Every day in our lives is not necessarily a good day. Once in awhile we experience bad days; maybe even some horrible days. Days which will make us question the possibility of another tomorrow or may even challenge our relationship with GOD. Hopefully, no one here is in the habit of placing blame on GOD when one of those really super-bad days dumps on us. Yet, when those days do come, and they will, what must we do in order to survive through them?
“A leper came to Him begging Him, and kneeling he said to Him, ‘If You choose, You can make me clean.’” This is probably the only answer to “what must we do.” This man’s body was being destroyed by the disease of leprosy. Many commentaries have downplayed the severity of the disease and even say it could have been nothing more than a severe case of skin rash. Under the prevailing Jewish legal traditions, any blotchy skin condition was considered to make a person ritually unclean. Reverend Fred Craddock suggests this leper was “a corpse, haunting the edges of the community he could no longer enter.” * It does not matter the severity of the disease with which this man is suffering; he is still an outcast and is not allowed to be part of society. His condition keeps him from being employed. He is banished from the temple and cannot worship as he desires. Everywhere he goes he must announce “Unclean, unclean!” Then he watches as people turn from him in fear and disgust; or they throw things at him, curse him, and chase him away.
Notice how this leper approached Jesus. He came begging and kneeling, indicating he recognized the holy power which was in Jesus. He came to the LORD seeking the mercy only Jesus Christ was able to give. This man was in desperate straits and he came to the only source of mercy available to him. Unlike many who feel they are deserving of better than they have, this man humbled himself before the Son of GOD. He submitted himself in supplication and worship, yearning for the healing power of Jesus to cleanse him of this dread disease. There was a great faith within the heart of this leper; a faith of healing mercy.
When he spoke to Jesus, he said, “If You choose, You can make me clean.” Not, “Jesus, You have to do this for me.” Neither did he question Jesus’ abilities to heal, as the man with the demon-possessed son would later question Jesus. There is a great difference between “If You choose” and “If You are able.” Responding to the plea of the leper Jesus said, “I do choose. Be made clean!” “You asked through faith, you know I have the power of the Father to heal; therefore, be made clean.” But, in response to the father of the demon-possessed son, Jesus was more forthright. “If you are able! All things can be done for the one who believes.” “Yes, I am able, but do you really believe I am capable of exorcizing this demon from your son?” Jesus knew this to be so; when He was in the Garden at Gethsemane He also bowed before GOD and asked, “If You choose, remove this cup from Me.” The power to heal is only from GOD through GOD’s Son, Jesus Christ.
When we have faith in the power of Christ we can be assured He will hear our pleas for mercy and in His compassion will remove whatever problem faces us. Throughout the Scripture, pertaining to the ministry of Jesus, are many accounts of persons seeking mercy and Jesus responding in like manner. Remember Martha at the tomb of Lazarus, “Martha said to Jesus, ‘LORD, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that GOD will give You whatever You ask of Him.” There was also the woman with an issue of blood, “But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before Him, and told Him the whole truth. He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.’” As both these incidents remind us, what we believe of the power of Christ we must claim for our needs placed before Jesus. We must be ready to say, “Jesus, You can do this for me, if it is Your will – If You choose.”
“Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I do choose. Be made clean!’” With compassion Jesus responded to the request of the leper. We can be assured we serve a compassionate GOD who sees our suffering, sees our faith, and understands our circumstances; then in GOD’s time will move to make us well. The leper “begged” and “kneeled” before Christ. If we are to expect to receive mercy and grace from Jesus, we must also ascribe honor and glory, and approach Him with humility and deep reverence.
Notice “Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him”; this violated all the uncleanness rituals of the Jewish Law. To touch anyone with a disease was a strong taboo, even more so those deemed ritually impure because of a skin disease – a leper. This lets us know Jesus trusted GOD’s power of healing; otherwise Jesus Himself could easily have contracted this dread disease. Jesus did not need to touch the leper, but He did. To Jesus, desire for the well-being of humans is grounds to state His disregard for the taboos and impurity laws placed upon the people. Everyone is deserving of mercy and Jesus does not minister from long distance. Jesus work brought Him in direct contact with the plagues of the time, with the sinners everyone else turned their back on, and the outcast who were not allowed to be part of the community. Craddock states Jesus “work of forgiving brought Him in contact with sinners; His work of lifting placed Him among the fallen; His Words of encouragement were given among the hopeless; His healing put Him with the diseased; His giving new life took Him to the tomb.”**
Today we are more aware of the many skin diseases which were referred to as leprosy in the time of Jesus. We know how to prevent their spread and how we can protect ourselves from them. Yet, how do we respond to those around us who are sick; those with chilling, often fatal diseases? Most persons with highly communicable diseases are isolated from the general public. However, there are even more people with diseases which are not necessarily contagious, but are incurable, who are socially isolated. Many people are very hesitant to touch a person with AIDS or even cancer. Right when these children of GOD most need human contact, a hug or someone to hold their hand, they find those around them drawing back, withholding that much desired affection. Social isolation is even more devastating than physical isolation to these suffering persons.
When my father was hospitalized he developed a highly transmissible infection and was placed in a special ‘negative-pressure atmosphere’ room. To get in to see him we had to dress in a disposable robe and hat, latex gloves, and a face mask. We had to scrub in and scrub out as we entered and exited through a second room to get into the room where Dad was. I will admit, I felt a bit uncomfortable in that room, but I needed to be able to spend time with Dad and those were the requirements placed upon us. Jesus did not cut Himself off from the leper; instead He healed him by touching him. I will never know the effect my presence had upon Dad, but I do know how much those few moments mean to me.
Mercy, or if you prefer, compassion toward others is the way Christ expects us to display our faith in Him. We each have at some time sought after and received mercy. How did we respond? How did this leper respond to the compassion of Jesus? “He went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word.” When anyone has been healed of such a debilitating disease and allowed to return to a life of normalcy, all through the touch of the Savior, then they must tell everyone of the goodness GOD has shown them. Jesus demonstrated His respect for the Jewish tradition of going to the priest and told the leper “go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” However, the leper rejected the requirements of the Law in order to spread the news of what Jesus had done for him.
Jesus had “sternly warned” this leper before telling him to go to the priest. It is my belief this stern warning was not necessarily telling him not to tell anyone what had happened; rather it was much the same warning Jesus gave the woman caught in adultery, “Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.’” Leprosy was considered to be punishment for certain particularly grievous sins. Therefore Jesus used this opportunity to challenge the healed leper to turn from his sinful ways. Jesus then gave this man two instructions; first was to be quiet about what had happened and second was to follow the requirements of the Law. The leper did neither. Instead he responded by displaying that nothing should keep people from telling others what Jesus has done for them. This unwanted publicity created greater audiences for Jesus, but not necessarily greater congregations. Many more came, causing Jesus to move out of the city into the countryside, onto the mountainsides, and into boats. The crowds became so great the streets could not hold them. Still the crowds came to Him, which was His ministry to begin with. Jesus is with those who desire Him, wherever they are and wherever He is. Jesus did not want people coming to Him out of curiosity, but from a faith of understanding who He is and what He is all about. Jesus is about mercy, about healing the sick, and returning the outcast to community. Reverend Craddock says, “All the way to the Cross Jesus will be trying to get those who think “where the Messiah is, there is no misery” to accept a new perspective – “where there is misery, there is the Messiah!’”*** Come to Christ and seek His mercy in whatever is hurting you today.
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT...AMEN
*-*** All references to Reverend Craddock refer to: Preaching Through the Christian Year – B, Fred B. Craddock, et.al., Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 1993. Page 103-4.
