A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.
(Mark 1:40-42 NIV)
This morning we continue our series entitled, “The Year of Supernatural Manifestation”, with our mini-series on “The Miracles of Jesus”. In today’s text Jesus healed a leper. Leprosy is an infectious disease that attacks the skin and central nervous system. People with leprosy often do not have the sensation of pain to identify cuts or bruises, hence they frequently injure themselves without knowing. Leprosy also causes multiple lesions on the skin that cause a terrible smell. Lepers, for obvious reasons, were social outcasts. Under the Hebraic Law, lepers were considered unclean and since there was no cure, they were condemned to live the rest of their lives in leper colonies.
Beyond the obvious physical damage caused by leprosy, the treatment of lepers could easily cause psychological harm as well. They died a slow physical, mental and emotional death. It is easy to understand why a man with leprosy came and bowed down to Jesus, his only glimmer of hope. This man’s statement exposes the fact that he had already resolved within his heart that Jesus was bigger than his problem. He did not ask Jesus if He could, but his inferiority complex wondered if he would. The text then reveals a facet of Jesus that can bring us comfort this morning. Mark says that Jesus was filled with compassion.
Jesus was not motivated to heal people because He could. Jesus was motivated by love. Jesus felt the heart of those that needed healing. His passion for the Father was exemplified in His compassion for people. I believe Jesus looked passed the outward appearance of the man and saw someone hurting more on the inside than the outside. This is why He reached out His hand and touched him before He healed him. Jesus did what no other human had done since the disease had befallen him. Jesus provided what the man so eagerly longed for – a human touch. Jesus did the unthinkable and touched the untouchable. Jesus loved him enough to meet him where He was, but He loved him too much to leave him there. Jesus said, “I am willing, be clean!” This statement contains both Jesus’ character and His power. Because of His compassion, He wanted to, by His power, He did! Immediately the leprosy left the man and he was healed.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things. I will provide some points that come from the position of the leper and a few from the position of Jesus.
Looking at the story from the position of the leper:
1. You are never out of God’s reach. There is nothing God can’t do, no disease He can’t heal, and no gap He can’t breach to manifest His love and power to you.
2. God will meet you where you are. Jesus did not condemn the leper in Mark 1 for his disease. Jesus did not chastise the man for wondering if He would even heal him. Jesus loved him where he was and how he was, but He loved him too much to leave him that way. The same applies to you today. God is not holding your situation over your head. He loves you just the way you are, and He loves you so much that He will not leave you there. If you will allow Him, God will change your life forever.
3. You must be willing to bring your issue to God. The leper in Mark 1 came and bowed down before Jesus. He knew Jesus had power over leprosy, but if he never did anything with that knowledge, he would have never been healed. He pursued Jesus, he humbled himself in Jesus’ presence, and he received his breakthrough. So, let’s bring this home. You may know that God has the power to turn your situation around. But have you brought the issue to Him? Have you humbled yourself in His presence and asked for His involvement? You have not, because you ask not.
Looking at the story from the position of Jesus:
4. You are called to operate with compassion. Like Jesus, your passion for God should be exemplified in your compassion for men. Don’t tell me you love a God you cannot see, but you can’t stand the people you see everyday (1 John 4:20).
5. You are called to operate with divine courage. Not only did Jesus have the power to heal the leprosy, but Jesus touched the leper before He healed him. Jesus healed the man’s heart before He healed his skin. Jesus was not afraid of the leprosy getting on Him.
a) In the Old Testament, whatever an unclean thing/person touched made it unclean. In other words, under the Old Testament, sin contaminated everything it touched. This is why the Jews never mixed with other cultures and they never extended their culture to foreigners.
b) In the New Testament we are made holy and righteous by the Blood of Jesus. Now, when we touch something or someone who is unclean, they don’t make us unclean, we make them clean! In the Old Testament, if something holy touched something unclean, the holy thing/person had to be ceremonially cleaned. But in the New Testament, there is no fear of being contaminated. God calls us to extend His love and His power to the world, believing that we will be the influencers, and not the other way around.
Closing Confession: Father, this is a year of Great Victory for me. I am ready to experience Your power like never before. I humble myself in Your presence. I bow down before Your throne. I worship Your holy name. I bring any issue that arises to Your feet. I welcome Your involvement in every area of my life. And I thank You Father, for blessing me to be JUST LIKE JESUS in this world. My passion for You is exemplified in my compassion for others. I am not afraid of anything that is on others getting on me. I believe that what is on me, will get on them! So I offer Your love and Your power to this world daily. I do this for Your glory! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and prosper!
