1) Salvation for an outcast
1 When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him.
2 And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”
3 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. O
4 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.”
In this passage we see that after Jesus preached, great crowds followed Him. And we are told in Matthew 4 that before Jesus preached, He had healed other people in Capernaum and Galilee. Now we read in verse 2 that a leper came to Him. This account of the leper being cleansed is, in fact, a picture of salvation.
❖ The leper hears of Jesus and comes to Jesus
This leper had heard of Jesus, of the power and healings that had occurred through Him. And all these stories about Jesus had made an impression upon him. He had nothing to lose. He decided to come to Jesus.
❖ The leper was unclean
Leprosy, in those days, was a terrible, incurable disease. The Bible records many people having leprosy. For example, in the book of Leviticus, a person having leprosy was considered ceremonially unclean and a danger to other people. A leper was not allowed to be near other Israelites and forced to live in a separate location. Leprosy was a skin disease, whereby the skin of a leper started to rot. And this rotting of the flesh could spread. Slowly lepers lost parts of their bodies like fingers, or toes, or eyes. And people who had leprosy stank because of the rotting of their flesh.
Generally speaking, people who had leprosy, were considered by the people of God, the Jews, to be under God’s wrath. Think of Miriam, Aaron’s sister. When she rebelled against Moses God struck her and she became leprous. Think of Naaman and Elisha. When Naaman was cured by God by the word of Elisha and Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, coveted his garments and riches, God judged Gehazi, and he became leprous. We also read of King Uzziah in 2 Chronicles 16, who went into the holy place and burnt sacrifices, doing what he was not permitted to do. God judged and punished him with leprosy, and he remained that way until he died. So, leprosy was considered to be a judgment of God upon a person. A leper was considered to be a castaway and not able to go into the temple or be part of civilian life. But in our text, we see this leper coming to Jesus.
❖ The leper had faith in Jesus
Our text reads: “And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”
In the original text, we see something striking. The Greek word “knelt” is
“proskeneo”. That word can also be translated as “worship”. That’s why, in
other translations like the NKJV and the KJV, it reads “worship.” Now, whether
the Holy Spirit wants us to understand that the leper only knelt or worshipped
is difficult to determine from that one word only. The reading “worshipped”
is preferred for two reasons. The leper believed Jesus could heal him from his
sickness and no normal person had the ability to do such a thing. But the
second reason is the way in which he addressed Jesus. He said, “Lord”. Now,
again, the word, “Lord” in Greek is “kurios” which could also be translated
“sir”. But in our context, it becomes evident that this leper had faith in the
miracle working power of Jesus. He viewed Jesus not only as a normal person, but as Yahweh, as Lord, and therefore he knelt down and worshipped him. And see what faith he possessed. It was faith in the power of Jesus to heal him and make him clean.
2 “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”
Remember, this leper, was considered to be under the judgment of God. But now he expresses his faith that God could take away not only his leprosy, but also God’s wrath and judgement upon him.
❖ Jesus heals Our text reads:
3 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
The first remarkable thing here is that Jesus stretched out his hand to touch him. Nobody would ever dare to touch a leper in those days. Leprosy was considered to be contagious. That’s why we read in Leviticus, that if anyone had leprosy, whatever he or she touched had to be destroyed and even the house in which a leper lived was considered to be unclean and had to be cleansed. But here we see Jesus touching the leper.
The leprosy had no power over Him. Jesus, filled with compassion and love, wanted to heal the man. We don’t know how advanced the leprosy was in his case – some commentators say it was very advanced looking at the same story recorded in the gospel of Mark. The fact of the matter is this: the leper was desperate. Leprosy was, in a certain sense, a death sentence for many. The leper came to Jesus. He had faith in Jesus. He worshipped Jesus. He had nowhere else to turn.
And now, Jesus showed His power and compassion, by healing him. By saying the words, “be clean”, the leper immediately became clean. This is the power of God and the compassion of God on display.
Jesus saved the leper’s life. He healed his body and made a way for him to be included once more in the covenant community. We don’t know whether the leper had sinned grievously against God, or why he had leprosy. Jesus took away the stigma that hung over his life, providing a way for him to be restored into community life. Through faith, Christ saved him.
❖ The leper was included in the church
4 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.”
So firstly, we ask, why did Jesus say to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone”?
This is not the only place in the New Testament where Jesus told someone He had healed to be quiet about it. Sometimes He told people, like the man out of which he drove out many demons, to go and tell others. In fact, after Jesus’ resurrection He told his disciples to go to the nations and tell of His power. But we have to say that there was, according to God’s will, a place and time for everything.
Jesus was at the beginning of his ministry and would not want to attract too much attention to Himself as He had work, (His Father had prepared), to do. Jesus came to preach the good news and to disciple his disciples. He had an appointed time to be in Israel. He did not come to be a celebrity. He came to be despised and rejected of men.
Jesus said, “go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a proof to them”. The first thing we should realise is that Jesus honoured the Mosaic Law. He did not come to abrogate the law, but to fulfil the law which said that if someone’s leprosy was healed, he/she should show themselves to the priest and bring two birds. When the priest did a thorough examination and was convinced that the leper was cleansed, one bird had to be sacrificed as a guilt offering, and the blood of the bird had to be sprinkled on the previously diseased person seven times, symbolizing his cleansing. Then the other bird had to be released in the open field, symbolising the fact that the leper was now free to enjoy fellowship with other believers in the temple and in civilian life.
❖ The leper became a witness
This leper became a witness of gospel grace. That is what the Mosaic Law pointed to. That leper was cleansed and included into the church of God. This is what had happened to this leper:
He had heard of Christ, and his miracle healings
He came to Christ in his terrible condition
He expressed his faith in Christ’s ability to heal him
Christ healed him, and cleansed him
Christ took away his leprosy and so God’s judgement upon him
Christ directed him to the temple where the bird’s blood was sprinkled over him
That blood pointed to Christ’s blood which is the only blood that can take away the stench and the defilement of sin
And after that, he was included into fellowship with other believers
This is as clear a gospel picture of salvation as you will ever see!
When the leper obeyed God, he became a witness of Christ’s saving and healing power!
This is how any sinner gets saved by God:
He hears of Christ and His power and compassion
He comes to Christ in his terrible, sinful condition that deserves the wrath of God and is worse than leprosy; we can call it spiritual leprosy
He comes to God in faith and pleads for cleansing and healing of his sin-sick soul
Christ applies his blood to the soul and cleanses and heals him of his sin
God then, in his mercy, not only cleanses him, but adopts him into his family as a full member.
Has this happened to you my friend?
Has Christ cleansed you of your sins?
God has the power to cleanse you and heal you of all your sins!
God is willing to cleanse us from our sins
You must come to him in faith and believe and say:
‘If you are willing you can make me clean!!’
Come in faith! Know that Jesus is a powerful and compassionate Saviour.
He has the ability to save and cleanse you no matter how badly you have sinned!
His blood shed on the cross takes away the wrath and judgment you deserve.
INTERETHNICMISSIONS 