Jesus is Willing

Jesus is Willing.

 And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean. "Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." Matthew 8:2-4.   Most of us are familiar with the account of Jesus healing the leper, but that doesn’t mean we fully understand its significance.

 If you’re not in the middle of anything, leave your 2015 mindset for a bit, and travel back to 30AD with me.  In the ancient world, leprosy was the most terrible of diseases.   Not only was it physically horrific, but the emotional consequences that accompanied it had people calling it the “Living Death“. Depending on the type of leprosy one contracted, the life expectancy, if you could call it life, could be anywhere from 9-30 years.  The physical condition was too horrible to detail, but there was something which made it even worse.  As soon as an individual was diagnosed, they were absolutely and completely banished from human society.  It didn’t  matter if you were, young or old, rich or poor, adult or child, male or female the Law said this:  “he is a leprous man, he is unclean. The priest shall surely pronounce him unclean; his infection is on his head. "As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be uncovered, and he shall cover his mustache and cry, 'Unclean! Unclean!' "He shall remain unclean all the days during which he has the infection; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp. Leviticus 13:44-46.  At a time when you needed the love and support of family, friends and community you became a pariah, doomed to live forever “outside the camp“.

Only one thing was considered more unclean than contact with a leper, and that was contact with a dead body.  It’s impossible to understand what these people experienced, but we get an idea of the desperation though the leper in this story.  He knew full well that to come close, let alone touch, an unaffected person was forbidden.  But, desperate times called for desperate measures.  He must have heard of Jesus, and about the miracles that were attributed to him, so even though it was against the Law, he approached.

Let’s look at this passage again, more closely.  1.) The leper came near with confidence.  He somehow knew that Jesus could do it, but would he?  2.) He came in humility.  He didn’t demand healing, he politely asked Jesus if he was willing to make him clean.  3.) He came with reverence, bowing before him.  The Greek word that we translate to bowed, is never used for anything other than worship of the gods.  Without telling anyone else, he  knew that he was in the presence of God.

Now, take a look at how Jesus responded…he stretched out HIS hand, and touched HIM.  It doesn’t say that the leper held his hand out, it says Jesus made the move first.  With compassion, he, a Jewish man, who had been raised to follow the Law, reached out physically to the desperate man.  It was not uncommon for Jews, even the rabbis to throw rocks at any leper who came within 4 feet of them, but Jesus touched him. Don’t overlook the enormity of that move.  Forget the healing, for a moment, and concentrate on the human connection in that touch.  What joy must have flooded over him, followed by the realization that the disease had left his body.  Mere words can’t express the emotions in that moment.

You may never have thought about it, but we were all that diseased man, before coming into relationship with Christ.  Our life was lived apart from him, outside God’s camp.  Somewhere along the way we heard about the Savior, and only then did we realize our predicament. In asking for his cleansing touch, we, too, were made whole.   Jesus didn’t come to save the well, but to heal the sick, and that’s still the plan.  And Jesus answered and said to them, "It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. "I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." Luke 5:31-32.  Don’t waste another minute living apart from his healing, saving and grace-filled touch.  He is still Willing.