Mt. 8:1-4 — Mk 1:40-45 — Lk 5:12-16
CANCER
- One of the most fearsome words to a family is cancer
- Cancer Kills Over 20 Thousand People A Day
- Cancer will kill 7.6 million people worldwide this year
- More than 12 million people will find out they have the disease.
- A diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth
- It invades and destroys adjacent tissues
- In Jesus Day it was Leprosy
- Attacked the body so it literally falls apart
- Decay the extremities fingers hands arms toes feet lags ears nose eyes
- Made worst by dust, festering sores
- Poor diets accelerated the disease
- Deadly contagious
- Isolation
- He was dead while he lived
- A slow killer
Lev 13:44-46
44 He is a leprous man, he is unclean: the priest shall pronounce him utterly unclean; his plague is in his head. 45 And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. 46 All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.
It was illegal for lepers to approach others;
- The person with leprosy unkempt (don’t comb your hair - head uncovered)
- Cover the lower part of his face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’
- He was to become his own mourner
- As long as he has the infection he remains unclean, he must live alone
- He must live outside the camp.
- This loathsome disease was not allowed to enter through the gates into the city
Sin is Like Leprosy
- From a small beginning it spreads over the entire man.
- Its cure is beyond the reach of human skill or natural remedies.
- It is painful, loathsome, degrading, and fatal.
- It separates its victim from the pure and drives him into association with the impure.
- It can only be cured by Christ’s work at the cross
To Be Touched By Jesus
1. Understand My Plight - Lk 5:12
- He was full leprosy
2. Recognize It has to be Christ - Lk 5:12
- Not anything that I or this world can do
3. Be Bold - Mk 1:38-39; Lk 5:12
- He came into town
4. Humble Yourself - Lk 5:12
- He fell on his face
- Kneeling before the Lord - Mk. 1:40
5. Give Christ His Rightful Place - Mt. 8:2
- He Worshiped
6. A Ernest Cry - Mt. 8:2; Mk 1:40; Lk 5:12
- If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean
- Doubts are no reason why we should not go to Christ — “Lord, if thou wilt
- There are no circumstances that can stop us from going to Christ for salvation
7. Believe His Marvelous Love - Mk. 1:41
- Jesus moved with compassion
- Christ’s love and willingness to save is the central message of the gospel
- Christ touches corruption without taint:
- Jesus comes into the filthiness of our lives with bleeding wounds and bids us to press forward and be touched by His willingness
8. His Willing Touch Is Immediate Mt. 8:3; Mk 1:4-42; Lk 5:13
- No waiting for updates
- No instructions to follow
- Like a sunbeam passing through foul water untarnished and unstained
- Like some sweet Spring rising in the midst of the salt sea, which yet retains its freshness and pours it over the surrounding bitterness
- Christ takes upon Himself our nature and lays hold of our stained hands with the hand that continues pure while it grasps us, and will make us purer if we grasp it.
