Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests
to OurChristianWalk.com.
In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk
** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The
Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn
** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“When He came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed Him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before Him and said, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."
Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. "I am willing," He said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy. 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."
Matthew 8:1-4
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As Chapter 8 of Matthew’s gospel opens, we find Jesus finished with His famous teachings known as the Sermon on the Mount.
We read that as “He came down from the mountainside” many people went after Him in “large crowds”. It hadn’t taken long for Jesus to build a following and as He proceeded, scripture tells us that a “man with leprosy came and knelt before Him”.
Leprosy was a terrible affliction in biblical times. A slow moving bacterial infection, it would affect the skin, nerves, and mucous membrane of anyone who contracted it. And as the nerves in the hand and feet deteriorated and eventually failed, the leper would end up with mutilated fingers and toes, a classic physiological indicator of the disease.
In regard to Old Testament law and leprosy, we see how regulations found in Leviticus Chapter 13, considered a person unclean if their skin ailment persisted and worsened over a seven day period. This was a label no one wanted to have because being stamped as unclean meant excommunication and exile from the rest of society. Anyone with leprosy became outcasts and was numbered among the unwanted.
With this knowledge in mind, picture the scene painted by our passage today.
Jesus is walking along with large crowds following Him when a leper comes to Him and kneels. I can only imagine the collective gasp from the people as they saw this occur. Maybe many of the people withdrew, falling back in fear that they might be infected themselves by the man.
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“When He came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed Him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before Him and said, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."
Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. "I am willing," He said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy. 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."
Matthew 8:1-4
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As Chapter 8 of Matthew’s gospel opens, we find Jesus finished with His famous teachings known as the Sermon on the Mount.
We read that as “He came down from the mountainside” many people went after Him in “large crowds”. It hadn’t taken long for Jesus to build a following and as He proceeded, scripture tells us that a “man with leprosy came and knelt before Him”.
Leprosy was a terrible affliction in biblical times. A slow moving bacterial infection, it would affect the skin, nerves, and mucous membrane of anyone who contracted it. And as the nerves in the hand and feet deteriorated and eventually failed, the leper would end up with mutilated fingers and toes, a classic physiological indicator of the disease.
In regard to Old Testament law and leprosy, we see how regulations found in Leviticus Chapter 13, considered a person unclean if their skin ailment persisted and worsened over a seven day period. This was a label no one wanted to have because being stamped as unclean meant excommunication and exile from the rest of society. Anyone with leprosy became outcasts and was numbered among the unwanted.
With this knowledge in mind, picture the scene painted by our passage today.
Jesus is walking along with large crowds following Him when a leper comes to Him and kneels. I can only imagine the collective gasp from the people as they saw this occur. Maybe many of the people withdrew, falling back in fear that they might be infected themselves by the man.
Surely Jesus would know to stay away Himself, wouldn’t
He?
Well, we know that Jesus was not going to turn from any affliction because there was and is no affliction today that He can’t heal with just the simple touch of His almighty, powerful hand. After all, He truly is the Great Physician! He could easily have reached out immediately and touched the man, ridding him of his affliction but note that it wasn’t enough for the man to just come to Jesus. He can to come with the right attitude.
Note his actions and words.
First of all, the leprous man didn’t run up to Jesus, grab Him, and demand to be healed. Rather, the diseased man knelt before Jesus, a sign of humility, a humble gesture toward Jesus’ majesty and the man’s total dependence on Him. The leper’s actions displayed his modesty and meekness before Jesus but there was more.
Well, we know that Jesus was not going to turn from any affliction because there was and is no affliction today that He can’t heal with just the simple touch of His almighty, powerful hand. After all, He truly is the Great Physician! He could easily have reached out immediately and touched the man, ridding him of his affliction but note that it wasn’t enough for the man to just come to Jesus. He can to come with the right attitude.
Note his actions and words.
First of all, the leprous man didn’t run up to Jesus, grab Him, and demand to be healed. Rather, the diseased man knelt before Jesus, a sign of humility, a humble gesture toward Jesus’ majesty and the man’s total dependence on Him. The leper’s actions displayed his modesty and meekness before Jesus but there was more.
For while on his knees, we find the man bring a simple
request before Jesus as he says:
“Lord, if You are
willing, You can make me clean."
The leper’s actions and words hold two important keys for all believers who wish to approach the Lord about anything.
First, we need to ask the Lord if it is His will to do what we need for when it comes right down to it, His will is always going to be done.
The leper’s actions and words hold two important keys for all believers who wish to approach the Lord about anything.
First, we need to ask the Lord if it is His will to do what we need for when it comes right down to it, His will is always going to be done.
Is it His will to answer our request?
Maybe it is. Maybe it isn’t.
We need to be prepared for either and know that if it
isn’t the Lord’s will at that time, it’s because He has something even better
in store for us. We only need to stay faithful, patient and wait, to wait on
the Lord.
Second, notice that the leper doesn’t just think Jesus can heal him. He knows it. Look at his words again:
Second, notice that the leper doesn’t just think Jesus can heal him. He knows it. Look at his words again:
”…if You are
willing, You can make me clean.”
There is no doubt in the man’s mind that Jesus could heal
him of his leprosy if it was His will to do so.
This reminds us of something else about our Lord, something we always need to remember:
This reminds us of something else about our Lord, something we always need to remember:
Jesus can do anything at anytime when He wills to do it.
Indeed, He is a willing Savior and this is one of the absolutes
we learn from the scriptures over and over again.
Back to the scriptures where we find the stage set. The leprous man had shown his humble reliance on Jesus and displayed a stalwart faith in knowing he could be healed by the Lord if it were the Lord’s will to do so.
So what did Jesus do?
The scripture tells us He “reached out His hand and touched the man” saying, "I am willing. Be clean!"
And with that, the man was immediately “cured of his leprosy.”
Back to the scriptures where we find the stage set. The leprous man had shown his humble reliance on Jesus and displayed a stalwart faith in knowing he could be healed by the Lord if it were the Lord’s will to do so.
So what did Jesus do?
The scripture tells us He “reached out His hand and touched the man” saying, "I am willing. Be clean!"
And with that, the man was immediately “cured of his leprosy.”
In yesterday’s devotion, I wrote about how amazed Jesus’ followers
were after He finished teaching them. Now, imagine how amazed the people had to
be at what they just witnessed. If they thought Jesus taught with authority,
they now noticed that His authority extended well beyond instruction. This
Jesus possessed the power to heal a leper with just one touch of His hand. It
had to be something many of them had never seen before, the rest having seen
Jesus heal others prior.
So all this leads me to a question for you:
So all this leads me to a question for you:
Do you need healed physically or emotionally in some way?
Maybe you have an affliction like the leper. So many diseases and injuries are debilitating people these days. Perhaps you’re counted in that number.
Maybe you have an affliction like the leper. So many diseases and injuries are debilitating people these days. Perhaps you’re counted in that number.
Maybe you have been the victim of abuse and are dealing
with the physical and/or psychological scars left behind.
Or maybe you are suffering from a broken relationship
with a spouse, child or family member.
Whatever your situation, our scripture for today has this message for you:
There is hope.
For all you need do is humbly kneel before Jesus and use the words of the leper saying:
Whatever your situation, our scripture for today has this message for you:
There is hope.
For all you need do is humbly kneel before Jesus and use the words of the leper saying:
“Lord, if you are willing, You can make me well again”.
And when it is His will, He can and will heal and restore
you. Trust in that.
Friends, this is the willing Savior we serve. He is always available, always willing to help at His appointed time, always able to heal, and the only One who can save.
Rejoice and give thanks for these truths now and forever.
Friends, this is the willing Savior we serve. He is always available, always willing to help at His appointed time, always able to heal, and the only One who can save.
Rejoice and give thanks for these truths now and forever.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
No comments:
Post a Comment