226 - Healing a Leper and a Paralyzed Man
- Gwen Diaz
- Aug 14, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 31
AUGUST 14 - Nº 226 Matthew 8:2-4; 9:1-8; Mark 1:40 – 2:12; Luke 5:12-26
While Jesus was teaching in one of the villages near Capernaum,, a man who was covered with leprosy knelt down in front of him. With his face to the ground, he pleaded for healing. “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean,” he cried.
Jesus, filled with compassion, reached out and touched the man. This was a huge social taboo. No other religious leader would have ever come in contact with a leper on purpose! Leprosy was not only highly contagious; it was considered a divine judgment. Anyone who came near a leper was immediately defiled and had to be cleansed before entering a synagogue or going anywhere near the Temple!
“I am willing,” Jesus said as he reached out. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left the man.
Jesus ordered him, “Do not tell anyone that you have been healed until you have shown yourself to the priest and offered the sacrifices that Moses commanded in the Law.” You see, Moses had written specific instructions that are recorded for us Leviticus 13 and 14. They explain the cleansing procedure God required if a person was healed from leprosy. But no Jewish lepers had been healed since those laws had been given, so the instructions had never been followed.
For centuries, the Jewish religious leaders taught that when the Messiah came, he would heal a leper. They labeled it a “Messianic Miracle,” since the Messiah would be the only one capable of performing it.
This was the first of three “Messianic Miracles” that Jesus performed while he was here on earth. And since it was such an important miracle, Jesus wanted the priest to validate that it had taken place by offering the sacrifices that Moses had mandated. (See also #234 and #250 for information on the other Messianic Miracles.)
However, on his way to the Temple, the leper couldn’t help telling everyone how he had been healed. As the amazing news spread, people from everywhere began flocking to Jesus. This included the Pharisees and teachers of the law. They came from all over Israel to check Jesus out. Their role was to listen, observe, and decide if Jesus really was the Messiah.
One day, when Jesus was in Capernaum, four men showed up carrying a friend of theirs who was paralyzed. But they couldn’t get into the house where Jesus was teaching because it was too crowded. So, they carried him up onto the flat roof, removed some of the tiles, and lowered him on his mat through the hole they had just made. They set him down right in front of Jesus. When Jesus realized how much faith it had taken for the men to do this, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
This upset the Pharisees and teachers of the law who were in the audience very much. “That’s blasphemy!” they thought to themselves. “No one can forgive sins except God!”
Jesus knew exactly what they were thinking, so he asked, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Get up and walk?’” (Of course, the answer is, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ since no visible evidence is required.)
Then Jesus added, “But in order for you to know that I have authority on earth to forgive sins, I will also say, ‘Get up, take your mat, and go home.’
The man immediately stood up, rolled up the mat his friends had carried him in on, and walked out the door giving glory to God. Everyone in the house was filled with awe and began praising God. They had seen incredible things that day!
If we want our friends to have their sins forgiven and to receive the gift of eternal life, we must bring them to Jesus.
It may take creativity, sacrifice, and persistence, but it is the most important thing we can ever do for them!
Jesus is the only way anyone can have eternal life.
Comments