I confess to you how I struggled with the scripture this morning. I struggled because when I first read this scripture, I wondered “how can I preach about this “healing” when I know we have people in our congregation who are good, faithful servants, disciples of Jesus Christ, yet who are suffering from terrible physical ailments?” (Jim, Reta, for example)
We’ve all heard stories ….. How God healed after prayer… changed/straightened out someone’s life.
But if we are absolutely honest, deep down, some of us are thinking, "What about me? How come God doesn’t do stuff like that for me? Does He care? Is He willing to take away my health problem? Or why hasn’t He taken away my health problem? Is God willing to make MY life better? Is God willing to make His presence known in MY life?"
I’m willing to bet the leper in this story had thoughts like that all the time. Leprosy was a terrible disease. Not just because of the harm it did to you physically. But because of the harm that it did to you socially. Leviticus 13:45-46 says that "The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face and cry out, ’Unclean! Unclean!’ 46 As long as he has the infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp."
In those days, there was no cure for leprosy. Your life was destined to a lonely and painful end. Today leprosy is called “Hansen’s Disease” and today it is curable.
MOVE
Many Jews regarded leprosy as a punishment from God for sins committed. Unfortunately, even today, there are preachers who proclaim that if your body is struck with some illness, it is because of some sin in your life. (The BJ Story… the woman told by her pastor the reason for her stroke was she must have committed some terrible sin) Folks, this is in no way the truth. Yes, we are all sinners, but to attribute an illness, accident or some other tragedy to a specific sin is false theology!
Why God allows bad things to happen to good people, we cannot always explain. But we must trust God has a reason. We know the story of Job, but we do you remember Paul’s experience? Listen to the words of Paul from 2 Corinthians 12: 7-9 - 7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Sometimes God allows our pain for a reason.
MY POWER is made perfect in weakness. WOW! Consider this… the influence Jim’s faith may have on all of us, (a 53 year old man who has suffered sever physical challenges since age 13, but has stayed very strong in his faith ) I know the impact of Reta’s faith on my life….her courage, her never ending faith…though she suffered physically to the end...and I am confident of her reward, of Jim’s ultimate reward, and of mine because of their faith and the power of God witnessed to me through each of them.
MOVE
So, here we have a man who, in spite of his anger, his sense of being forsaken, must have heard the good news about Jesus Christ. He heard about how Jesus healed a demon possessed man in the Capernaum synagogue. Perhaps he heard about how Jesus healed Simon Peter’s mother in law or about all the people who came to his door late at night. And how the Lord sent each one away healed and forgiven.
Perhaps the leper said to himself, "Here’s my chance! Here’s my chance to ask God for help! To ask God for healing!"
But at the same time, he approached Christ with humility. Verse 40 says that "He fell on his knees. He had reached that point of absolute brokenness and hopelessness and despair tha perhaps he felt Jesus was his last and only hope.
Listen carefully to his words "Lord if you are willing, (Humility, honor, respect, acknowledgment of power and authority) you can make me clean."
"Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. And he said five of the most beautiful words in all of scripture. "I am willing. Be clean."
Expand on CLEAN VS HEALED
There is so much going on in this scripture if we just look… if we pray….if we listen….
We see the compassion of Christ. He really does feel what we are going through. He really does care.
Jesus reached and touched the man. He was willing to make Himself ceremonially unclean so the leper could be clean. In this act, we are privileged to witness a sneak preview of what will happen on the cross. When Jesus died for our sins, he took upon himself all of our uncleanness; co we could be cleaned by God. So we could be cleansed by His blood.
Jesus didn’t have to touch this man to heal him. How hungry the man must have been for a human touch. Here was a broken man… an outcast, lonely, heartbroken and…..lost. He’d lost everything, his family, his property, his self-worth, his faith in men and that pain … the pain of isolation. I have to believe was much greater than any pain associated with the disease. And would it surprise you if he were to sometimes wonder “why me?’” and feel that no one could ever love him, ever mend his broken heart. And Jesus “touched” him! Look back into your life, unless you have been remarkably blessed, all of us at one time or another have felt that sense of loss, of separation of a broken heart, a broken spirit. This story isn’t about healing…. This a love story.
VIDEO (A Restored Heart – available through Sermon Spice)
Jesus didn’t let ceremonial law keep Him from showing this man the fullest extent of His love. With five simple words and a touch of his hand, Jesus saved this man in every way that a man can be saved. He healed him physically yes, but more importantly spiritually, and emotionally. THAT’S WHAT THIS STORY IS ABOUT. THIS IS A LOVE STORY
Is it possible this passage is not meant to teach us it is always God’s will to heal every disease? Instead, is it meant to teach us Jesus is willing to do whatever it takes to make us clean before Almighty God to be free and clean of sin... Jesus demonstrates… I am even willing to die for you.
That’s what Jesus does for us. And notice in verse 42 that we are told that "Immediately the leprosy left him and he was made clean." (Note different translations – some say cured)
(GO TO THE NEXT CHAPTER…. THE PARALYTIC MAN…. “FORGIVEN” … ONLY LATER HEALED AND THEN TO DEMONSTRATE TO THE SKEPTICS HIS POWER AND AUTHORITY…. MOST IMPORTANT TO JESUS…..FORGIVENESS OF SIN - TO BE MADE CLEAN!
When Christ touches our lives, there are some immediate effects. Our sins are cleansed and washed away. We are adopted into the family of God. The Holy Spirit comes upon us. All these things are the instantaneous result of the touch of Christ on our lives.
The man couldn’t keep this wonderful news to himself long enough to go to the priests. It says, "Instead he went out & began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to Him from everywhere."
WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF THE MAN HAD GONE TO THE PRIESTS?
The priests would have had to go back & search the O.T. scrolls to find out just what to do. And in their reading they would have discovered that the cleansing of a leper is a sign of the Messiah’s presence.
For the prophets proclaimed that when the Messiah comes blind eyes will see, dumb tongues will speak, lame bodies will leap for joy, & the leper will be cleansed. Jesus had sent this man to be a testimony to the priests.
Consider what may have happened if the man had told the priests? (The jealousy of the religious leaders and their perceived threat from Jesus) The later events … leading to the crucifixion …. Way too soon… remember, this was early in Jesus ministry
But there are other reasons. Jesus wasn’t interested in becoming a celebrity healer…like so many preachers on TV today who enjoy the celebrity status associated with their ministries.
Jesus didn’t want to “wow” people into belief. He knew then and knows today, real faith happens when people are convinced by His teaching. Romans 10:17 says "Faith comes by hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ."
In today’s scripture we see the power of Jesus to “cleanse” us, to make us whole in a way far more important than physical healing. Jesus will cleanse our souls.. and we see the compassion of Jesus. The ultimate act of compassion and love, His death on the cross for our sins. Jesus is willing to do whatever it takes to make us clean before Almighty God. Is there something you need to confess to Jesus today?
Illustration: I once talked to a man about becoming a Christian who tried to convince me that he “wasn’t really a bad person." He didn’t think he had really sinned all that much. Sensing that he was trying to avoid accepting his sinfulness I gave him this illustration: I told him to imagine I had invited him over to my house and offered him a cold Pepsi. I asked him "would you drink it?" "Of course," he replied. Then I asked to imagine I had poured that sparkling Pepsi into a filthy glass. Would he drink it then? Even if it had only a ring of old milk at the bottom of it? Of course not. Then I explained that when we sin - even just a little - and presume that God will accept us without our accepting His cleansing of "glass" (or soul) we were, in essence, asking God to accept any good deeds we might do in a filthy glass
Finally, consider this. Are you a believer? Have you said yes to Jesus? Do you consider yourself a disciple of Jesus? If you said yes, then know this.
Today, we are the hands and feet of Jesus Christ. If the Son of God came as a servant, then being a servant is the highest of all callings. We are never more like the Lord Jesus than when we are serving others. God invites us to share His authority as His servants. Finally, to be a servant, be sure you have compassion.
God demonstrates in His Word His personal, intimate love for each one of us. And Jesus needs us now, those of us who believe and cling to his love, to share his love with ALL of God’s creations, even, or especially the Lepers of today’s culture…. The homeless, the lost, the aids victim, the elderly and alone, the broken hearted.
Illustration: I have served as a volunteer Chaplain for the Havelock Police Dept for many years. Still, I will never forget my first night out with them. I was completely green and had no idea how to act. I was trying to follow the lead of the other officers. We were called to the parking lot of a store in the "red-light" district. The store dealt exclusively in pornography. The owner was a flamboyant homosexual man who was on drugs as well. Next door to the store was a topless bar whose owner was a flamboyant heterosexual. These two men had argued and fought in the parking lot. The gay man’s necklace had been torn off and thrown into the bushes. After the officers got the situation calmed down, we were all standing around the gay man. His necklace had been found and returned to him by one of the officers. He was overjoyed and tried to shake the officer’s hand. The officer turned away from him and left. He tried to shake the next officer’s hand and he too, turned away and left. One by one, nearly 10 officers snubbed the gay man. I was the last one. I had been following the officer’s leads all night. This time I followed the lead of the Lord. I shook his hand, and I could see in his eyes, that he didn’t see a Police Chaplain. He saw the love of our Lord. Jesus touched the untouchable. Shouldn’t we?
