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Archive for 12. August 2008
I am willing
12. August 2008 by Bernice Davis.
Hello:
Our text for today is Matthew 8: 1-4 When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 2 A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” 3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cured of his leprosy. 4 Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” (NIV)
Now we’re about to experience some of the many miracles that Jesus did. As you can see from our text when he came down from the mountainside large crowds began to follow him. The Sermon on the Mount closed with the statement that the people noticed that there was something different about his teaching because he taught with authority over against the other religious leaders. Just from his teachings, Jesus had developed a reputation of being different and being authoritative. Crowds now began to pull on him for healing. Jesus had already established his reputation as a teacher, now he would be established as a healer all proving and pointing towards his deity.
Matthew records his first miracle as being the healing of the man with leprosy. The text says that the man with leprosy came and knelt before him. What is strange about this scene is that in the ancient world a man with leprosy would not normally come and approach anyone. The word leper comes from a Greek and Hebrew word which in both cases means scale. The disease leprosy was some type of disease that had a scaly skin manifestation as one of its symptoms. In Leviticus the 13th chapter the bible gives clear directives on how to handle lepers in the biblical world. Let’s look at this text.
1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 2 ”When a man has on the skin of his body a swelling or a scab or a bright spot, and it becomes an infection of leprosy on the skin of his body, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests. 3 ”The priest shall look at the mark on the skin of the body, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the infection appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is an infection of leprosy; when the priest has looked at him, he shall pronounce him unclean…………45″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!’ 46 ”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. (NASV) So as you can see lepers were not to come in contact with people for fear of spreading the disease. If they got close to people, they were to cover their mouth and cry out unclean, unclean to warn the people and they actually were suppose to live in isolation.
This man came to Jesus. He cared less what the people thought or what the risks of him coming into the crowd may be. He could have easily been stoned if he was identified as a leper. He risked it all to come in contact with Jesus. How powerful. He risked his very life for the chance of being healed. The text says he worshipped and didn’t demand anything of Jesus but only said “if you are willing, you can make me clean. The leper was confident that Jesus could heal him. Jesus said: “ I am willing.” I love this…. I am willing. When I wrote those words it’s almost like I could hear Jesus saying now; “I am willing”…… I am willing……. Whatever your situation is; “Jesus is willing…..”
The text says that immediately the man was healed of his leprosy and was instructed to go show himself to the priest and offer the approriate gift as required by law so that he could be declared clean and received back into the community. Oh!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am willing. That touched my heart so. We’ll continue with the miracles of Jesus on tomorrow.
God Bless!!!! Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.
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