‘And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.”’ (Matthew 8:2-3 ESV).
Notice the approach of the leper. First, he came to Jesus, second, he knelt before Him, third, he asked for the Lord’s will, then finally, he expressed his faith that the Lord was completely able to heal and make him clean. We can learn much from the order and attitude of the leper’s faith.
Then notice Christ’s response. First, he touched the leper. Don’t miss this. He could’ve just healed him from a distance like He did the centurion’s servant. For leprosy was a devastating disease. It made one unclean, so that they were excluded from Temple worship. Lepers were excommunicated from the community. They were required to repeat, “Unclean!” as they approached others to warn them away. The disease was progressive and caused sores and white scales to appear, damaging the skin, nerves and eventually muscle tissue. No one would dare touch them for fear of catching the disease. Yet, Jesus touched the leper, expressed His willingness to heal him, then with a word, said, “Be clean.” And he was.
Christ was willing not only to heal us from a distance, but to come to us, touching us, and taking our sin upon Himself and thus cleansing us from all unrighteousness. His willingness to touch and heal us despite our sinful condition reminds me of an old Bill Gaither song:
“Shackled by a heavy burden
‘Neath a load of guilt and shame
Then the hand of Jesus touched me
And now I am no longer the same
He touched me, oh, He touched me
And oh, the joy that floods my soul
Something happened, and now I know
He touched me, and made me whole”
PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for sending Jesus to us. For He is willing and able to touch us and save us. Lord, may You touch us afresh this day by Your Spirit. We need a fresh touch. For You alone can make us whole. In Jesus’ name, amen.