The Touch Of The Master’s Hand
Mt. 8:1-4, Mark 1:40-45,
Intro.
There is little said about this leper, it’s almost as if God the Holy Spirit decided at the last moment to include this account. But we know nothing is ever done or said in the Bible that is not important to his people. We are told so little it makes us to wonder what it was that God wants us to see?
I. The Tradgedy Of The Disease:
1. Physical:
The physical distruction of the body is terrible. It is a disease that works quietly, painlessly, somewhat slowly, but always deadly. There are two kinds of leprosy both are deadly and equally distructive. We live in an age that recognizes leprosy only as a word. We have never seen the horror of someone mutalated beyond recognition and still walking.
One type of leprosy has a life expectancy of ten years, the other of twenty years. But even ten years of sleeping in the city’s dump with other lepers would appear to be far too long to the individual. They have been reduced down to animals having to find food in the garbage that others had thrown out. Sleeping in the cold huddled together with other lepers trying to stay warm.
A life you and I cannot understand and we don’t want to. We want to imagine that without feeling pain it should be alright, but imagine if you will the loss of fingers and toes. And each time you experience one loss of knowing there shall be more.
Most of us are vain in certain areas. I remember my brother-in-law telling about losing his front teeth because he hadn’t taken care of himself with diabetes. My heart went out to him just hearing the story after he had gotten false teeth to replace them.
As bad as we might feel over the loss of our teeth is nothing compared to the poor leper? One type of leprosy was identified by the shining white patches which burst; bone by bone drops off; the skin is mummy like; the lips hang down exposing the teeth and gums. The leper soon began to look hideous so noone wanted to touch him if they were allowed.
What would it be like to lose a finger, a part of an ear; maybe your whole hand would just fall off. I don’t believe you and I can even realize or imagine such a thing for it’s really too painful.
Joseph Damien was a missionary in the nineteenth century who served as minister to people with leprosy on the island of Molokai, Hawaii. Those suffering grew to love him and revered the sacrificial life he lived out before them.
One morning before Joseph was to lead them in their daily worship, he was pouring some hot water into a cup when the water swirled out and fell onto his bare foot. It took him a moment to realize that he had not felt any sensation. Gripped by the sudden fear of what this could mean, he poured more hot water on the same spot. No feeling whatsoever.
Damien immediately knew what had happened. As he walked tearfully to deliver his sermon, no one at first noticed the difference in his opening line. He normally began each sermon with, "My fellow believers." But this morning he began with, "My fellow lepers."
2. Legal:
The law in Jesus day were very strict on a leper. He was to be cast out of the camp. His clothing was to be ripped into rags to show he was a leper. He wore a bell around his neck to warn people of his coming. But even with the bell he must cover his mouth and cry out unclean, unclean. Once the priest declared a person to be unclean with leprosy he was considered to be a dead man.
He had no rights whatsoever; if he had a business it was taken from him. He became a nobody, he was shunned by everyone that seen him.
3. Social:
He was not allowed to touch another person unless it was another leper. He must live his life isolated from others. He could not live at home and he could not even touch his own wife or children. And he could not work or own any type of business.
Could you or I imagine seeing our loved only from long distance. Watching from afar as our children played. Seeing our wife going to the market and not being able to go up to her and speak, much less embrace her or kiss her? The leper was not only cast out legally but he was socially outcast. He no longer had friends he could visit and talk to. They were afraid of him as was his wife and children.
II. The Temptations Of The Leper:
I would say the greatest temptation that the leper had was to sneak back into society. It was probably not too hard in the early stages but of course later on it became almost impossible.
God uses leprosy to show us what sin is like. It comes on us slowly at first without pain. It has a great hold on us by the time we realize what it’s doing. Sin can be very embarrassing and much of it can destroy us physically. But with all of this our temptation is to act as if nothing is wrong.
There are a lot of social outcast in our day and often it is no fault of their own. They are like the leper afraid to approach those around them and often their problem is so hideous no one wants to touch them. Maybe they are just poor and have to live in substandard housing. A woman may have a drunken husband and no one wants to go see her because of his verbal abuse.
III. The Touch Of The Master: vs. 2-4, “And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.”
1. The Leper’s Cry:
The first thing we notice is that the leper came and worshipped our Lord. We do not know why he worshipped our Lord but I believe it was truly worship and not just lip service to get what he wanted. He would have bowed down to the ground. We have problems just bending our knees but they fell down upon their face to show their unworthiness in the sight of the Lord.
The man may have come with anger in his heart but when he saw Jesus he lost all of his anger and became humble in the sight of the Lord. He had to come near the crowd to get near Jesus and I’m sure he came fearfully, not knowing what the crowd might do, and certainly not knowing what Jesus would do.
I can just imagine how he came and said, “Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me whole.” His voice probably croaked an awful lot like a frog for the leprosy had affected it. There was no defiance only a pleading look in his eyes.
2. The Lord’s Compassion:
In the book of Mark it says Jesus was moved with compassion, there are not many places in the Bible where this is said. It let’s us know that Jesus in his humanity had emotional feelings he was moved with compassion.
When he looked into the leper’s eyes he knew what this man had been through. And he reached out and touched him. I can just imagine how the crowd must have recoiled when they saw the Lord actually touch this leper. He could have spoken the word without touching him and yet he knew what the leper needed. This man had not felt the touch of another human since he had been diagnosed with leprosy.
We don’t know what it would be like not to have another person to touch us. But if you notice the scripture Jesus did not heal him with a touch, but the word says, “And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”
The touch was so the leper might understand that Jesus felt a great love for him, for he was one of God’s own. We need to know that our touch can often impart a love and care that we can’t express with our voice. Go through the nursing home and touch those you speak to and see the glow of warmth and appreciation light up their eyes.
3. The Leprosy Is Cured: “And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”
Jesus healed him with the speaking of the word but he wanted to show that he cared. He wants you and I to know that he has saved us but also he loves us. He is willing to touch us when we are at our worst, when we are covered with sin, our Lord reaches out to us. We should be willing to reach out to others and show the Christian love that is within us.
IV. The Lord’s Commission:
He may have stayed up close to the leper and said unto him, “See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.”
The leper was like you and I. It seems impossible to keep quiet when we are blessed of God. We want to shout it out so all might know that are Lord loves us and cares for us.
