1) When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him.
2) And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean."
3)And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
4)And Jesus said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them."
My pastor touched on this on Sunday. So beautiful the way that he pointed out the love of Christ for us as individuals, and challenged us to reflect that to others.
In the above story....we are hearing about a leper. Back in those days someone with that sickness was abandoned by everyone in their lives, they were told and believed that they were cursed by God, they were considered unclean and totally outcaste. They could not hide their sickness...they literally "wore it on their face". They were considered DEAD by everyone.
Jesus saw more...he saw the unseen needs of this person. He knew there was more going on inside this man than the obvious. That despite his obvious "flaws" there was inner pain and need. That the healing he was seeking was not just external, but internal.
Back in those days when you were a leper you were required by law to stay away from everyone and if someone approached you you were to identify yourself by yelling "unclean" aloud, so people could go the other way.
This leper, despite the rules and oppression of others was BOLD, and expressed Faith. He did not demand Christ to heal him, he asked Him if He would be willing. Basically saying...."Jesus, I know what I am...I am unclean, and unworthy. But I know who You are, and if you are willing to heal me...I ask you to do this because I know you are able."
See...Jesus works on the behalf of individuals. This leper was not part of the great crowd He was teaching to...he was, as lepers were, on the outskirts. Jesus had to make His way through the crowd to him. And He does that, doesn't He? Meets us exactly where we are no matter where that is? Our circumstances, our flaws, sins, or short comings don't matter....when we ask for help He makes His way to us RIGHT WHERE WE ARE...JUST AS WE ARE. He is compassionate. He cares. He IS WILLING...all we have to do is ask.
There have been many times in my personal life I remember feeling so unworthy of God's love and help. But I can tell you that in my darkest hours, with all my brokenness....He reached out and grabbed me when I needed Him the most. It just took me a long time to realize that He had always standing there....the whole time with His arms ready. He was just waiting on me.
He doesn't just see the outside failures, flaws, and imperfections that the world sees. He sees the inside of you. The inner pain, insecurities, voids, and scars. And like in the story...HE TOUCHES THE UNCLEAN THINGS that no one else would. It would have been easy to just wave His hand and heal him like a magician for all to see, but NO!!!....He reached out and laid His hands on him. Showing that He realized this leper's inner feelings of abandonment, and lack of human contact...and was able to heal him that way as well. He handled the man's needs with ACTION not words. He extended a kindness that no one else would show him. He BROUGHT HIS HEALING TO HIM. And that's what He wants to do for you...to bring you strength and use His power to change your life.
Some people are lost in the crowd. Are you someone who feels like that?? I used to be.
Jesus broke the law by touching the leper because it was making Him unclean, but when He touched the man He didn't become unclean. Jesus makes the unclean CLEAN! He heals the impossible. This story wasn't told to tell us about God's ability to heal sickness....it's so much more than that. It's a story to prove God's focus on the heart and inner needs of individual people.
He calls His followers to do what He does. He wants us to show this compassion for the "lepers" in our lives. The people we may know that no one else is willing to reach for. He loves us all. Every individual. He calls us to be like Him. We need to reflect Him...by seeing people and moving toward them, so they might feel like someone is with them and be (through our presence) shown what God is like. We are not to become like them, but to help point them in the right direction. People return where they feel welcome, seen, and paid attention to. Isn't that everyone's inner desire?
Be the evidence of God in someone's life.
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