructed
Now we can choose to let sin, even a particular sin and its affects dominate our lives
And determine how we live,
We can choose to allow barriers to exist between ourselves and others
But this is allowing sin to control us
Think about
What sins have you committed that are controlling your life, and encouraging you to have a barrier in place?
What sins have been committed against you and encouraging you to keep a barrier in place?
Jesus came into this world so you can be freed from this very effect of sin
So the barriers between God and you
And you and others can be removed
Listen to God speaking to us in Romans 6 verse 23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Focusing on sin will ultimately kill us
Focusing on Jesus gives us life
Jesus doesn’t ignore the fact that sins occur
But he deals with them
On the cross he paid the entire price for every sin
Every Sin you have committed
And every sin that has been committed against you
And why?
Because God has a dream for us
that no barrier exists between himself and us
And no barrier exists between you and another Christian
Now dealing with the barriers between yourself and God and yourself and others is only possible by trusting in Jesus
For you just being here today and receiving his forgiveness
means He has already dissolved a barrier between you and Himself
So lets acknowledge and thank God for uniting us
And ask him to help us to identify the barriers we have in place
and ask him to help us to remove the barriers between ourselves and others
God dreams of us living with each other without barriers
Amen
