Matthew 8:1-3
Topic: Jesus Christ is willing, but are you willing?
In these passage of scriptures, we read about how Jesus had come down from the mountain after he had finished preaching his famous sermon that is know as the “Sermon on the mount” according to Matthew 5 through 7. As Jesus was coming down from the mountain and as the multitudes were following him down the mountain, the scriptures says, there came a leper, a man who was sick with a deadly skin disease, a man who had been separated from his family and from society because of this contagious skin disease, a man, who wasn’t really suppose to be seen in public because the law of Moses stated that those who had leprosy was suppose to stay in a leper camp until the leprosy goes disappeared from their bodies, a man who was in a desperate situation, a man who seems to be in a helpless condition……but yet despite of his adverse circumstance, this leper, this man came to Jesus. Thank God that this man did not wait until he got better to come to Jesus. If he had waited until he got better, he might would have died and not have the chance to see Jesus. This leper came to Jesus with his sickness and all. He came to Jesus in pain and all. He came to Jesus in desperation and all. You know you have lot of people say that when they get better, when they start living right, that is when they say they will come to church, and get with Jesus. But you will never get right, nor will you get better on your own. You need to come to Jesus so he can make you get right and better because He is the only one who can make you right and better!!!!
The scripture says that this leper came to Jesus worshipping him and said to him, If thou wilt, thou can make me clean. And Jesus having so much compassion on this man he stretched forth his hand and touched him and said, I will, be thou clean. And immediately, the leper was cleansed. Then Jesus tells the man to not to tell anyone about how he was healed, but to go and show himself to the priests and offer the gift that Moses had commanded so he could be a testimony to them.
Now the reason why this leper man was healed of his leprosy was because Jesus was willing to heal this man because the leper said, “If thou wilt, thou can make me clean,” and Jesus said, “I wilt, be thou clean,” and immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
And guess what? Just as Jesus was willing to heal this man from his leprosy, Jesus is willing to heal us physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually today. Not only that, Jesus is willing to save us today.
Jesus is willing to forgive us our sins today.
Jesus is willing to deliver us today.
Jesus is willing to lead and guide us today
Jesus is willing to love and care for us to day
Jesus is willing to answer our prayers today.
Jesus is willing to strengthen us, provide for us, anointed us, fill us, and bless us today.
But the question is:
Are you willing to let Jesus heal you?
Are you willing to let Jesus save you?
Are you willing to let Jesus forgive you of your sins?
Are you willing to let Jesus lead and guide you?
Are you willing to let Jesus love and care for you?
Are you willing to let Jesus strengthen, provide, anoint , fill ,and bless you today?
Are you willing to let Jesus to do that and a whole lot more for you today?
Are you willing to call on his name?
Yes, Jesus is willing, but are you willing to let him come into your life today so he can clean up your heart, transform your mind, and make you a new creation because the scripture says if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away, all things become as new.(II Corinthians 5:17).
Now notice what the leper did for Jesus to heal him of his leprosy. The scripture says “Behold there came a leper”. The first thing that this leprous man had did was he came to Jesus. That is a lesson for us to learn right there. If you want Jesus to be willing to do anything for you, you must learn to come to Him. You must learn to come to him in prayer seeking his face, seeking his guidance, seeking his strength, seeking his healing, seeking his deliverance, seeking his salvation, seeking his guidance, seeking his grace and mercy.
The Lord says in Isaiah 1:18 where he says, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord, though your sins be a scarlet, they shall be a white as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
The prophet Hosea says this in Hosea 6:1, “Come and let us return unto the Lord, for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.”
Also the Lord says in Matthew 11:28 where he says “Come unto me all that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
And Jesus says in John 6: 35, “I am the bread of life; he that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that beleiveth on me shall never thirst.”
Yes, Jesus is willing to do anything for you, but you must be willing to come to Him for it. That is why in Hebrews 4:16 tell us to “Come bodly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need.” That is, whatever we need, Jesus says to “Come to me” that you may find mercy, grace, and help in the time of need.
Now, not only did this leprous man come to Jesus to be healed, but notice how he came. The scriptures says he came worshipping Jesus as Lord because he addressed Jesus as Lord. This man recognize and believed that Jesus was more than just a man, more than just a Jew, more than just a good teacher, but He saw Him as the Son of God, the Lord, the Messiah who is able to heal and deliver. When we come to Jesus, we must be willing see Him as the Son of God. We must be willing to see Him as Lord. We must be willing to see Him as the Messiah. We must be willing to see Him as our Savior, our Bread of Life, our Light of Life, our Good Shepherd, our Rock of Salvation, our Deliverer, Our Healer, our Great Jehovah, Our giver of the Holy Spirit, our Redeemer, our King of Kings. You have to see Jesus above every name if you want him to be willing to do something for you.
And notice when this man had worshiped Jesus. Notice that he worshipped Jesus before he touched him. He did not wait until he was touched by Jesus to worship him but he worshiped Jesus before he touched him. You see, a lot of us wait until Jesus blesses us before we worship him. We will wait until he bless us with a new house, new car, new job, new promotion, new wife, new husband and then we will worship Him. Some of us wait until we get well, get delivered, get strengthen and then we will worship Him. But you ought not wait until you get blessed to worship Him. You ought to worship him before you get blessed, before you get healed, before you get that new house, new car, new job, new promotion, new wife, new husband because I heard the song writer once say when the praises go up, blessing comes down. And another thing, even if I don’t get the blessing that I am seeking God for, He is still worthy of all my worship, of all my praises because it could be that God has something far greater for me that I am seeking for. He knows what I need and don’t need. He knows what I can handle and not handle. No matter what God is worthy to be praised and worshipped!
Psalm 95: 1-3, 6 says, O come letus sing unto the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with pslams. For the Lord is a great God, and a great king above all gods…..O come, let us worship and bow down: let us knell before the Lord our maker.”
Yes, the leper came worshpping Jesus asking, “if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.” Not only did the leper came worshiping Jesus, but he came believing Jesus, because he said, if thou wilt, thou can. He came believing that Jesus can heal him. And that is how we should come to Jesus. We must come to Jesus believing that He can. We must come to Jesus believing that He can heal us, heal our families, heal our church, heal our marriages, heal our communities, heal our children, heal our nation. Hebrews 11:6 says, Without faith, we cannot please God, for he tha cometh to God must believe that He is, and he is a rewarder tot hem that diligently seek him.”
And because the leper believed that Jesus could make him clean the scripture says that “Jesus put forth his hand and touched him“. Now to understand the significance of this, you must understand that lepers were a smelly, stinky, bloody mess. Whenever a leper was walking in public, they were to yell, “Unclean” so people would not come in contact with them or bump into them in public. But yet Jesus touches this smelly, stinky, and bloody leper, and when Jesus touched this leper he was made cleaned immediately.
What can we learn from this passage of scriptures? We can learn that no matter how bad we smell from the stench of our sins, no matter how bloody up that we get from being a sinner, Jesus is still willing to touch us. No mater what you have done in this life, Jesus is still willing to touch you.
If you been on drugs, Jesus is still willing to touch you
If you been on alcohol, Jesus is still willing to touch you
If you been an prostitute, Jesus is till willing to touch you
If you been a whoremonger, Jesus is still willing to touch you
If you been a homosexual, Jesus is still willing to touch you
If you been cheating, stealing and lying, Jesus is still willing to touch you
If you been disobedient to your parents and teachers, Jesus is still willing to touch you
If you been killing people with your tongue, Jesus still willing to touch you
If you been doubting the reality of God, Jesus is stil willing to touch you
If you been disrespectful to your wife, husband, and children, Jesus is still willing to touch you
If you are sick and and you cant get well, Jesus is still willing to touch you
If you wants your sins to be forgiven, Jesus is still willing to touch you
If you been hurt, heart been broken, and emotions been damaged, Jesus is still willing to touch you
If you feel blind and lost, Jesus is still willing to touch you.
He is willing clean us up. He is willing to save us right now. All you got to do is be willing to repent and believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died upon the cross for our sins, and that He rose from the dead with all power in his hands. If you come trusting in the Lord right now, He is willing touch your life, and you will never be the same.
