Matthew 8:1, 2 (a)
Large crowds followed Jesus as he came down the mountainside. Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached him and knelt before him. Lord, the man said...
I think it fitting that the first miracle recorded in the New Testament deals with the cleansing of a leper because Isaiah 1:5, 6 makes it clear that leprosy is a picture of sin. Leviticus 13 teaches that leprosy begins beneath the surface of the skinjust as sin does. What you see outwardly in peoples lives is only the result of what is going on within them. We are not sinners because we sin. We sin because were sinners. Leviticus 13 goes on to say that leprosy, like sin, spreads throughout the body. Like sin, one could control it for a season. But if he didnt destroy it, it would eventually destroy him. The Talmud taught that leprosy was second only to death in its list of sixty-one defilements. He who had leprosy was as good as dead because his disease would separate him from the rest of the community. When a person contracted leprosy, he was forced to live only with fellow lepers. If he had to come to the city, the Law required him to cry out, Unclean, unclean, in order for everyone within a one hundred fifty-foot radius to back away and clear the area. In the beginning stages, the skin of a leper would take on a hard, glossy appearance. As it progressed, it caused his nerves to become numb, which in turn led to the loss of fingers and toes.
The rabbis felt strongly that leprosy was a direct judgment from God. In fact, the word leprosy means smitten. They felt that those who had leprosy were being judged by God and therefore must be terrible people.
Matthew 8:2 (b)
if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.
This leper, whose sickness was a symbol of sin, saw Jesus and had the audacity to go right through the multitude following Him and say, Lord, if You want, You can make me clean. He didnt doubt Jesus ability to make him clean; he doubted Jesus willingness to do so. And I suggest to you that, like this leper, theres not one of us who doubts Jesus ability to do the miraculous in our lives. But I suggest every one of us at times doubts His willingness.
Lord, if You want, You can heal my marriage, we pray.
If You want, You can save my child.
If You want, Lord, You can take away this habit, free me from that bondage, deal with my leprosy.
We know He can, but we question if He will.
This leper had the courage, the tenacity, and the audacity to approach Jesus and to come right into His presence. But like you and me, when he got there, he wondered, Do You really want to make me clean?
Matthew 8:3 (a)
Jesus reached out and touched him.
To this one with gross, running sores, and a strained voice, odor emanating, and digits missing, Jesus could have said, Be clean, and the guy would have been clean. But what did Jesus do? He touched him. Regardless of the sin you might be struggling with right now, dont make the mistake of countless thousands of lepers saying, I need to stay away from Jesus. Im unclean. Jesus can handle your sin. Hes not shocked or horrified by it. Hes not embarrassed of it. Jesus touched the leper, and He can handle your sin as well.
The biggest mistake people make concerning Jesus is thinking, When I get it together, then Ill let the Lord come near me. When I deal with my leprosy, then Ill let the Lord touch me.
But theyll never get it together until the Lord touches them!
You who are faltering in faith, struggling in sin, caught up in carnality, I have news for you. Jesus can handle it.
Not only are there those who say, Dont touch me until I get it together, but there are those who say, Touch me, Lord. I want to come into Your presence. I want to lift my hands and sing Your praise. But dont change me. I like myself just the way I am.
If the Lord touches you, you will inevitably be changed. If you dont want to be changed, its vain to seek His touch.
Matthew 8:3 (b)
I am willing, he said. Be healed! And instantly the leprosy disappeared.
How I love these words of Jesus. He said, I will. I will! Be thou clean. Did you know our Lord never refused anyone who came to Him looking for help? He never said, No, I dont have time for you. In every instance, He dealt with people graciously, mercifully, and compassionately.
Maybe youre saying, Well, Ive sought the Lord. Ive asked Him for His help. Ive asked Him to do this thing in my life, but it never happened. Why would He help the leper and not me?
"And even when you ask, you dont get it because your motives are all wrongyou want only what will give you pleasure." James 4:3
The Greeks had a saying that when the gods wanted to punish a man, they answered all his prayers. Many times our requests are just plain wrong, and our Father loves us enough to say, No, if No is the best answer. But Hell never turn you away. Hell always do whats best for you, and youll see it sooner or later, if youll just ask Him. There were multiplied thousands of lepers in this region, but only one came and asked Jesus to be healed, and only one went away clean.
