Able and Willing

As you think back over your life, do you remember a time when you felt utterly desperate, totally

powerless to bring the change that you longed for?

This morning as we continue on with the story of Jesus, we're going to hear the story of

a man who was in that place.

Sometime after Jesus had begun to call his disciples to follow him, he came to a town and while

Jesus was in this town, a man came along who was covered with leprosy.

Luke describes the condition of this man with just a few words.

He was covered with leprosy.

Now the word that's used here for leprosy was a broad term that included various kinds of

skin diseases back then.

Most of the time when we hear that word, our minds go immediately to Hansen's disease.

And if you know anything about Hansen's disease, it's a chronic infectious disease caused by

certain variety of bacteria.

It primarily affects the skin, peripheral nerves, upper respiratory tract, and eyes.

And left untreated, Hansen's disease can do irreparable damage to a person's body.

Just a few pictures taken from an online encyclopedia.

According to some of the sources I found online, the disease itself actually doesn't directly

cause all the visible damage.

Rather, it causes nerve damage, which prevents people from feeling sensations and pain, which

then leads to subsequent injuries and infections and exposures that are responsible for the deformities

and the damage that you can see in the skin.

But as I said a moment ago, the word used here by Luke was commonly used to describe various

kinds of serious skin diseases.

So Hansen's disease may have been what this man had, but there are also a number of other

serious chronic skin diseases that are possibilities as well.

Some of them are more contagious than others.

From a medical standpoint today, we don't know exactly which skin disease he had, but we do

notice the description.

He was covered with leprosy.

Whatever this man had, it was all over his body, and it was obvious.

It was noticeable.

Most of us today can't even begin to imagine what this must have been like for this man.

But one thing is certain.

It would have led to him being very lonely, isolated, and ostracized by nearly everyone.

First, there's the very visible difference of his appearance to everyone else.

Whether it was scales or open sores or deformity or discoloration, these things are obvious and noticeable.

And it's common for people when they see others who have that kind of a thing going on to just have this gut reaction,

to turn away, to look away, to move away from people who appear to be infected with a skin disease like this.

Second, there is concern by many that they might become infected should they have too close a contact with a person that has this obvious skin disease.

Is it contagious?

Will it spread to me?

And then finally, on top of all that, we read back in the Old Testament about how God had given specific instructions about what they were to do

when people contracted various kinds of skin diseases.

They were to be examined by the priest.

They were then pronounced ceremonially unclean.

And they were put into quarantine outside the camp.

After a while, they could be checked on to see if what they had was healed.

But if it was determined that they had a chronic skin disease, something that would just be ongoing,

they were considered unclean for as long as they had the condition.

They were to wear torn clothes, cover the lower part of their face,

and cry out, unclean, to keep people away from them.

They were to live alone outside the camp.

It's difficult for us today even to imagine what this would have been like for people back then.

According to the regulations that God gave for his tabernacle and temple,

you were not permitted to come worship at the temple if you were unclean.

And in the case of lifelong chronic skin diseases like this,

you were not permitted to live among people at all.

And so people with chronic skin diseases,

they often ended up in small leper colonies

where they lived together,

shut out from society.

Now some have wondered why God gave such a law

about uncleanness and cleanness

in this case.

This would have basically severed a person completely

from all worship

and cut off one of the key components

of having a relationship with God in those days,

which was participation in the temple

and the festivals.

And then to add to that,

being forced to live alone

as an outcast.

And the answer to this is somewhat complicated.

Some have suggested that

back then, God

almost always gave diseases like this

to people as punishment

for wickedness.

Some would argue that

if people were truly sorry

and repentant for their sins

after contracting a disease like this,

that God would always heal them

of a disease like this.

So some suggested

this was the normal way

that God related to his people

under that old covenant law

given through Moses

in the ancient times of Israel.

And it is true

that God

sometimes used plagues

and sicknesses

and sicknesses

in the Bible

as punishment

for wickedness.

It's also true

that God provided

complete healing

and recovery

when wicked men

humbled themselves

before him

who had become sick

with things like this.

But I'm not sure

that it's as simple

as people

with chronic skin diseases

always being guilty

and under God's punishment.

still you can imagine

how this would have affected

the attitude

of the healthy people

in the community

towards

people with

these kinds of conditions.

It was common

for them to look down

upon people

with chronic sicknesses

to think of them

as people

who are just

rotten sinners

suffering

God's judgment.

So imagine

at least as far

as we can

what it would have been like

for this man

who was covered

with leprosy.

What a hard life

to watch people

always turning

their faces away

in disgust

to see parents

grabbing their children

and pulling them away

to see that look

of fear

in the eyes

of people

and to have to

announce

your uncleanness

whenever you approached.

Think about

the reality

that everyone

who had

this kind

of a sickness

every one of them

had a mother

and father

perhaps siblings

a family

from whom

they were cut off

and separated.

One of my favorite

things to do

every single day

is to just pick up

my baby boy

Joseph

and hug him tight

and kiss his

chubby little cheeks

and see his smiles

and his laughs

but for the leper

that closeness

with family

was lost forever.

You didn't dare

get close

to the people

living in the colonies.

You didn't dare

touch them.

Can you imagine

going years

without the touch

of your family

without the touch

of another human being?

We thought

the COVID regulations

were bad

and we were

absolutely done

with them

by the end

of what

two years

but imagine

being cut off

from your family

and friends

for the rest

of your life

and for lepers

it wasn't

controversial

back then.

It was firmly

embedded in society

unclean

stay away

don't even

let them

get near you.

so this man

covered with leprosy

comes to Jesus

when he saw

Jesus

he fell

with his face

to the ground

and begged him

Lord

if you are willing

you can make me

clean

do you see

the desperation

in this man?

he fell

with his face

to the ground

before Jesus

he humbled himself

as low

as a person

can go

face down

probably not even

making eye contact

with Jesus

the smell of the dirt

in his nostrils

and he begged

Jesus

says he begged

he pleaded

with him

do you see

his desperation?

he says

Lord

if you are willing

you can make me

clean

this is amazing

somehow

word has traveled

the news has spread

and this man

has been hearing

about how Jesus

has been healing

people of all

kinds of

sicknesses

illnesses

diseases

and at some point

after hearing

about this enough

this man has come

to the conclusion

not that Jesus

might be able

to heal him

but that Jesus

does have

the power

to heal him

look carefully

at his words

if you are willing

you can

you are able

to make me

clean

it's not a question

in his mind

of whether Jesus

has the ability

to do it

it's a question

in his mind

of whether Jesus

is willing

to do it

if you are willing

do you want to

we don't know

what the man

was thinking

could he have been

wondering about

whether God

really had been

punishing him

with this condition

could he have

wrestled so deeply

with the question

of why God

had allowed this

to happen to him

that he doubted

the kindness

and mercy

of God

we don't know

what's amazing

though

is that he

believes Jesus

is able to

cure

his

incurable

condition

despite having

never seen

or witnessed

a healing

or a miracle

of Jesus

before

but is he

willing

will he care

about me

this man

has probably

known an

abundance

of cruelty

from others

it's probably

become

the normal

scorn

derision

it's what

he expects

from virtually

everybody

Lord

if you are

willing

you can

make me

clean

Jesus

reached out

his hand

and touched

the man

I imagine

that at this

moment

any bystanders

and Jesus

disciples

who were

probably all

keeping a good

distance themselves

I imagine

that they all

gasped

in this

moment

Jesus

just touched

a leper

he just

touched

an unclean

man

what does

this mean

does that

mean that

he's unclean

too

do we need

to keep

our distance

now from

him

until he's

gone through

the purification

rites

who knows

what they

were thinking

but can you

imagine what

this moment

must have

felt like

for this

man

to watch

Jesus

reach out

his hand

toward him

and touch

him

something

nobody had

done

for a long

time

I am

willing

Jesus

said

be clean

and

immediately

the

leprosy

left

him

what

must

those

words

have

meant

to

the

man

I

am

willing

I

want

to do

this

for you

and

then

this

mysteriously

authoritative

command

be

clean

in the

original

language

this was

written

in

it's

just

one

word

Jesus

speaks

one

word

and

immediately

the

leprosy

left

him

we're

talking

instant

visible

skin

transformation

all over

his

body

this is

when I

imagine

all the

bystanders

and Jesus

disciples

gasping

twice as

loud as

the first

time

did you

see that

look

his skin

is changing

verse 14

then Jesus

ordered him

don't tell

anyone

but go

show

yourself

to the

priest

and offer

the

sacrifices

that

Moses

commanded

for your

cleansing

as a

testimony

to them

there's

all kinds

of ideas

here about

what

as a

testimony

to them

means

was it

to prove

that he

was

clean

so that

he could

regain

acceptance

into

society

was it

to testify

to them

that Jesus

does indeed

have the

power to

heal the

sick

think about

the bystanders

for a

moment

if this

man was

unclean

and Jesus

just said

be clean

and now

he's healed

does that

mean that

Jesus has

the power

to actually

make people

clean in

relation to

God

he

did that

he

I

mean

usually

in this

situation

it's

the priest

who

pronounces

a person

clean

and it

has to

be after

examining

the man

to confirm

that he

no longer

has the

skin

disease

but in

this case

it's

almost as

if Jesus

did even

more than

the priest

could do

he didn't

just

pronounce

the man

clean

he made

him

clean

who

knows

what the

bystanders

were thinking

what about

you

Jesus

were you

not made

unclean

by touching

him

but now

he's

clean

this is

how it

typically

worked

if you

did

something

that made

you

unclean

or if

you had

close

contact

with

someone

else

who

was

unclean

it

made

you

unclean

but

after

witnessing

this

it

makes

you

wonder

maybe

it's

the

opposite

with

Jesus

maybe

he

is

the

only

one

who

truly

has

the

power

of

God

to

cleanse

others

that

when

he

touches

them

they

become

clean

before

God

acceptable

before

God

Jesus

told the

man not

to tell

anyone

he's

already

being

swarmed

by

people

daily

and

news

of

these

healings

just

adds

fuel

to

the

fire

in

the

gospel

of

Mark

we're

actually

told

that

he

doesn't

listen

to

Jesus

he

goes

out

and

he

starts

telling

everybody

freely

the

news

and

the

result

of

this

is

that

Jesus

is

not

even

able

to

enter

a

town

openly

anymore

because

of

all

the

crowds

that

are

coming

to

him

imagine

him

trying

to

make

his

way

!

through

the

streets

yet

the

news

about

him

spread

all

the

more

so

that

crowds

of

people

came

to

hear

him

and

to

be

healed

of

their

sicknesses

but

Jesus

often

withdrew

to

lonely

places

and

prayed

with

the

constant

time

spent

with

people

all

day

every

day

you

can

imagine

how

Jesus

would

have

needed

and

cherished

moments

of

solitude

time

alone

with

the

father

if

even

Jesus

needed

that

and

sought

that

out

so

should

we

if

Jesus

could

find

time

in

an

even

busier

schedule

than

we

have

to

be

with

God

and

to

pray

so

can

we

it

might

require

some

intentionality

it

might

require

some

creativity

but

we

need

to

find

the

lonely

places

and

the

lonely

times

for

prayer

well

what

are

we

to

take

from

all

this

I

hope

that

you

are

in

awe

at

the

power

of

God

immediate

visible

healing

of a

chronic

skin

disease

Jesus

accomplishes

this

with

just

a

word

he

changed

this

whole

man's

life

with

just

one

word

he

spoke

and

the

man's

flesh

was

made

new

right

in

front

of

their

eyes

in

an

instant

it

demonstrates

the

power

of

God

as we've

been

talking

about

in this

series

through

Luke

it

demonstrates

also

the

authority

that

Jesus

has

over

the

stuff

of

nature

over

the

bacteria

over

the

viruses

things

that

would

cause

permanent

damage

to this

man's

body

it

would

seem

that

the

body

of

the

man

itself

responds

to

Jesus

word

and

instantly

begins

to

heal

this

is

amazing

but

perhaps

the

thing

that

touches

me

most

in

all

of

this

is

how

this

particular

healing

demonstrates

the

kindness

and

compassion

of

Jesus

I

love

how

he

reaches

out

and

touches

the

untouchable

man

I

love

what

he

says

to

him

he

proves

that

yes

God

really

does

care

for

you

I

am

willing

I

see

I

know

what

you've

been

living

through

up

until

now

and

I

desire

to

remedy

it

in

Mark's

gospel

it

says

that

Jesus

was

deeply

moved

by

the

plea

of

this

man

deeply

moved

do

you

know

that

our

suffering

moves

the

compassionate

heart

of

God

the

compassionate

heart

of

Jesus

maybe

there's

something

going on

in your

life

today

which

has

you

feeling

desperate

something

you feel

like

you're

not

in

control

of

I

can't

tell

you

that

this

passage

is

a

guarantee

that

God

will

instantly

remedy

whatever

it is

that

you're

facing

with

a

miracle

I

don't

think

the

point

of

this

is

that

God

will

always

heal

that

he

will

always

do

the

miracle

we

ask

for

but

I

can

tell

you

that

this

passage

shows

us

what

we

should

do

when

we're

desperate

with

anything

in

our

lives

and

that's

to

come

to

Jesus

to

fall

on

our

knees

before

him

to

humble

ourselves

before

him

and

to

call

out

to

him

in

prayer

for

help

believing

that

he

does

have

the

power

to

fix

whatever

it

is

that's

going

on

in

our

lives

and

one

way

or

another

if

not

immediately

then

eventually

Jesus

will

answer

and

he

will

deliver

his

people

from

everything

that

afflicts

us

let's

look

ahead

for a

minute

to

what

Jesus

revealed

about

what's

coming

at the

very

end

for

all

who

believe

in

his

name

this

is

from

the

book

of

revelation

at

the

very

end

of

the

Bible

chapter

21

verse

3

and

I

heard

a

loud

voice

from

the

throne

saying

look

God's

dwelling

place

is

now

among

the

people

and

he

will

dwell

with

them

they

will

be

his

people

and

God

himself

will

be

with

them

and

be

their

God

he

will

wipe

every

tear

from

their

eyes

there

will

be

no

more

death

or

mourning

or

crying

or

pain

for

the

old

order

of

things

has

passed

away

he

who

is

seated

on

the

throne

said

I

am

making

everything

new

write

this

down

for

these

words

are

trustworthy

and

true

bring

your

desperation

to

Jesus

bring

your

hopelessness

to

Jesus

cast

your

cares

upon

him

he

has

promised

to

deliver

us

from

all

of

our

troubles

if

not

our

way

then

his

way

and

if

not

now

then

soon

when

he

returns

we

might

be

tempted

at

times

when

things

are

tough

to

wonder

does

God

really

care

about

me

is

he

really

kind

he

is

see

his

hand

reaching

out

to

touch

the

leper

hear

his

words

I

am

willing

let's

pray

Lord

Jesus

thank

you

for

letting

us

see

into

what

happened

in

that

moment

precious

moment

day

when

that

man's

life

was

turned

upside

down

Lord

I

thank

you

that

you

desire

to

do

a

similar

kind

of

working

in

all

of

our

lives

to

turn

our

lives

upside

down

but

sometimes

you

allow

us

to

go

through

things

so

that

we

come

face

to

face

with

you

so

that

we

can

see

your

care

your

love

for

us

your

deep

love

for

us

even

in

the

hard

things

Lord

we

can

say

blessed

be

your

name

your

design

for

allowing

them

is

good

draw

us

near

we

pray

we

bring

our

desperation

to

you

we

lay

it

at

your

feet

and

we

ask

for

you

to

work

with

power

in

all

of

those

situations

in

our

lives

now

pray

this

in

your

name

amen