Jesus¡¦ words: ¡§I am willing, be clean!¡¨ Mk 1:40-45 WBC 22/2/4pm
If you¡¦re a parent here this morning you will relate to the many times our children slip over, or are covered with grime- and come to you crying, wanting 1) a hug 2) to be cleaned up
- remember this with AJ cycling 4 years ago
A hug and touch means so much. (my mum feels the same)
Seriously- it¡¦s incredible that we worship a loving and embracing Father through His Son.
- Jesus¡¦ words and deeds this morning show us that true nature/desire of God
UNCLEAN
The man who comes to Jesus is a leper.
- didn¡¦t always refer to what WE know as leprosy, but could
o social effects were the same- whether you had it or not
LEV 13:45 "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.
o Social isolation!
„X NOBODY would touch you
„X = torture. We are social animals (cf Archie)
„X 6 foot gap if upwind. More if downwind
„X couldn¡¦t go to temple or into town
Mother Teresa once said "the poorest of the poor are those who feel that they are unloved.
Once a leper , always a leper. Thought incurable (only +ve example up to now is Naaman the Syrian) 2 Ki 5
- shows this man¡¦s faith!
Whole stigma was different to any other illness
- other illnesses = ¡¥healed¡¦
- leprosy= ¡¥cleansed¡¦
o because there¡¦s a horrible unclean barrier between you, God¡¦s people, God¡¦s temple and society
So that¡¦s some of the spiritual and sociological stigmas¡K effects
- but don¡¦t be desensitised to just how physically objectionable it was
o Luke says this man was ¡¥covered all over¡¦ with leprosy
- Raw suppurating flesh. Nerves being eaten away. Digits missing
o (after research in India found that was because rats ate them at night- and they never knew)
- smell
So- get the context, here. In days of no/poor medical care
How would you feel if this person approached you for a hug?
How do we feel GOD feels about us when we come to Him with our stinking rags, unclean behaviour and brokenness?
COMPASSION
Interestingly- there is an old manuscript that has, in v41, ¡¥Jesus was filled with anger and reached out and touched the man¡¦
¡§Oh, yes, that¡¦s what I¡¦d expect from a human! After all¡¨
- the man is violating sacred law. Not allowed in public spaces¡¨
- ¡§the man is in danger of defiling the rabbi. Making Him unclean so He can¡¦t minister. Contaminating Him¡¨
OH NO!
- if ¡¥anger¡¦ is correct, here- it¡¦s not for THOSE reasons
- Jesus reached out and touched Him willingly
- > Jesus¡¦ anger is about the sheer hurt, rejection & brokenness in this man¡¦s life
o = how He reacted when He saw the Kingdom of darkness, Satan¡¦s work. Anger and hatred of it
Before I go on to say that the original word here, most likely, was ¡¥compassion¡¦- let me say something about the word ¡¥sympathy¡¦
- God is not inert¡K immutable¡K when you¡¦re raw, hurt and rejected
- Jesus was never ¡¥remote¡¦ emotionally to those who came to Him
- HE FELT IT TOO!.
o = definition of sym-pathy : ¡¥to feel the hurt, too¡K with them¡¦
o (let us never be frightened to feel with people. To say ¡¥oh heck that hurts. People don¡¦t (necc) want answers- they want to be hugged, have their feelings/fears validated)
Scholars think the word used here is ¡¥compassion¡¦
- similar to sympathy in our language (but from a Latin root meaning to suffer with)
- but the Greek word used for compassion is UNLIKE any other
o and is even more striking in its usage/context
o not much in the Bible about Jesus & disciples¡¦ ¡¥inner world¡¦ (which is the focus of our society!)
„X it IS there- but more concerned with behaviour than feelings
- but here it uses a word of Jesus that literally means ¡¥gut wrenching sympathy¡¦
o has to do with your innards
Spurgeon on ’the word ’compassion’ as used in Mk 1:40
"The Greek word here used, if I were to pronounce it in your hearing, would half suggest its own meaning. It expresses a stirring of the entire being, a commotion in all the inward parts. The heart and all the vitals of the man are in active movement. The saviour was greatly moved. You have seen a man moved, have you not? When a strong man is unable any longer to restrain himself, and is forced to give way to his feelings ... It was just so with the Saviour: his pity moved him, his delight in the leper¡¦s faith mastered him. Oh, to think that a poor leper should have such power over the divine Son of God! Yet, my hearer, in all thy sin and misery, if thou canst believe in Jesus, thou canst move the heart of thy blessed Saviour. Yea, even now his bowels yearn towards thee."
Take this in!
- how do you think God feels about US¡K people¡K what you went through¡K you feeling cut off from Him¡K the pain of the world?
God is Love: and he enfoldeth
All the world in one embrace;
With unfailing grasp he holdeth
Every child of every race.
And when human hearts are breaking
Under sorrow’s iron rod,
Then they find that selfsame aching
Deep within the heart of God. (God is love, by Timothy Rees)
REACHED OUT
Matthew¡¦s (8) account of this healing also records that Jesus then went on to healing another ¡¥outsider¡¦- a GENTILE centurion¡¦s servant
- but it was with a ¡¥word¡¦
-
That¡¦s the kind of response you would have expected Jesus to give, here.
- ¡§sure, I¡¦ll heal you¡K but from a distance- with a word¡¨
Jesus frequently touched, in healing. But even that isn¡¦t enough, here.
- though He risked ceremonial uncleanliness (nobody would have wanted to come near Jesus after this)
- though he risked infection¡K.
¡K..¡¨Jesus reached out His hand¡¨
It¡¦s emphasised: the ¡¥identification with¡¦¡K the desire to touch. The compassion
- touching did mean ceremonial defilement¡K. But the demands of love¡K. And Jesus¡K god¡¦s¡K own compassion took precedence
God gets dirty with us (this is what the incarnation is about)- but doesn¡¦t get defiled
- our grime doesn¡¦t stick to Him. Neither is He frightened of it
This is our God! This is what God is like
- you see it in Christ
And God wants to touch you, too. Yes- He does!
- the prodigal¡¦s Father does
- Jesus does
WE need that! (us brits need that)
USA PhD on social contact in various cultures. Observed contact across table at restaurant. Latin’s= 160 touches per hr. French=60/hr. Brits=0! (this applies to God as well- come if you like...BUT DON’T TOUCH!!)
Illustr: Willesden Green BC. Visited an old West Indian man in hospital. Isolation ward. (88- AIDS?) Smell. Held his hand and prayed. Accepted the Lord. Challenged afterwards- ¡§he¡¦s found God¡¨. ¡§That man is No Christian!¡¨
The point I¡¦m making is God reaches out to touch us. And it¡¦s what we need. And it¡¦s in His nature.
There is a story told about a businessman whose wife was experiencing depression. She began to mope around and be sad, lifeless, no light in her eyes, no spring in her step, joyless. It became so bad that this ¡§man of the world¡¨ did what any sophistic-ated person would do. He made an appointment with a psychiatrist. On the appointed day, they went to the psychiatrist¡¦s office, sat down with him and began to talk. It wasn¡¦t long before the wise doctor realized what the problem was. So without saying a word, he simply stood, walked over in front of the woman¡¦s chair, signalled her to stand, he took her by the hands, looked at her in the eyes for a long time, and then gave her a big warm hug. You could immediately see the change come over the woman. Her face softened, and her eyes lit up. She immediately relaxed. Her whole face glowed. Stepping back, the doctor said to the husband, ¡¥See, that¡¦s she needs. With that the husband said, ¡¥ Okay, I¡¦ll bring her in Tuesday and Thursday each week, but I have to play golf on the other afternoons.¡¨
WILLING
Just like the leper- we think God can heal¡K but he won¡¦t accept ME:
- ¡§If you are willing¡¨
Jesus¡K God says: ¡§I AM willing. Be clean¡¨
Listen, friends
- I have no formula for this- but all I know is God IS willing, able¡K. In fact is reaching out to US.
- The barriers and blocks are on our side- not His
- Does that mean we always receive what God wants to give us- as simply as that?
o Sometimes, no¡K. and I don¡¦t know why¡K and I¡¦m not about to get uptight about it
But God is on my¡K our side¡K.and IS willing
This leprosy is a good symbol of what separates us
- from God
- from others¡K society
Sure: our sin and sins. Our leprosy, smell and brokenness that ruins our social interaction
But the sin is removed with ONE plea to Jesus¡K one act of God¡K one stretching out of Jesus¡¦ hand
So- why don¡¦t I feel it. Why do I feel ¡¥not accepted¡¦, or so distant at times from God. I thought I was supposed to FEEL in blissful intimacy with him once He ¡¥washed me¡¦
- well. This is not about feelings. Feelings will come, in time. (they¡¦ll GO in time, too!)
- your feelings follow your¡K (this leper¡¦s)¡K FAITH¡K which follows the FACT that
o Jesus accepts you¡K has compassion on you
o Never turns away anyone who comes to Him
- This is about FAITH
o Sovereignly ¡VGod CAN make you feel it
o Usually- it¡¦s as the TRUTH dawns on us and sets us free that we feel it
And the truth, fact is- he IS willing. You ARE clean, accepted, loved.
CLEANSED
So- here are the words of Jesus to us, this morning- that convey His nature
¡§I am willing. Be clean¡¨
It says ¡¥immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured¡¦
- does that mean his skin was ¡¥as smooth as a baby¡¦s¡K¡¦ immediately
o possibly. Probably. God has no problem in doing this
- or, maybe- like I found with the things I saw in Nigeria- that the healing came immediately¡K was felt immediately¡K but it was evidenced physically¡K after a few days
All I¡¦m saying is- sometimes it takes time for God¡¦s work to be seen, ¡¥outworked¡¦- but the work is genuine none the less
- I haven¡¦t wanted to focus on our acceptance of one-another: rather how GOD feels about US/YOU with acceptance, compassion, reaching out
- May these words of Jesus reach out & touch you this morning
o And may the feelings follow the faith and this FACT in time.
