Matthew 8 - 7.8.26
Scripture
“Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” (Matthew 8:2)
Observation
This story of the leprous man who approached Jesus is recorded in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. Leprosy was a highly feared, contagious and incurable disease of that time. Those who had leprosy were ostracized, and not allowed to mix with society. They were outcast and thrown out of their families and homes. Under the Levitical law, they had to live outside of society, and had to cover themselves and cry out “unclean, unclean” so that no one would even accidentally touch them. People would pass to the other side of the road if they see a leper, just to avoid any accidental contact.
It was in those days, that a leper found the courage to approach Jesus. He knelt before him and asked, “Lord if you are willing, you can make me clean”. Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man (Matt 8:3). Jesus could have just said, “yes I am willing, be clean”. He didn’t have to touch a man considered untouchable, with open wounds all over his body. Jesus loved Him. This was one of his children for whom He had come to die. Moved with love and compassion, He touched the leper. Then he said, “I am willing, be clean”. Immediately he was healed.
Jesus’s encounter with this leper was so remarkable and significant on so many levels that three of the four gospel writers decided to include an account of this!
Application
The leperous man seeked the will of God. He was not sure if it was God’s will for him to be healed. To know the will of God, we need to know the written word of God. Today we know that it is God’s will to heal us, because it is written in the Bible. When Jesus died on the cross, he suffered unimaginable wounds and stripes - and the Bible says by his wounds (stripes), we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5, 1 Peter 2:24). Just like how Jesus's death on the cross brought us salvation, it also brought us healing.
Do not be unwise but know the will of God, the Bible says (Eph 5:17). When we are at a crossroad of life, or at a fork in the road, it is always wise to seek God’s will before choosing a path based on our wisdom. God has promised to direct our steps. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths (Prov 3:5-6, NKJV). God has promised to show us the next steps, and direct our paths if we trust him and not lean on our own understanding, and seek him in all our ways.
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal 5:22). The first attribute of the fruit of the Spirit is “love”. Let us love like Jesus loved. Let us love the unlovable, the forsaken, and the orphan and the widow, and those who are on the fringes of society. Let us love not in word, but in deed. We read in 1 John 3:17-18, “If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God's love be in that person? Dear children, let's not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions”.
Prayer
Dear Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for your love for me. Thank you for loving me when I was unlovable. Thank you for loving me, just like you loved the leprous man. Thank you for reaching out and touching and healing me. I want to be like you, Lord. I want to love those who you bring into my life, the way you love them. Please help me to do that. I don’t want to be unwise but know the will of God (Eph 5:17). Help me to seek your will and follow your will for my life. I pray that I may be filled with the knowledge of your will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding (Col 1:9). Please direct my steps. In Jesus’s name, I pray. Amen.
- Asha Chacko George
