Where's the Miracle? - Luke 5:27-32 - September 18, 2022

 Luke 5:27-32 Where’s the Miracle?

Good morning! We are returning to our study in the Gospel of Luke this morning, so turn with me in your Bibles to Luke 5:27-32, page 861 in the pew Bibles.

Let’s read that together and then we’ll pray and dive into our study.

27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. 

29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. 30 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

Let’s pray.

Over the last few weeks we have been looking at Luke chapter five and we have seen several miracles, or miraculous signs outlined in each study. We looked at the miraculous catch of fish after Peter and friends had fished all night and caught nothing, we looked at Jesus’ miraculous cleansing of a man full of leprosy, and last week we looked at Jesus healing a man who was paralyzed who was lowered through the roof by his four friends to see Jesus. (You have to wonder if it wasn’t a stunt like that that got the man paralyzed in the first place!)

Today we are going to look at a fifth miracle in Luke chapter five. Did you see it when we read the passage?

First, let’s define our terms. Easton’s Bible Dictionary defines the word miracle this way:

“A miracle is an event in the external world brought about by the immediate agency or the simple volition of God, operating without the use of means capable of being discerned by the senses, and designed to authenticate the divine commission of a religious teacher and the truth of his message. It is an occurrence at once above nature and above man. It shows the intervention of a power that is not limited by the laws either of matter or of mind, a power interrupting the fixed laws which govern their movements, a supernatural power.” 

This definition clearly covers the catch of fish, the cleansing of the leper, and the healing of the paralytic. And where is the miracle in our passage this morning? It’s the calling of Levi.

Levi was a tax collector, some translations say, “publican.” In Jewish culture at that time the term “publican,” and “sinner” were synonymous.

Levi was a Jewish man employed by the Romans, the oppressive, invading rulers of the Jewish nation. To be a tax collector in Israel on behalf of the Romans meant that you were a traitor to your country and a traitor to your race. Not only that, being a tax collector was not even an honest way to make a living.

Rome only cared that they got their share, their percentage of wine, or wheat, or olives, or oil, or fish, of head tax, or road tolls. Anything that the tax collectors charged people beyond that percentage was theirs to keep.

We have no record that Levi was dishonest in his work as a tax collector but it is clear from the text that he had a large house that could house a large party with a large company of tax collectors.

Let’s be honest, the Pharisees and their scribes had every right to hate Levi. The disciples that Jesus had already called had every right to hate Levi. Jesus Himself had the right to hate Levi.

But he didn’t. That’s the miracle. The miracle was grace.

Jesus called this man who was an example of being a traitor and made him an example of grace.

Jesus call to this man to follow Him wasn’t based on his merits for sure, He didn’t add him to His band of followers because he had the right skill set or pedigree. He was good with money I’m sure, but it was Judas that was put in charge of the money bag not Levi.

And just like Jesus had done for Simon, who He had renamed, “Peter,” Jesus gave Levi a new name. He called him, “Matthew.” Matthew means, “gift of God.” What is another word for gift? Grace.

Matthew would go on to become a witness, a preacher, a Gospel writer, a martyr, and a proof and example of the grace of God in Christ Jesus.

We should learn from his example because we are no different and our calling is no less miraculous.

Ephesians chapter two says, 

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

The grace extended to Levi is the same grace that has been extended to us.

And we should respond and continue to respond the way Levi did, to celebrate!

When Jesus called Levi to follow Him, to leave behind his life of treachery and sin, he threw a party and invited all of the people who were willing to associate with him, other tax collectors!

When was the last time you celebrated your salvation, celebrated God’s grace in Christ poured out on you? This should be our constant theme!

Not everybody in our passage today was celebrating.

30 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 

John Calvin wrote, “Hypocrites, being satisfied and intoxicated with a foolish confidence in their own righteousness, do not consider the purpose for which Christ was sent into the world, and do not acknowledge the depth of evils in which the human race is plunged, or the dreadful wrath and curse of God which lies on all, or the accumulated load of vices which weighs them down. The consequence is, that they are too stupid to feel the miseries of men, or to think of a remedy. While they flatter themselves, they cannot endure to be placed in their own rank, and think that injustice is done them, when they are classed with transgressors.” 

The Pharisees believed in, what RC Sproul called, “a salvation by segregation.” It was the thought that as long as they kept separate from the kind of people that they considered sinners, like these tax collectors, that they were somehow righteous and unstained. 

The suggested to the other disciples, “You guys used to be respectable, lowly fisherman, but at least respectable, and now you’re hanging out with these dirtbags!?”

Of course they could not be more wrong, right?

When was the last time a religious person accused you of the perception of evil because you spent so much time with unbelievers in Jesus’ Name?

What can we do to upend the public perception of the church that seems to be the complete opposite of this party that Levi threw? Do you even see the need of that?

When the Pharisees questioned the disciples about this questionable company that they were keeping Jesus fired back with a very familiar quote. It’s one that we’ve all heard but I’m not sure we’ve all completely understood.

31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

Jesus is the Great Physician, we’ve seen it in our study of Luke 5, and maybe you’ve experienced it in your own life. He healed the leper, He healed the paralytic, He healed the soul of Levi, by faith in Jesus He has healed the souls of countless others from our disease of sin.

He is the doctor that this world needs, people are sick with sin and He is the only One with the cure because He Himself IS the cure.

We often understand this quip from Jesus as only referring to Himself, but I think there’s more to it than that. I think that Jesus is condemning the self-righteous attitude of the Pharisees.

The Pharisees were the teachers of Israel, they were the ones who were supposed to shepherd God’s chosen people and teach them to obey His Law. They had the cure for the disease of sin written in the scrolls of the Law and the Prophets, they had the teaching of the Messiah, they were physicians but they refused to see any patients.

In their zeal to keep themselves from being exposed to disease they ignored those who needed the cure.

Jesus basically said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick… You guys keep avoiding those who are sick and only spend time with those who are well. In short, you are useless, and your cures aren’t helping anybody. Follow my example and help the sick.”

The church can learn from this. We need to follow Jesus’ example and call sinners to repentance because, like Levi, now Matthew, that what we once were, and that took a miracle.

Paul wrote in Titus 2:11-12,

11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Amen.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic - Luke 5:17-26 - September 11, 2022

 Luke 5:17-26 Jesus Heals a Paralytic

Good morning! Turn with me in your Bibles to Luke 5, we are going to look at verse 17-26 and that’s on page 861 in the pew Bibles.

Let’s read the Word of the Lord.

17 On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal. 18 And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, 19 but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. 20 And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 22 When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 25 And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. 26 And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”

Let’s pray.

This is one of my favorite accounts in Scripture, there is so much for us here and the flannelgraph was so cool!

Jesus was teaching in a crowded house in Capernaum, and this didn’t happen directly after the last account of Jesus healing the man with leprosy but Luke organized these accounts with a purpose, and that purpose was to reinforce Jesus’ authority.

Jesus was very popular at this time and word had reached Jerusalem, people came from all over to hear Him teach and to see His miracles. The Pharisees, at that time, were the shepherds of Israel tasked with making sure everybody was living by their rules so it is no wonder that a group of them were sent to Galilee to hear this new teacher and judge His message. Boy, were they in for it…

Regardless of our preconceived notions of the Pharisees as the bad guys of the New Testament, we can still learn from them. The Lord has lessons for us to learn through them.

In verse 20 Jesus said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 22 When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?

The Scribes and the Pharisees put all their stock in outward displays of righteousness, their emphasis was on empty, outward religion. They were the epitome of “Do as I say, not as I do.” Their hypocrisy was well known but their authority and influence made it impossible for anyone to do anything about it. That is until Jesus came around…

The scribes and the Pharisees didn’t question Jesus out loud, they didn’t say anything at all. I can’t help but wonder if what they were thinking wasn’t written on their faces, but either way, Jesus knew their hearts.

There’s a lot we can learn about the example of the Pharisees, and from this particular instance we can learn that Jesus sees through the outward appearance straight to the heart. The Pharisees put all their effort into outward appearances while neglecting true faith, but this is the opposite of the kingdom of God. 

For far too long the church has given the impression that people have to clean up their acts before they can come to Jesus, that they have to change first in order to come to faith. 

How often do we, those that know and love the Lord Jesus, let shame and regret keep us from fellowship with the Lord and His people?

This may not be our conscious effort, but how much effort do we expend doing the opposite, showing people that Jesus loves them regardless of the outward appearance of their lives, of our lives?

How much effort do we put in to making sure the outward appearance of our own lives is at an acceptable standard all the while neglecting our own hearts and relationship with Jesus?

We could talk about this all day… But let’s move on, there’s more to learn from Jesus.

While there is a lot we can learn from the Pharisees there is also a lot we can learn from Jesus here.

The scribes and Pharisees questioned Jesus in their hearts, saying, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

To claim to be God was blasphemy, that is, unless you really are God.

The Pharisees were right, no one can forgive sins but God alone, and here is how Jesus responds:  

“Why do you question in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 25 And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God.

If anyone has ever said to you that Jesus never claimed to be God, or if you have ever read that anywhere, here is your proof that Jesus is God and He never denied it.

The Pharisees were right, no one can forgive sins but God alone, and by forgiving this man’s sins Jesus shows that He is in fact God and that He has the power and the authority to forgive sins.

The other thing that we can learn from Jesus here is that He always works miracles with a purpose. I’ve said it here before about the eight miraculous signs that the Gospel of John is framed around. Jesus performs these signs, these miracles, to demonstrate that He is the Son of God and He has the power to cancel sin.

That is why He healed this man, not just to make for a cool flannelgraph, but to prove His authority.

Jesus said that it was easier to say to the man that his sins were forgiven than to say to him, “rise up and walk,” because no one would see the inward healing of his soul, but they would certainly see the outward sign, they would see whether or not the man actually got up off his bed. But the truth of the matter is that the unseen healing was the greater miracle.

Being paralyzed was certainly an issue for this man but his sin was a greater issue, and the same is true for the rest of us, sin is our main issue!

We need to change our mindsets to reflect the truth of which of these things is the greater miracle.

Have you ever thanked God for the blessing of sickness?

Or do your prayers sound more like, “Jesus please solve my problems?”

Jesus is most glorified when His people are most dependant on Him and that’s a matter of perspective.

We could talk about that all day… But let’s move on, there’s more to learn from the paralytic and his four friends.

17 On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal. 18 And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, 19 but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. 20 And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”

The paralytic and his friends are not the heroes of this story, Jesus is, but we can still learn from their example.

I said a couple weeks ago how much I valued cleverness, I think that’s why I like this story so much.

These guys were undeterred by the obstacles that came between them and Jesus, they were clever enough to find another way. No crowd was going to stop them, no roof would keep them from laying their friend before the Lord. 

What great faith they had, and what great love they had for their friend, they quite literally bore his burden, they carried him on his bed and they stopped at nothing.

Are we willing to exercise the same faith? Are we willing to bear one another’s burdens in this way?

What does that really look like in real life? I’ll close with a story by William R. White adapted from his book, “Stories For The Journey.” 

“What is your favorite Bible story, papa?” a little girl asked her father as he tucked her under the sheets.

“Let me see,” he said as he sat on the edge of the bed. “There are so many that I love. The story we read tonight at supper of the four men who carried their paralyzed friend to Jesus, lowering him through the roof, is one of my favorites because it reminds me so much of how your uncle Hans was healed.”

“I don’t know that story,” the little girl said hopefully. “Please tell it to me, papa.”

“Many years ago,” the father began, “Hans and his wife, Enid, escaped the war in Europe so that he could continue his life of teaching in the seminary. At first things were difficult because his English was not good, but soon he became one of our seminary’s most beloved teachers. The students loved him because he was warm and gentle and when he spoke the Scriptures came alive. 

“Hans and Enid were very much in love. Nearly every day they took long walks together, holding hands. It warmed the hearts of students and faculty alike to see them sitting close to each other in church.

“Then one day Enid died. Hans was struck with sorrow. For weeks he would not eat or take walks. The seminary president, along with three other friends, visited him regularly, but he felt lonely and depressed. He was experiencing the dark night of the soul.

“On one of their visits, Hans said to his friends, ‘I am no longer able to pray to God. In fact, I am not certain I believe in God.’

“After a moment of silence, the seminary president said, ‘Then we will believe for you. We will make your confession for you. We will pray for you.’

“The other friends looked bewildered by their president’s words, but not knowing what else to say, they agreed.

“In the days ahead the four men met daily for prayer. They made confession on behalf of Uncle Hans. They asked God to restore the gift of faith to their dear friend and they continued to visit him in his home.

“Then, after many months, the four men all gathered in Hans’s living room. He smiled before he spoke. ‘It is no longer necessary for you to pray for me. Today, I would like you to pray with me.’ 

“The dark night of the soul had passed.”

There was a long silence before the little girl spoke. “Uncle Hans was just like the sick man in the story, wasn’t he, papa? Only instead of a mat to carry him to Jesus, his friends used prayer.”

The father nodded and kissed his daughter goodnight. 

Amen.

Lepers Made Clean - Luke 5:12-16 - September 4, 2022

 Luke 5:12-16 Lepers made Clean

Good morning! Turn with me in your Bibles to Luke chapter five. Today we are going to look at verses twelve through sixteen, Jesus cleanses a leper, and that’s on page 861 in the pew Bibles.

Let’s pray.

12 While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 13 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And he charged him to tell no one, but “go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” 15 But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. 16 But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.

Leprosy is no joke. It is among the most horrible health conditions this world has ever known. In Scripture the term leprosy covers a range of diseases that affect the skin and the nerves that were highly contagious and just plain gross.

To have leprosy meant that one was a leper, not only suffering from a horrible health condition but an outcast from society as well. 

Leviticus 13:45-46 says after describing in detail what the leprous disease looks like with graphic descriptions of boils and sores…

45 “The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ 46 He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp.

To be a leper meant that you were not only physically ill but that you were an outcast, not able to live in your home with your own family but alienated from the rest of society separated into a colony of lepers all just as miserable as you.

We got just a taste of this with the quarantines that we endured over the last three years. Sick, separated, lonely, miserable.

The Old Testament only records two people ever being healed of leprosy, Namaan the Syrian, that Jesus referred to in the Synagogue in Nazareth, and Miriam the sister of Moses. But even still, the Old Testament records guidelines for what to do when a person was healed from leprosy in Leviticus 14.

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “This shall be the law of the leprous person for the day of his cleansing. He shall be brought to the priest, 3 and the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall look. Then, if the case of leprous disease is healed in the leprous person, 4 the priest shall command them to take for him who is to be cleansed two live clean birds and cedarwood and scarlet yarn and hyssop. 5 And the priest shall command them to kill one of the birds in an earthenware vessel over fresh water. 6 He shall take the live bird with the cedarwood and the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, and dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. 7 And he shall sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed of the leprous disease. Then he shall pronounce him clean and shall let the living bird go into the open field. 8 And he who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes and shave off all his hair and bathe himself in water, and he shall be clean. And after that he may come into the camp, but live outside his tent seven days. 9 And on the seventh day he shall shave off all his hair from his head, his beard, and his eyebrows. He shall shave off all his hair, and then he shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and he shall be clean. 

10 “And on the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb a year old without blemish, and a grain offering of three tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, and one log of oil. 11 And the priest who cleanses him shall set the man who is to be cleansed and these things before the Lord, at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 12 And the priest shall take one of the male lambs and offer it for a guilt offering, along with the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before the Lord. 13 And he shall kill the lamb in the place where they kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the place of the sanctuary. For the guilt offering, like the sin offering, belongs to the priest; it is most holy. 14 The priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering, and the priest shall put it on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. 15 Then the priest shall take some of the log of oil and pour it into the palm of his own left hand 16 and dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand and sprinkle some oil with his finger seven times before the Lord. 17 And some of the oil that remains in his hand the priest shall put on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering. 18 And the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed. Then the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord. 19 The priest shall offer the sin offering, to make atonement for him who is to be cleansed from his uncleanness. And afterward he shall kill the burnt offering. 20 And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean. 

21 “But if he is poor and cannot afford so much, then he shall take one male lamb for a guilt offering to be waved, to make atonement for him, and a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, and a log of oil; 22 also two turtledoves or two pigeons, whichever he can afford. The one shall be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering. 23 And on the eighth day he shall bring them for his cleansing to the priest, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, before the Lord. 24 And the priest shall take the lamb of the guilt offering and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord. 25 And he shall kill the lamb of the guilt offering. And the priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. 26 And the priest shall pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand, 27 and shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the Lord. 28 And the priest shall put some of the oil that is in his hand on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot, in the place where the blood of the guilt offering was put. 29 And the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the Lord. 30 And he shall offer, of the turtledoves or pigeons, whichever he can afford, 31 one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, along with a grain offering. And the priest shall make atonement before the Lord for him who is being cleansed. 32 This is the law for him in whom is a case of leprous disease, who cannot afford the offerings for his cleansing.”

Seems like a lot of rules for a healing that was only recorded twice! There is a lot of rich symbolism there of Messiah and His work, but that’s a study for another time.

Here in Luke 5 we have a man that crossed the lines, broke the rules and came to Jesus saying, “If you will, you can make me clean.”

Calvin said, “I am not even certain if we are at liberty to say, strictly speaking, that the leper offered a prayer. He only declares that he is so fully convinced of the power of Christ as to entertain no doubt that it is in His power to cure leprosy, and then presents himself to be healed, but uncertain of the result because He did not yet know the will of Christ.”

I think there’s a lesson there to learn from this man about prayer, or if not prayer, at least about trust in Christ and submission to His will.

This man was convinced of Jesus’ power to heal, but he didn’t actually ask Him to heal him. Instead, he confessed His power and submitted to His will.

Jesus was willing and healed the man but not just out of compassion for him but for a proof to the priests that Messiah had come to Israel. He told the man to be obedient to Leviticus 14, to show himself to the priest and make a thanks offering for his cleansing. Oh, and don’t tell anybody else about this either, which he, of course, ignored.

Jesus, who is the source of cleaning touched this unclean man, who had been separated and untouched by anyone else for who knows how long. Luke says that he was full of leprosy, the prognosis was not good and the disease had almost completely run its course in him.

But Jesus stretched out His hand and said, “I will; be clean.”

Leprosy has historically been used as a symbol for sin and mankind’s sinful condition, it’s deeper than the skin, it defiles and corrupts, it spoils all it touches, it alienates people from those that they love, separates us for our Heavenly Father, and in the end leads to death and eternal separation from God.

The advantage that the leper has over the non-leper is that his disease cannot be hidden, it cannot be denied, he is aware of his desperate state and so is everybody else.

Those of us who are still sick with the leprosy of sin, pretend that because our disease is not visible it isn’t real, but the One who has the power to heal us of our disease also has the power to see through our façade, through the veil of our success and our socially acceptable state. 

He can see through to our need, our need for forgiveness. He is waiting with outstretched hands for us to come to Him and admit our need for forgiveness that we could be truly cleansed.

And for those of us who have experienced His healing and His forgiveness through faith in Him should do no less than he commanded the leper made clean, be obedient to His Word, be faithful to His commands. But unlike the command He gave the leper to tell no one, He has commanded us to tell everyone of what has happened to us!

We’ve a story to tell to the nations!

Amen.