Matthew 8:1-4
“I will;
be clean.”
Could it be that religion has kept many from experiencing
the healing touch of our Lord? Religion
comes with dos and don’ts and as we examine this story of the leper, it seems
very familiar to most of the encounters Jesus had in the Scripture with people
who came to Him with an unfixable need.
Let’s begin as Jesus is coming down from the mountain and a
great crowd followed him. We pick up the
story in verse 2-4, “And behold, a
leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can
make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I
will; be clean.” And immediately
his leprosy was cleansed. 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.”
For
my readers who are rule keepers, you are not going to like this leper, for he
is breaking all the rules of his society, in that he is not to come near a person
who does not have leprosy. The leper is
unclean, and the following is what was required: “The leprous person who has the disease shall
wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover
his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ He shall remain unclean as long
as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall
be outside the camp.” (Leviticus 13:45-46) Does the leper not understand the rules, not
a chance, for years he has lived outside the camp, but today he’s going for
broke; he is an outcast, a person of little or no worth to society, but he has
heard of Jesus who cares for such as him.
So he comes with all to gain and nothing to lose, he comes believing,
his own words make that clear, “Lord,
if you will, you can make me clean.” Now something happened that day that had not happened in
that man’s life for years; a person without leprosy touched him. “And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I
will; be clean.” And immediately his
leprosy was cleansed.”
Religion
would punish anyone who broke such a law, maybe put such a one to death, he was
unclean, he was outside of the camp, and you may also find that religion and
society has put you outside the camp, but if you will do as the leper, and kneel
before Jesus and confess that “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” He
will!
You
may want to read what the Lord told the leper to do that was in keeping with
the Law given to Moses in Leviticus 14.
From
the Back Porch,
Bob
Rice
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