Matthew 8:1-4

There is a word from the lord, coming from the book of Matthew

Matthew chapter 8 verses 1-4

And you should find these words as printed

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

8 When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. 2 And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

3 Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

4 And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

That’s enough, I want to talk for the next fleeting moments with the help of the holy spirit and your prayers

I want to talk about

• A touch from a mother can comfort a crying child.

• A touch from a father can bring security to a frightened child.

• A touch from a friend can encourage the lonely.

• A touch from a child can bring joy, happiness, and can brighten a parent’s day.

We all at times need a touch to help in time of sorrow, pain, insecurity, loneliness, and to pick us up when we are down. It is good to have family and friends that can reach out to us when we need help, but their help is not a lasting help. All of us need a touch from

• One greater than a grandparent,

• One more faithful than a father,

• One more merciful than a mother,

• One more compassionate than a child,

• and One more familiar than a friend.

We all need a touch from the Master! In this passage Matthew proclaimed the trouble of the man, the touch of the Master, and the triumph of the miracle. Those who genuinely seek the Lord will be rewarded by the Lord. My objective is to challenge every person to recognize their spiritual condition and to flee to the Lord Jesus for cleansing from sin and salvation of the soul. Are you struggling in your sin and rebellion? Do you need to be made whole? Do you need to be made clean? Are you willing to come to the Master? These verses reveal some conditions of being touched by the Master.

I. The scene of the miracle. (vs. 1)

“When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him.”

In the sequence of the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus had just finished up preaching the Sermon on the Mount. This was like no teaching that the people had ever heard before. He taught with authority and He explained things like they had never been explained by a rabbi or priest. The crowds had come to hear Jesus and they were amazed at His teaching and when He had finished His sermon He came down the mountain. Jesus didn’t come down the mountain alone that day.

• They had heard His doctrine proclaimed and now they were about to see Him display His power.

Matthew lets us know that great multitudes followed Him. Can you picture the scene as the Master and the multitudes came to the foot of the mountain. We do not know the motive for all the people as they followed Jesus, but it is commendable of the people to be where Jesus was. This is a condition of receiving a touch from the Master. We must be where Jesus is or we must go to where Jesus is.

Many so called Christians never come to church on Sunday and they are doing their own things and yet they claim to belong to His family and claim to be His children.

These folks are:

• absent from prayer meetings,

• absent from worship,

• absent from fellowship,

• and they are absent from the power of God.

Lesson: The Master will not touch us when we refuse to come to Him and He will not make us come to Him. This is a condition that must be met. We will never be touched, changed, cleansed, saved, comforted, or healed by the Master when we are running from them Master. The Lord Jesus knows our hearts: He knows why we stay away and He knows why we come near. The Bible says that that day great multitudes came down from the mountain with the Master. They had heard the Master teacher and shortly they were to see the Master healer. We’ve looked at the scene of the miracle. Next, we see:

II. The seeker of the miracle. (vs. 2)

“And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

The seeker of this miracle needed a miracle. We learn that this man was a leper. A leper was an outcast. He was to be quarantined from society and lived a horrible and miserable life and died a slow and lonely death. Of the 61 defilements of ancient Judaism leprosy was 2nd only to a dead body in seriousness. Lepers were to yell ‘Unclean, Unclean’ to warn those who were near to withdraw from the lepers.

→ Leprosy was incurable by medicine and untreatable by man.

• Leprosy: is a progressive infectious disease of the skin, flesh, and nerves. It is characterized by ulcers, white scaly scabs, and deformities.

• There were 16 different types of leprosy.

• In Leviticus 14 we learn that even garments or houses could be labeled to have leprosy.

• Leprosy attacked the nerve endings of the person and they would lose feelings in their hands, feet, arms, legs, and all over their body.

Simon Kistemaker described leprosy, “Leprosy was the worst sickness among all physical diseases. As the most fearful of all illnesses, it could be called a living death. Gradually and slowly, one’s physical body degenerated; the face and extremities of the body were severely affected, decomposed, and fell away. Eventually hands were without fingers, feet without toes, and heads with deformed eyebrows, eyelids, nose, lips, and ears. Nerve endings no longer registered pain, so a patient was not fully aware of the body’s gradual destruction. In advanced cases, gangrene caused parts of the body to become misshapen and die. As a result, an unpleasant odor surrounded the unfortunate individual.”

In his book “Unclean, Unclean” L. S. Huizenga described the pitiful condition of lepers.

He wrote, “Leprosy generally begins with pain in certain areas of the body. Numbness follows. Soon the skin in such spots loses its original color. It gets to be thick, glossy, and scaly … As the sickness progresses, the thickened spots become dirty sores and ulcers due to poor blood supply. The skin, especially around the eyes and ears, begins to bunch, with deep furrows between the swellings, so that the face of the afflicted individual begins to resemble that of a lion. Fingers drop off … toes are affected similarly. Eyebrows and eyelashes drop out … The leper emits a very unpleasant odor … the voice acquires a grating quality. His throat becomes hoarse, and you can now not only see, feel, and smell the leper, but you hear his rasping voice. And if you stay with him for some time, you can even imagine a peculiar taste in your mouth, probably due to the odor.”

Lepers were religious and social outcast. They were cut off from society. Lepers had to stay 6 ft away from people at all times and if the wind was blowing they had to stay away 100ft. They had to cover their lips and yell “unclean” so that others could stay away from them. They could not enter the temple. They could not hold a job or make a living because leprosy was contagious.

B. C Caffin (in the Pulpit Commentary) wrote, “He felt the fatal power of that terrible disease; it was disfiguring his person with a loathsome deformity, eating out the very life; it was separating him from the society of men; he was unclean, avoided by his nearest relatives; he was cut off from all that could give him consolation, nothing remained for him but death—a slow, lingering death.”

Even the apostle Matthew recalled the incident and said, “And behold, a leper came” This ‘behold’ used by Matthew was to get the attention of the readers. This was an eye opening incident. The leper was a seeker! He had come with a great need and he came to the right place and to the right Person. Notice the leper met the condition of coming to where Jesus was because he sought out where Jesus was. Notice two important areas in the life of this seeker:

A. The reverence of the seeker. (vs. 2a)

“And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him,” saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

He came to Jesus and the leper worshiped Jesus.

Worshiped:proskuneo, (pros-koo-neh’-o) (meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master’s hand); to fawn or crouch to, i.e. (literal or figurative) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore) worship.

From the gospels of Mark and Luke we get a clearer picture of this account in Scripture.

Mark 1:40 says, “Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”

Luke 5:12 says, “And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

This man came to Jesus, knelt down on his knees before Jesus, fell on his face before Jesus and worshiped Him. He had reverence for the Son of God. We don’t know how much this man knew of the Lord, how much of the Lord’s teachings he had heard, but we do know that he had heard enough and knew enough to come before the Lord and worship Him. This man obviously wasn’t doing this for a show, because Jesus did not rebuke him. He was sincerely seeking the Lord Jesus. He had risked his own life and the lives of others by coming to Jesus. This leper was serious! When people are serious about getting to Jesus they will not allow people or physical conditions, or distractions hinder them from coming to Jesus.

We’ve noticed the reverence of the seeker. Next, we see:

B. The request by the seeker. (vs. 2b)

“And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him,” saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

The leper didn’t doubt the Lord’s ability to heal him. He approached the Lord with reverence and before a startled and silent crowd, this leper called Jesus Lord. The leper didn’t know for sure if it was the Lord’s will to heal him of this disease, but he made the request anyway. When we pray for sick loved ones, brothers and sisters in Christ, and others in the world we do not know for sure if it’s the Lord’s will to heal them. We, like this leper, need to say, ‘Lord, if You are willing!”

John G. Butler wrote, “The leper did not doubt Christ’s power to heal, but he submitted himself in deference to the will of Christ for the healing. This humble deference attitude of the leper is certainly not exhibited by those folk in some circles today who practically demand in their prayers that God heal them as though it was their right to obtain the healing. He goes on to say, “Such praying shows disrespect of God. We are not to order God around. True faith is humble and shows deference to the will of God in declaring its faith in the power of God. Deference does not stop us from asking God for great favors, but it submits the answer to the wisdom and will of God.”

The leper wanted to be healed and believed that he could be healed. This is seen in his coming to the Lord Jesus. He wouldn’t have wasted his time in coming if he did not believe the Lord could heal. Yet this leper was saying, ‘Not my will, but your will be done.’ Matthew Henry wisely wrote, “As to temporal mercies, we cannot be so sure of God’s will to bestow them, as we may His power; for His power in them is unlimited, but His promise of them is limited by a regard to His glory and our good.” This guy made a humble request of the Lord! He said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

He recognized the Lord’s power as he openly said that the Lord can make him clean. The leper believed in his heart that Jesus could heal his leprosy.

It has been said, “The Jews called leprosy ‘the finger of God,’ or ‘the stroke’ which indicated that the disease was regarded as a direct punishment from God and absolutely incurable, except by the hand of God which permitted it.”

In coming to the Lord Jesus and requesting of the Lord Jesus the leper recognized the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Only God could cure leprosy and God did cure leprosy that day. This was a humble, submissive, and conscious request by the leper.

• He humbled himself in the sight of the Lord.

• He submitted to the will of the Lord.

• He was conscious of his state before the Lord.

He knew that he was an unclean and unfit person. The man didn’t come demanding—he understood that he was not worthy to be healed—he didn’t deserve to be healed! This man wanted to be made clean and he submitted himself to the Lord for the cleansing.

Elijah is still very young and he loves to take a bath. He loves the water. But most boys go through the stage where they don’t want to take a bath.

I heard about this four year old boy who didn’t like soap and water. One day his mother was reasoning with him and was trying to get the little man to take a bath. She said, “But surely you want to be clean, don’t you?” The boy replied through tears, “Yes, but can’t you just dust me off?” That little boy really didn’t want to be clean!

It wasn’t that way with this leper. He came with a humble request and a submissive heart. This leper was a humble seeker. We’ve noticed the scene of the miracle, the seeker of the miracle, next, we see:

III. The Source of the miracle. (vs. 3–4)

A. The Lord’s procedure. (vs. 3a)

“Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”

The leper came to Jesus but he didn’t crowd in on Jesus. He respected the Lord’s space! He traveled to Jesus but he never reached to touch Jesus. He made a request of Jesus and the Lord had compassion on the man and reached out and touched the man. The Lord used various means and procedures in performing the miracles. Here we see that he reached out His hand and touched the man. Are we reaching out and touching those in need? For a person to touch a leper meant that that person would have been ceremonially and physically unclean themselves, but not so for the Son of God!

Herbert Lockyer said it well, “Had Jesus been a mere man, to have touched the leper would have been to defile Himself; but because He was the God-Man the touch did not defile Him. Likewise the sun shines on earth’s pollution but remains unscathed in its own purity and splendor.

That man got touched by the Master and transformed by the Master. That man left that day a new man. Have you been touched by the Master? Not only did the Lord use His healing touch, but He also used His powerful words. The Lord Jesus said, “I am willing; be cleansed.” At the touch of the Master and the word of the Master the leprosy was gone. I can imagine that that former leper left there that day singing and praising God. Thank God that He still touches the hurting, helpless, and sin sick souls today! In 1963 Bill Gaither wrote the words to the great song ‘He touched me.’ The song goes like this:

“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.

Since I met this blessed Savior, since He cleansed and made me whole;

I will never cease to praise Him I’ll shout it while eternity rolls.

He touched me, O, He touched me, and O, the joy that floods my soul!

Something happened, and now I know, He touched me and made me whole.”

We noticed the Lord’s procedure for the healing. He reached out and touched the man and spoke words of healing.

Next, we see:

B. The Lord’s power. (vs. 3b)

“I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”

The Lord’s power was evident that day as He touched the man and said to him, “be cleansed.” We’ve learned that when the Lord Jesus gave a command the fish in the sea, the demons in a man, and the disease in a man respond to the word of the Lord. His power is displayed over disease. The leper didn’t have to wait around to see if he was cleansed because he was immediately cured.

Immediately:eutheos, (yoo-theh’-oce) directly, i.e. at once or soon:—anon, as soon as, forthwith, immediately, shortly, straightway.

John MacArthur wrote, “When He touched defilement it went away. The scene on this occasion must have been startling—to see a deformed, shriveled, scaly, sore-covered, derelict suddenly stand upright, with perfect arms and legs, with his face smooth and unscarred, his hair restored, his voice normal, and his eyes bright. The marvels of modern medical science pale beside such miraculous restoration.” That’s what happened that day. When the Lord moved in the leprosy moved out.

I like to watch the shows “American Restoration” and “Overhaulin.” On these shows you can see the process of restoring old items and cars. On “American Restoration” people will bring in old Coke Machines, motorcycles, telephone booths, candy dispensers, etc. Rick will look at the item and give the person the price that estimates. People will pay astronomical amount to have their items restored. Sometimes they will pay over 100% the amount that the item originally cost.

The show lays out the painstaking process of the works in tearing down, repairing, finding the parts, fabricating other parts, sandblasting, painting, pin-striping, artwork, that goes into restoring an item. Sometimes you get to see the dirt, grime, the time, the money and man hours put into restoring. Those items look great when they are finished with them. Sometimes they make modifications and make a total overhaul and the end product doesn’t look anything like the original. It depends on what the customer wants.

We learn from the Word of God that this leper didn’t need extensive treatments—he didn’t need multiple appointments—he didn’t need injections, surgeries. There was no prolonged procedure and months of rehab and recovering. The Lord spoke to the man, touched the man, and he was immediately healed, restored to his original shape! We see the Lord’s great and sufficient power to heal. At the touch of the Master:

• Health overcame sickness

• Purity overcame pollution

• Life overcame death

• Restoration overcame rejection

• Soundness overcame soreness

• Dedication overcame desperation

• Worship overcame worry

The Bible says that immediately his leprosy was cleansed. This man was made whole again. He was physically restored. The Lord’s power made the man whole! The Lord’s power can make us whole. The Lord Jesus is the source of the miracle.

→ You and I have had a spiritual leprosy on our souls.

→ Sin had eaten away at our souls—caused defilement, deformity, distance, death, and damnation!

If you are saved today you have been touched by the Master! You have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus, forgiven of all your sins, and given eternal life. You have been cleansed and made whole and we ought to praise Him every day! AMEN!

We’ve seen the Lord’s procedure, the Lord’s power, and lastly we see:

C. The Lord’s plan. (vs. 4)

“And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

The Lord Jesus did not perform this miracle in a corner somewhere, but out in the open as the great multitudes had followed Him. Word of the miracle was going to get out, but the Lord had a plan for this man. He told the man to go to the priest and let them inspect him so that they could pronounce him clean and give him a certificate that would show that he was now cleansed of leprosy and was able to function in society. This process of pronouncing a leper clean would have been an eight day process, but that was nothing to this man. He did what the Lord told him to do!

In Leviticus 14 the Bible describes the offerings and lays out what is to be done when a leper is cleansed. Obviously, the priest would have questioned the man about his healing and then he would have been able to tell them that the Lord Jesus made him whole. It would have been a testimony to the priest to further substantiate the work and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord commanded the man to go to the priest and do all that is commanded in the Law of Moses concerning the healing of leprosy. Why did Jesus command the man to say nothing to no one?

This was the first instance where Jesus commanded someone not to tell what had taken place. This was because He was aware that many were only interested in deliverance from the Roman yoke and to make Him King. He knew that Israel was unrepentant. He knew that the nation would reject His spiritual leadership.

Leprosy is to the physical body what sin is to the soul. Someone has well said, “Leprosy is a remarkable type of sin and its fruits … The visible effect on the body illustrates the effect of sin upon the soul. Sin, like leprosy, is a most loathsome, polluting, deforming, unclean thing. Leprosy is God’s language by which He describes sin as it appears in His sight.” You may not have physical leprosy, but from God’s perspective you have spiritual leprosy. It is eating away at your soul and has defiled you and deformed you and has distanced you from God.

Just as the Lord Jesus healed this man with a word and His touch, He can heal you and cleanse you of all your sin today.

1 John 1:7 says, “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”