Sermon - Mark 1 - Touching a Leper - Littleby Baptist Church - May 5, 2019

Last week we started with the woman the well and then jumped around a bit, all to show that with Jesus it was no longer business as usual. Cultural norms, did not matter to Jesus. Who you are, where you were born, the color of your skin, the size of your bank account, even the type of sin you are living in does not matter. Jesus ate with sinners, stayed with Samaritans, talked to an adulteress, healed gentiles, and changed what could be done on the Sabbath.

We need to remember that it is no longer business as usual. We need to ask God to show us exactly what we need to do in order to have true heart felt revival. We need to ask God to show us what we need to do to reach that person we are praying for. It won’t be business as usual, but it will be what God has planned for each one of us.

This morning just happens to be another example of Jesus doing something that was unheard of.

Mark 1:39-40

“³⁹ He went into all of Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. ⁴⁰ Then a man with leprosy came to him and, on his knees, begged him: “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

Let’s start by talking about this man, this leper. Lepers are shunned by society and following what God told Moses and Aaron they are supposed to be kept at a distance. If they are walking down the road they needed to shout out, drawing attention to themselves, so that others can stay away from them. Lest they spread their disease.

Can you imagine walking around shouting out things that you really didn’t want people to know about you? Things that would make them want to look at you with disgust, things that would make them want to hide from you, yell at you, and any other way they chose to show their disgust.

Here was a man who was shunned and hated, whose family may have already treated him as if he was dead and he hears that Jesus is coming to town. The same Jesus he had heard has healed a blind man who called out to Him, the one who even demons fear, and whose teaching is changing lives.

Instead of following what has been handed down from Moses, this leper took a different approach. He boldly approached Jesus. Chances are Jesus was not alone when the leper came to Him. It is a safe bet that Jesus at least had His inner-circle of three with Him, but it could have easily been twelve, or a whole lot more.

This leper boldly approached Jesus and probably the crowd of people following Him. A crowd that most likely were glaring at him and maybe even yelling at him. A crowd that would have been perfectly happy to never see another leper again.

The man walked up to Jesus and fell to his knees and begged Him, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

‘If you are willing, you can make me clean.’

There was zero doubt about Jesus’ ability. The leper believed 110% that Jesus had the power to accomplish what he was asking. He had faith in the One and Only Lord. The whole question was around if Jesus would even both with a lowly leper.

This man wondered if Jesus was going to kick him to the curb just like every other person he came across. He was afraid that Jesus would see no value in a leper, thinking he might not be worth the time or the effort. He was a lost cause to those whom he loved; would Jesus see him the same way?

‘If you are willing’… you can almost feel sorry for this man who lived a life that most people thought was worthless and that he was not worth even the littlest bit of kindness and He is asking Jesus for a miracle.

We may not want to admit it at times but most of us have felt that way before. For some, our lives looked like everything was hunky-dory from the outside, but when you got past the surface things were rough. For others our mistakes and our sins were visible for everyone to see. Regardless of which group you have or do belong to, each one of us reaches a point where we come seeking Jesus knowing we are not deserving for anything that He gives us.

Our hope is that all the talk about how Jesus sets people free is real and that in His mercy He will share it with us. Like the leper we are seeking something that is beyond our reach. We are asking for something that changes our lives, something that will give us hope beyond hope, something that will bring peace, something that will wipe away all the bad and replace it with His Grace, Mercy, and Love.

‘If you are willing, you can make me clean.’

Mark 1:41-42

“⁴¹ Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched him. “I am willing,” he told him. “Be made clean.” ⁴² Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.”

I wonder how the man felt when Jesus reached out to him. He may have even started to pull back at first out of fear, but Jesus touched him. For those there witnessing this event they would have known that Jesus was risking being infected with leprosy, a disease with no cure. They would have known that Jesus was now religiously unclean, which most avoided at all cost.

The casual observer would have noted that Jesus risked everything to show this man compassion by simply touching him. A touch that that changed this man’s life, a touch that showed he had value. A touch that broke through emotional and physical pain. A touch powered by the Love of God.

I think it is common for us to pull back when Jesus is offering His gift of Mercy and Grace, especially when we are accustomed to the harshness of the world. We may accept the gift and pull back because we are not sure we truly believe it, out of fear that we will not measure up, or even fit in.

You have probably heard me talk about responding to God’s call almost 20 years ago sitting on a mountain near San Diego at a men’s retreat. That was a wonderful scary day, but it was not the first time. Almost 10 years before that I knew beyond a shadow of doubt that God was calling me to serve His people and spread His word. Fear got the best of me and I ran. I pulled back from God. In the long run I came around and God in His infinite wisdom and love was still reaching out to me.

If you have pulled back from God. If you have run away, returned to your sin, put something else in His place in your life, or have just been holding back. I want you to know that, none of that matters. Jesus is standing right there still reaching out to you. He wants you to feel His touch.

Jesus is not worried about the past, the sin, the fear, or even how long it has been. He simply wants you to feel His love, just as the leper felt His loving touch.

The leper asked if Jesus was willing, and the man heard Jesus say, ‘I am willing’ and then heard Him say, ‘Be made clean.’ The man had already received an amazing gift by Jesus showing him love by simply touching him and then in an instant the leprosy was gone.

A gesture of love followed by a miraculous cleansing.

This man had absolutely nothing. He could no longer enter his home, his family could not be around him, his friends would have shunned him, and he no longer had a way to provide for himself. This man had lost everything but the clothes he was wearing, and, in an instant, he was restored. He was made clean and could now return home. He could be reunited with his family and friends. He could have a purpose once again and provide for his family.

As a leper he thought he had no value, but Jesus saw how precious he was.

Until we understand the gift that Jesus has given us, we may feel like we have no value. We may feel that our sin makes us untouchable, unworthy, and truly lost. Even with Jesus as our Savior our continued struggle with sin can make us feel like we are failures and not worth Jesus’ touch, let alone the miracle we have been given.

All of us, and I am purposefully including myself in this, struggle with sin in one form or fashion. None of us can live a sinless life. It does not matter if we have yet to confess Jesus as our Lord of if we have been following Him for 50 years, we are going to struggle with sin.

Our first step with Jesus is part of a life long journey that will not be complete until we are standing in His presence. A journey that is unique to each one of us and the Holy Spirit works in us to transform us from one who is embracing sin to one who is embracing Jesus.

The leper was cleansed in an instant and our debt was wiped away in an instant, but it takes time for our sinful ways to fall away. Thankfully our Lord’s gift covers every sin we have committed or will ever commit, because He is patient.

2 Peter 3:9

“The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.”  

If we falter and fall, or maybe I should say ‘when’ we falter and fall our Lord is there for us. He is patiently waiting, reaching out to us, wanting none to perish.

Society saw the leper as lower than a tax collector, gentile, or sinner and Jesus reached out to Him. Regardless of what your sin is, how long you have struggled with it, how many times you have picked it back up, or how long you have clung to it, Jesus is reaching out to you. All you have to do is have faith in Him, have faith in His love for you, and have faith that He has made you clean.

May the Lord Bless You!

Robert