JESUS AND THE LEPER
Sermon of the Week #200744-November 11, 2007
According to Mathew’s arrangement of the life of Christ, as soon as he preached the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus came down from the mountain, and great multitudes followed him. There is nothing unusual about great crowds following Jesus, because there is something about him that attracts great crowds.
Actually there is really no great mystery to it considering the prophecy of Jacob when he gave a final blessing to his twelve sons in Genesis 49. It was to Judah that Jacob prophesied: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a law giver from between his feet till Shiloh come, and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” And so according to this prediction, that the Christ would come to this earth through the tribe of Judah, there is really no great mystery as to why great multitudes followed him when he came down from the mountain, for unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
Later on in John 12 Jesus would declare, “And I, if I be lifted up will draw all men unto me.” The cross is the drawing power of Jesus, and that is no big mystery either, because unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
Then fifty days after the resurrection on the Day of Pentecost, on the day the Church began, there were 3,000 who became members of the church the first day. What was it that persuaded such a number? There was only one item on the docket that day as the apostles told the story of Jesus, his death on the cross his resurrection from the dead, and his ascending up to heaven. It does not appear that there was even any such thing as a song service when Peter told them to save themselves from this crooked generation and 3,000 responded. There is no great marvel to this when we remember that Jacob said, "Unto him shall the gathering of the people be."
Consider also that the greatest assembly that takes place on this earth is not the Super Bowl, or the NASCAR races. The greatest gathering on earth today is the gathering of millions every Sunday to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Again we say no marvel here either; for unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
But the greatest gathering of people at any one time will be on that day when the Son of man shall descend from heaven with a shout, the voice of the archangel, and the trump to God, and the dead in Christ will be raised first, then we that are left alive unto his coming shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, and meet Jesus in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. On that day will be the finality of the prediction of Jacob concerning the Lion of the tribe of Judah: and unto him shall, the gathering of the people be.
Another reason also the multitude followed Jesus was at the close of the Sermon on the Mount, the people were astonished at his doctrine, because he taught them as one having authority and not as their scribes.
In that message Jesus had said, “Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt not kill; but I say unto you. Ye have heard that it was said, thou shalt not commit adultery; but I say unto you. Ye have heard that it was said, thou shalt not forswear thy self; but I say unto you. Ye have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth; but I say unto you. Ye have heard that it was said, thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy, but I say unto you. . ."
Jesus did in fact speak with authority, and that authority would includes the words of the apostles, because Jesus declared unto them in his farewell address in the upper room before he went to the cross: “The Holy Spirit when he is come will guide you into all the truth and bring to your remembrance all things that I said unto you.”
Jesus did not trust the memory of the apostles; the Holy Spirit was sent to them to prod their memory and so, all the words of the New Testament are words of Jesus whether printed in red or black. As we read any verse in the New Testament, we can hear the voice of Jesus overlaid over the babbling of a thousand voices, calling out to humanity: “Ye have heard that it was said, but I say unto you!”
Then when Jesus came down from the mountain in quick succession Matthew gives a list of nine mighty works that gave evidence of his authority, including healing of a man with what was said to be the incurable disease of leprosy, the raising of the dead, the stilling of the tempest, and the casting out from one man a legion of demons. What other world religious leader has the power to do what Jesus did? Truly Jesus has the right to declare: “Ye have heard that it was said, but I say unto you.”
THERE CAME TO HIM A LEPER
And now we make three observations of one of those mighty works of Jesus: the healing of the leper. Matthew says, "There came to him a leper kneeling to him and worshipping him." Luke who was a doctor takes a pathological look at him, and said this man was not only a leper; he was full of leprosy; he was in the last stages of it.
Leprosy was a contagious disease that required separation from others and in many ways leprosy is compared to sin the leprosy of the soul, and there is nothing that separates like sin. There are many in this world that will separate themselves as Jesus said in Luke 6:22 “Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and shall separate you from their company, and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil for the Son of man’s sake.” It is obvious that many today avoid the house of worship like the plague.
However some in the church like to associate with the world, and try to fit in by not looking, and acting too religious. Paul warns us in Second Corinthians 6:17 “Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate saith the Lord.”
Jude warns even in our evangelistic efforts to be cautious in these efforts when he says, “Save them, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.” Many a preacher in working with the lost has been entrapped, and come down with a bad case of leprosy of the soul.
Perhaps many of us have felt like Paul when he said in the last of Romans seven, “O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Then he gives the answer in the first verse of chapter 8, “There is therefore no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.” This is well to remember when we consider the final separation where Jesus has declared that on the Judgment day he will separate the sheep from the goats, then again in Mathew 13 there is the Lord’s statement about the angels gathering all things that cause stumbling and them that do iniquity, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He that hath ears; let him hear.
TOUCHING THE UNTOUCHABLE
And now the second observation concerning the healing of the leper is when Jesus did the unthinkable. He actually reached out his hand, and touched the man who was untouchable. One might wonder how this untouchable man got into this crowd when he was supposed to live in separation. If any of us had been in that assembly, none of us would have touched him lest we be contaminated. As he approached, every one would get out of his way, and give him a wide path to approach the Lord. Jesus touched the untouchable and said, "I will, be thou be made clean.” And straightway his leprosy was cleansed.
When Jesus touched him, his holy hand did not become leprous, but the body of the leprous man was cleansed. The experience of the leper is not entirely unlike our own. This whole world was a leper colony before Jesus came. Paul tell us about it in Philippians 2 when he says: “Christ Jesus who existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yes, the death of the cross.”
Jesus actually touched our humanity by coming into this world and living in a body just like ours. That is why Paul could say in Hebrews 4 that we have not a high Priest who cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, but one who was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. His physical body was just like ours, when he went without food he hungered, when he went without water he thirsted. After a long day of work he became tired, and he was also like us in that he tasted of death like any of us, and through it all he was not contaminated with sin, the leprosy of the soul.
Although he never sinned, he did in fact become sin for us on the cross. Paul informs us in 2nd Corinthians five: “Him who knew no sin was made to be sin that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” On the cross the sinless Son of God felt as though he was guilty of every sin we have ever committed. He felt he committed every act of sexual perversion, told every lie, uttered every word of blasphemy, he was every drunkard, committed every murder, robbed every bank; he felt the shame, of every child molester.
Jesus touched the leper with his hand and he touched our humanity with all its corruption on the cross. Christ died for our sins. And because he touched me-the untouchable I am able to repeat again the words of that gospel song:
When the way is dim, and I cannot see,
Through the mist of his wise design
How my glad heart yearns and my faith returns
By the touch of his hand on mine.
And then in the last sad hour, when I stand alone,
And the powers of death combine
While the dark waves roll, he will guide my soul
By the touch of his hand on mine.
Jesus touched me—the untouchable.
AND NOW THE THIRD OBSERVATION THE TESTIMONY
And now the third observation regarding the healing of the leper is the testimony. When the leper was cleansed Jesus told him, “See thou tell no man, but go show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded for a testimony unto them.”
Some may wonder why did Jesus tell him to tell no man. There was a reason, but don’t worry about it. A bigger question of concern is why would Jesus not tell us to tell no man we have been cleansed from the leprosy of the soul? Jesus would not tell us to tell no man, because he knows in most cases, we have no intention of telling any body any way.
Actually in our case Jesus tells us to go and tell everybody. In the Great Commission according to Mark, Jesus said, “Go ye into all, the world, and preach the gospel to every creature, he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” Go and tell it to the whole world, every nation, and every creature in it.
However today we have a problem. In many of our pulpits many are ashamed of the testimony. A word of warning, is given by the Lord Himself in Mark chapter eight, ”For whosoever shall be ashamed of me before this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of man also shall when he cometh in the glory of his Father and his angels.”
Listen again to Paul as he tells Timothy in 2nd Timothy one, “Be not ashamed therefore of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner.” God is very much aware of the testimony of the church. In Matthew 24:14 Jesus declared in no uncertain terms: “And the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world as a testimony unto all the nations, and then shall the end come.”
This broadcast is one among others where it can be said that the gospel of the kingdom has already be preached in all the world as a testimony to all the nations. According to that promise when all nations have heard the testimony there will be no cause for longer delay and the end can come at any time.
In the mean time we need to keep on giving our testimony. When Jesus sent the leper to the priest with his testimony, he knew the priest would not accept the testimony if he found out Jesus did it. But Jesus told him to give the testimony anyway.
I attended a revival meeting years ago, and at the end of the sermon they sang a song of invitation, inviting all who would to accept the Lord Jesus Christ. During the singing of that song a certain lady walked forward. I saw the preacher engage her in conversation as the congregation continued to sing. At the close of the song the preacher announced the lady had not come to accept Christ, nor had she come to transfer her membership, not to express sorrow for some transgression and asking for prayer. He said this lady says she has come forward tonight on behalf of all those who should have come and didn’t.
I sometimes feel the same way. I wish I could go to a revival, and go forward repentant of all my sins, confess that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God, and then be immersed for the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. But none of us can do that. We can only give our testimony.
Jesus said in John 5:39-40, “Search the scripture; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they that testify of me. And ye will not come to me that ye may have life.” Jesus says, give them the testimony, even though they won’t receive it.
There is a statement in the book of Isaiah 59:12 that may have a warning for those who deny the testimony of the word of God. The prophet said, “For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us.” Those who refuse the testimony of the word of God; will find the word of God will bear testimony against them on that day.
So when I stand before the judgment seat by and by
Will he be bearing all my sins, or shall I?
