“And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and
kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst
make me clean (Mark 1:40).” Leprosy was the AIDS of the first
century. A person with leprosy was driven from society and became an
outcast. Strict rules were given to them to live by (Leviticus
13:45-46) and anyone that touched them was made ceremonially unclean
(Leviticus 15). No one had anything to do with lepers.
No one, that is, but Jesus. “And Jesus, moved with
compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him... (Mark 1:41a).”
The touch of Jesus was not a touch of revulsion, but one of
compassion. The priests had no ability to cleanse a leper, but our
great High Priest and King is moved with compassion cleansed him.
Leprosy has always been associated with sin and corruption, so the
scripture says that leprosy must be cleansed. Though the sinner is
corrupted by sin, Jesus is willing and able to make the sinner clean
by the His gracious touch.
The leper's prayer was: “If thou wilt, thou canst
make me clean.” The prayer of faith is at heart submissive prayer:
“If thou wilt...” Once the petitioner comes in humble submission
to Jesus he can be confident that the answer to his petition will
be“I will... (Mark 1:41b).” So many that have lived a life of
sin feel that they are untouchables. They have believed the devil's
lie that they are forever abandoned by the Lord. That is not the
teaching of scripture (Isaiah 55:7), nor the experience of we who
have come to Christ. We have found that Jesus is willing to receive
all who come by faith to Him.
Hear the wonderful words of release to both the leper
and sinner alike: “...be thou clean (Mark 1:41c). Are you
corrupted by sin? Kneel before the Savior by faith, humbly make
known your petition, and you will experience the touch of Jesus that
makes you whole. None can come to Jesus but those that have the
great burden of their sin. All those that come to Jesus have had
their burden lifted and the stain of their sin cleansed. Paul said,
after listing those excluded from the kingdom of God, “And such
were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye
are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our
God (1 Corinthians 6:11).”
Notice how quickly and completely the leper is
cleansed. “And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy
departed from him, and he was cleansed (Mark 1:42).” The same is
true of every sinner that comes to Jesus. They kneel down as sinners
bound for hell and rise up a saint made fit for heaven through faith
in Jesus Christ. Just like the leper, the sinner did nothing but
come to Jesus in faith. So it is “Not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us... (Titus
3:5).”
After the leper was cleansed, Jesus commanded him,
“...See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself
to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses
commanded, for a testimony unto them
(Mark 1:43-44).” Few of the priests had ever seen leprosy
cleansed. What a blessing Christ wanted to bestow on them. What a
testimony every saint of God has that can bless others. Someone has
said that witnessing is just one beggar telling another beggar where
to find bread. So those saved by Jesus should bless others with the
good news.
It is both a blessing and distressing what the former
leper did: “But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to
blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly
enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came
to him from every quarter (Mark 1:45).” The former leper was
forbidden by Christ to tell anyone and he told everyone he met. We
are commanded to proclaim the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15),
and remain silent. Get to a private place and meditate on what Jesus
has done for you. Repent and open your mouth to proclaim Jesus
Christ. Go now and serve your King.
No comments:
Post a Comment