The Unclean - the Untouchables

Luke 5:12-16

Faith comes in many ways, but it is most prevalent in times of great need.  To be a leper in the day Jesus walked the earth was a great need.  This was required of them; “Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp.

Dr. Luke gives this account, Jesus is in one of the cities, and “there came a man full of leprosy.  And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”  (Luke 5:12)  Now it sounds like this guy was eaten up with leprosy, and he ignored or forgot the procedures the Lord had given to Moses found in Leviticus 13.  There is no doubt he knew them, in fact it is not conceivable to believe for years this man Dr. Luke refers to as a leper had been yelling out to all those who he came near, I’m unclean.  And to this date no one was able to help him, and maybe no one had ever even tried.

But the leper must have heard of Jesus, and if you would do the impossible and put yourself in the lepers place, what would you do if you had encountered this man, the one people are saying can heal the sick and cast out evil spirits?  I’m not sure about you, but this I’m sure of I would do anything to be clean, to be able to see my family, be with my wife and children, go to the synagogue and to the market place, to be touched and be seen as a human once more.

Now Jesus did something so amazing, this man had not been touched since the day the priest told him he was unclean, and Jesus touched him.  Now that alone was a wonderful act, but it did not stop there, Jesus said to the leper, “I am willing; be clean.”  And six months later after doing penance he was healed; wrong, so wrong, we are told in verse 13b, “And immediately the leprosy left him.”  But that is not the end of the story, Jesus charged him to tell no one but “go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”  This man is restored, he is well, he is clean, but Jesus has him obey the Law of Moses and do as it instructed. 
It is hard to keep that kind of event quiet and the word got out and people came from all over looking for Jesus to heal them or someone they loved.  Dr. Luke implies the crowds were getting very large, and Jesus often would withdraw to a desolate place and pray.  Jesus was not using His being God, but as a man He was going to the Father for the power to do things we refer to as miracles, and yes they were miracles.

I struggle in many areas of my life with Christ, often I’m fearful of the ones our world has branded unclean or untouchable, and the reason why is always a lack of withdrawing to a desolate place to talk with the Father about how He wants me to be light in this world.  How are you doing with the unclean and the untouchables?

From The Back Porch,
Bob Rice