This text illustrates what I choose to call A Leper’s Prayer. Before you think that it is irrelevant, you must understand the level of intensity in prayer that comes from the heart. I can’t think of a situation more drastic, more hideous or more undesirable than that of the life of a leper.
This miracle is one of the first healing miracles in the ministry of Jesus. There are only two examples of lepers being healed in the New Testament. One is here with Mark where this single man is healed from leprosy; the other is in Luke chapter 17 where there were 10 men healed. The Bible says as they went all 10 were healed, but only one came back to praise God. And perhaps that one is the same one Mark is talking about; the same on Matthew is talking about.
This is a prayer coming from a man whose life situation is totally unbelievable. The Bible calls him a leper. Today we call it Hansen’s disease. At that time it was incurable, infectious and contagious; but today it can be treated. It affected the whole body. What is it that affects your whole life? What is it that seems unbearable in your existence? What is going on now with many people that seems unbearable, whether, saved or unsaved? Theologically, leprosy represents sin. Sin is an attack on life; an attack on your existence. The enemy does not want you to survive life. He wants you to end life like he ends life in eternal damnation.
Leprosy began as fatigue, just not feeling well. Then there was pain in the joints; progressing to scaly spots on the skin, then to nodules on the skin filled with pus. The appearance of the face changed to a lion like appearance and the vocal chords were affected with a raspy sound. They were actually decomposing while still alive. Sin will decompose you while you are alive. There may be some issues in your life that if you are not careful, will decompose you while you are walking around. Leprosy attacked the nervous system so that eventually the victim could feel no pain. There was numbness in the extremities, so if he stepped on a rock or a piece of glass he didn’t feel it. Some people go through life almost numb to what is happening to them. The devil is trying to kill them and they think everything is alright.
The condition had a life expectancy of about nine years. But one of the worst aspects of this disease and what drew my attention to the leper’s prayer was the social isolation. (read Leviticus 13) By the time Jesus came along they had extended the isolation factor. For example, in the Old Testament it was not lawful for a leper to be around anyone, but during the time period of Jesus’ ministry if a leper even stuck his head in the door the whole house was declared unclean. It was against the law to even say hello or to greet a leper. It was a lonely life. It was unlawful for a leper to be within 50 feet of anyone and if it was a windy day they had to stay 200 feet away. Two hundred feet from your wife, your children, your husband; two hundred feet from the people you love so dearly. How many folk are distant now because of conditions that have distanced them from family and friends? He couldn’t touch his family in the nine years of life he had left. He could not embrace his loved ones. He could not give a kiss or greeting. The tears that he shed; he had to wipe away himself. There was no one to wipe his tears; no one to tend his sores as the pus ran down and the flies gathered and the stench became unbearable. He had to wear a cloth over his upper lip to hide the distortion.
Because he was contagious when anyone approached he had to cry out unclean, unclean. In other words stay away from me. His family would try their best to help him. They would bring him food but they couldn’t bring the dishes back home. They had to be destroyed. But as time progressed, even his family stopped visiting. In fact they would often have a funeral service on his behalf while he was alive. The person was considered dead while he was alive. The leper’s cries meant don’t touch me.
Often people get things in their hearts against certain conditions of life that they don’t really understand and do some cruel things. People would pick up stones when the leper cried unclean and to be sure he would come near they would throw stones at him. Jesus had been healing the sick, casting out devils and now here is a condition he had never dealt with before. Sometimes we go through life thinking we are dealing with stuff that no one else has gone through. Sometimes we think we are the only ones suffering this malady, whether it is physical, whether it’s mental, whether it’s emotional, whether it’s spiritual, whether it’s family, whether it’s financial; we think we’re the only one. And the enemy wants to isolate you.
But I want you to hear a leper’s prayer today. A leper’s prayer comes from the heart of a person who knows what it is to be a castaway, who knows what it is to be isolated, lonely, set apart and disdained. It took great courage for him to muster the idea that if Jesus, as he watched him from a distance, could open blind eyes and unstop deaf ears and raise a man from his funeral bed and send him back home, surely Jesus can touch my life. Imagine the leper when he hears the news that Jesus is coming to his village. See him over to the side having to stay away as the crowd gathers. But in his heart he knows I can do better than this. In his heart he says I deserve better than this, in his heart he declares I need you God, I need help and there is no one else who is willing to even care about my condition. Some folks you ask to pray for you and they say they will but you don’t know if they prayed or not.
What pushed him through the crowd that day? It took courage for him to even approach the crowd, risking stoning, risking humiliation, risking death. There were 10 lepers; some say maybe the others tried to discourage this one from going to Jesus. They may have said just stay here with us. There are some folks who don’t want you blessed, who don’t want you restored, who don’t want you delivered. They just want you to stay with them; stay in the same condition they are in. Don’t get a new car, don’t get new shoes, and don’t move into nothing. But something pushed him through the crowd. I believe it was the word of God. I believe it was faith. Faith pushed him through the crowd, faith shielded him from being stoned. There are folks who have their minds made up that Jesus won’t help you and that he doesn’t care about anyone like you but faith will push you. How many of you have been pushed by faith? Some things you must do whether you feel like doing it or not. Some things you must do whether any one else agrees. You don’t have to wait for the committee of “they” to vote on the approval of your restoration. God wants to restore you today.
The Spirit of God is what arouses our faith. The Spirit of God sees our condition and realizes the only hope we have is Jesus. And you must do whatever you have to do to get to Jesus. The devil will tell you that you are not worthy. You know what I want to tell him? You are right. I am not worthy in myself but Jesus paid it all. And he opened door that we might have eternal life.
When you look at the leper’s prayer you see that this man came to Jesus in the most effective manner. He said, “Lord if you will. . . .”. This statement acknowledges the truth that the healing rests in the will of God. How many others are willing to do what you need done? Sometimes you can be in a crowd and still be alone. Sometimes you can be with everybody smiling and laughing and still be broken. This leper is following Jesus searching for what other people are take for granted, longing for what other people are used to and crying out for what is normal, just a touch. A touch means from me to you. It means I am transferring what you need, I am with you. Aren’t you glad when God is with you? The leper is longing for a touch. But who is willing? Then he says you can make me clean. He has the power to do it. Here is a man in the last stage of leprosy; if it was cancer we would call it stage four. In Luke chapter 5 verse 12 he said it was a man full of leprosy. Sometimes we are just as full of trouble as we can be, as full of pain as we can be, as full of hopelessness as we can be. I hear the psalmist in Psalms 61 saying when I have reached the end of the earth, when I get to the end of the earth, Lord hear my cry. When my heart is overwhelmed lead me, I’m praying God lead me out of this. Lead me to that rock that is higher than I. Lead me away from this station I’m used to, lead me out of this pit I’ve found myself in.
What I like in verse 41 is that Jesus was moved with compassion. If you are going to be in ministry you must have compassion. It can’t be about you, it’s got to be about somebody else. A simple definition of compassion is a deep sympathy, a deep sorrow, a deep recognition of another person who is stricken by misfortune. Here is the determining factor. Who can have passion and not be compassionate? You can feel for someone and not deliver anything to them. Compassion is not just a feeling of sorrow but it is accompanied by a strong desire and a will to alleviate the suffering. I hear the writer of Hebrews saying we have not a high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities but is in every point tempted as we are yet without sin. The thought here of compassion he is moving with an effort to express love as if to his own family. When the Lord blesses, when the Lord touches he says I am moving like you are my son, like you’re my child, like you’re my brother, like you’re my sister. Jesus said greater love has no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends. I don’t call you servants, I call you my friends. What joy it is to be a friend of God.
Then the Bible says Jesus did something strange he put forth his hand and touched the leper. Touch me Jesus. Lay your hands on me. I need touching right now. I need to know I’m not in this thing by myself. I need to know I’m not walking this valley by myself. I need to know that somebody is with me in this valley. David said, Yea though I walk through the valley and the shadow of death I will fear no evil. I refuse to be intimidated by circumstances and situations in my life because Jesus is with me. How do you know? I received a touch.
An old songwriter said, something down in me is telling me to go ahead, the love of Jesus is telling me to go ahead. Every now and then I get a nudge in the Holy Ghost; I get an okay in the Holy Ghost. When it seems like everything has stopped and every door is closed I get a nudge. The Bible calls it an unction of the Holy Ghost. I don’t know why I keep going, I don’t what’s ahead of me I just got an unction. I got a feeling that everything’s gonna be alright. Touch me Jesus. When everybody else wants to leave me alone, touch me. When everybody else acts like they don’t see me, touch me. Not just a pat on the head, I need a touch. I need a hug every now and then. Embrace me; hold me in your arms. Sometimes brothers it is not all about your romanticism it’s just about holding the one you love, holding your wife close, just a hug. Sometimes riding down the street you need a touch. Sometimes I’m riding down the street with tears running down my face and I’m hearing songs in the back of mind saying oh Lord when I in awesome wonder…How Great Thou Art. I’m in awesome wonder, why You love me like this. I don’t know why You love me like You do, but I thank You. I thank You for Your compassion. When no one else will Jesus will. Jesus put forth His hand. It had been years since anyone had touched the leper; years since he had felt the weight of anyone’s care for him, years since anyone had even looked him in the eyes without frowning, criticizing him or running away. Yet he said Jesus if you will. He really didn’t know Jesus, he knew about Jesus. He wasn’t sure if Jesus would disobey the law. How can I get Jesus to disobey what man says? I hear the Bible saying fear not what man can do to you. He didn’t know what Jesus would do but if you will. He had been isolated, been alone. I don’t know what he expected, maybe he thought someone would stop Jesus before He touched him, saying, no don’t touch him, he has leprosy.
Someone is crying out today, touch me, somebody touch me. Somebody care about me. You have loved ones that need a touch. God can touch them wherever they are. They don’t have to be sitting next to you; they don’t have to be in your presence to get a touch. The eyes of God are in every place behold the evil and the good. He can touch in that hospital room, He can touch in that homeless shelter, He can touch in that jailhouse. He can touch! Ask the woman with the issue of blood she will testify, He can touch. You may not be able to get anything but a hem, but I can touch the hem of His garment and He will touch me back. If you touch God He will touch you back. Touch me Lord Jesus with Your hand of mercy, Your hand of love, Your hand of compassion. There’s an anointing in His hand touch. He releases the favor of God in His hand touch. Lay Your hands on me to anoint, to enable me to be better than what I am, to be stronger than what I am, to be bigger than my problems, bigger than my situations. Anoint me. David said he anoints my head with oil and my cup runs over. Here is the clincher. When He touches you He wants you to touch somebody else. He didn’t heal the leper just to go home and have a good time. He healed him that he might be a blessing to someone else.
You can hear the crowd gasp as Jesus put forth His hand to touch him. In that touch were these words: I love you just the way the way you are and I’m here to help you be what you need to be. Three things happened in the touch:
1. A Transformation. The writer of Romans said, don’t be conformed, quit trying to play like it is alright. Quit trying to act like you don’t have it, like you don’t have leprosy. Quit trying to act like you don’t have any problems. Don’t try to imitate deliverance, don’t try to imitate healing, don’t try to imitate saved. Don’t try to imitate holiness. Be ye holy for I am holy. It doesn’t come by our physical efforts. This man could not find a doctor anywhere that would treat him. But his deliverance came through a transformation. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. You must have a mind to change. When transformation comes it changes in form, it changes in character, it changes in condition and most of all it changes in function. When you are not functioning according to God’s design you are decomposing. When you are not functioning according to what God has put in your heart and you know in your life what you ought to do and ought to be you are out of order. You are malfunctioning. You will not focus right, you will not hear God right. You will turn it on and get a fuzzy sound, the picture is not clear because you are not tuned in to the Spirit of God. The things of God cannot be discerned by flesh, by the carnal mind, by how I think it ought to be. The things of the Spirit can only be discerned by the Spirit of God. God says I need you to be transformed. If any man be in Christ he is not the same. He cussed yesterday; he was a wife-beater, a child molester, a crook, a thief, an adulterer, cheating on his wife, cheating on the job, cheating on God. But transformation brings about a change of character, brings about a change of desire and brings about a change of functioning. Things I used to do I don’t do anymore. If any man be in Christ he is a new creature, old things are passed away and behold all things become new. He was transformed, no longer a leper. No longer did he have to wear dark funeral clothes to indicate he was a dead man walking.
2. A Reformation. Reformation comes from you. Reformation comes from your desire to change. Nobody can reform you. Nobody can change you. Nobody can change me. To be reformed is to undo what now exists and to be reshaped into what should have been. When you go down to the potter’s house you see him making a vessel, what it ought to be, and it is marred while it is in the potter’s hands. But while it’s in the potter’s hands he reforms it and makes it yet another vessel into what God intended it to be. Some things are going on in your life and God never intended for you to function like that. There’s another me inside of me trying to be what God wants me to be. Don’t fight the plan, don’t fight the change. Be reformed through transformation.
3. A Restoration. Restoration is the third thing that happened as the leper prayed and received this touch from God. When you go to prayer you must expect a touch. When you go to prayer it’s not about giving God your list, it’s about hearing from God as well. When you go to God shut your mouth sometimes and hear the voice of God and say yes Lord, yes to Your will. You give Him a yes Lord and you will hear from Him. To be restored is not to just be put back in your original condition but also to be put back in line. When I was messed up, I got of line. The devil tells you that you’re lost, you stayed out too long, you stepped out of line, and you messed up. But God says get back in line. Here is the wonderful part; restoration comes to do two things: a) to repair and b) to revive. God says I came to fix the broken pieces; I came to put it back together. Super glue is not good enough. I came with some Holy Ghost power to put it back like it ought to be, to repair what the devil tried to destroy you with. Quit looking at the wound and look for the restoration. Quit looking at the scars and just say God make me over. He repaired me, I’m gonna celebrate restoration. When you get something repaired and it’s still acting up what to do you do? You take it back. If they still can’t fix it you put it in the junk pile and go get something else. But God says I got nobody to throw away, I got nobody in the junk pile. When I fix it, it is fixed. You don’t have to get anybody’s opinion; you don’t have to get a vote on it. Do you think I’m healed of leprosy? How do I look? No, forget that. I’m repaired. I’m repaired and then I’m revived. I got my strength back. I used to just kinda creep around, but now I’m running through troops and leaping over walls.
In verse 43, an unusual thing happened. Jesus said straitly, which means a stern warning. In verse 44 he said see that thou say nothing to any man. Be careful don’t say anything to anybody but go thy way show yourself to the priest. In other words quit trying to get everybody to agree that you are alright and go to the one who is gonna make it alright. Quit trying to get folks to validate that you are saved or that you are who God says you are. Just be who God made you to be. Most evangelists would say stay around and give your testimony and tell the people what I did for you. But Jesus said I don’t want you talking about what I did. You don’t need the opinion of anybody else. Go to the priest and get a certificate of cleansing, because you’ve got a story to tell, you’ve got a message to deliver and I don’t want you hindered by anything. Don’t let anybody steal your crown, because you have a message to deliver.
Jesus did for us what we could not do for ourselves. In Leviticus chapters 13 and 14 it says that the leper had to come to the priest and the priest had to go out to camp where the leper was. That’s what Jesus did. He was in heaven; he came outside and came down to the camp to where all of us lepers were. The Bible says in Hebrews chapter 13 that Jesus suffered outside the gate. Here’s the end of the story. The priest was to take an earthen vessel, two birds, some wood and hyssop for cleansing. He was to kill one of the birds and let the blood of the bird pour into the vessel. He would then take the blood of the dead bird and spread it on the wings of the live bird. He would take the live bird with blood dripping from its wings into an open field and turn the bird loose. The bird goes flying and when all the lepers looked up and saw the blood dripping from the bird the message was clear that the leper was clean. He was made whole. Jesus’ blood has made us whole.
The leper’s prayer is one of sincerity. The leper’s prayer is one that says Lord I trust the blood. The blood has made me whole; with His stripes I am healed. I am covered with the blood of Jesus. The bird is flying, just look up and live. Look up and be touched. Look up and know that God will answer your prayer.
