From Ruin to Redemption

Luke 5:12–15

Theme Statement: Luke 5:12–15 reminds us that sin leaves us ruined and hopeless, but through Christ’s power to cleanse and restore, anyone can move from spiritual death to eternal life—and then live as a witness of His redeeming grace.

Introduction: In Luke 5:12–15, we are introduced to a man whose entire life had been consumed by one reality—leprosy.

The Bible says he was “full of leprosy.”

That means his terrible disease had reached its final stage. His body was ravaged, his strength was gone, and his condition was fatal. There was no cure, no remedy, no escape.

But leprosy in Scripture is more than just a disease—it is a vivid picture of sin.

Like leprosy, sin may work slowly, but it always works surely.

It corrupts from within, poisons the very source of life, and ultimately brings death.

In fact, lepers in the early church of Rome were considered the same as the dead; they were given their last rites.

And this morning, friend, if you have never been born again—if you have never been saved—you are in the very same condition spiritually.

You are dead in trespasses and sins.

This leper realized he was dying and there was nothing he could do.

And that’s where the story turns, because the Bible says, “seeing Jesus.”

What an inspiring revelation!

Hearing about Jesus is one thing, but seeing Him is another.

Hearing is second-hand; seeing is life-changing.

I may have heard of a million dollars, but if I actually saw a million dollars, the excitement would be overwhelming.

Could you imagine this leper’s eyes, dull and dim from years of despair, suddenly brighten as he looked upon the Son of God?

The stories he had heard about miracles became reality when he stood face to face with the Miracle-Worker.

And then, notice his humble position: “he fell on his face.”

When sinners come face to face with the holiness of God, pride cannot stand.

Isaiah cried, “Woe is me!”

Job said, “I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

Peter fell down saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

And John fell at His feet as a dead man.

This leper, overwhelmed by both his sinfulness and Christ’s holiness, could only bow low before the One who alone could cleanse him.

Friend, this is where hope is found.

The leper came with a fatal condition, but he left with a full cleansing.

And the same Jesus who touched him is still able and willing to touch you today.

Transition: But before Jesus ever touched him, there was a plea—an urgent, direct and desperate cry from a dying man: “Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.”

Let’s look first at A Direct Cry.

A Direct Cry

“Lord if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.”

The prayer of this poor lowly outcast was right to the point.

He didnt beat around the bush and say, if you are Lord thou canst or I know you are Lord but I dont think you can clean a leper like me.

No He said “Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean”

Notice two things this man acknowledges in his Despairing but Direct Plea:

A)Acknowledges the Character of Christ

Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst...

First thing he said is Lord.

This is the first step in salvation.

You must acknowledge who it is that you have sinned against and who it is that can make it right

If we confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus,…

and with the mouth Confession is made unto salvation

He was very direct in his plea

He came to the one he knew that could help him and he cried out

He not only acknowledged the Lordship of Christ

He acknowledged the power of Christ

we see a fountain of faith springing up - an intelligent faith in His power. “ If thou wilt, thou canst”

(Gen.18:14 Is there anything to hard for God?.......)

To doubt His divinity and almightiness is to knock at a locked door.

(Heb.11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.)

This man knew who it was he was calling out to but this cry also....

A)Acknowledges the Character of Christ

B) Acknowledges His Constraining Condition

“make me clean”

There was no hope for this man, he had been separated from his family, cut off from society, lost his job and he knew if he did not get help, this disease would kill him.

James 1:15 “Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”

He admitted what he was and what he needed.

Paul tells us we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God

He also tells us that, Romans 5:12 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”

There is not one person in here that is not a sinner.

We all deserve Hell and unless you call on the One that can save you that is where you are going friend.

This leopard knew this, he simply confesses his need, and pleads to the One and only One that can bring personal and eternal cleansing.

But Jesus just didnt just hear his cry, He did something about it. He cleansed him.

II. A Definite Cleansing

Every miracle is linked with the “I will” of Jesus Christ.

Before the critics can eliminate the miracles from the Bible they must first eliminate the “I will’s” of the Son of God.

In this Cleansing there were three things that took place:

A) Atoning Touch

“He touched him”

The holiness of God comes into contact with man in all his defilement,

but like the sun light that shines every morning on the pollution of this world, the Holy One is not defiled by the touch.

As never a man spake like this man, so never a man touched like this man.

The word touch in the Greek means to attach oneself to

You know why His touch is so powerful, because He attaches himself to you

That is why...

He touched and the feaver left a dying woman

He touched and a lame man walked

He touched and a blind man saw

He touched and deaf man could hear

It did not matter what Jesus touched He was never defiled and that which he touched was cleansed

we are made righteous because He is

we are made holy because He is

Have you been touched by the Master?

A) Atoning Touch

B) Assuring Word

“I will: be thou clean.”

With His healing touch comes His word of assurance.

We are saved by His blood and assured by His word.

His touch of love is accompanied with His word of assurance.

John 6:44 “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

John 6:51 “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

When Jesus tells you something you can take it to the bank.

When He said It is finished, John 19:30 “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”

That was it. there was nothing left to do

call upon the Lord and thou shalt be saved!!

When you cry out to the One that can save, the only One that can take your sin and cast it in to the depths of the sea

He will touch you and then confirm His touch with His Word

you can then rise up from your once dead state and walk in newness of life because when Jesus comes by your way and touches you something happens.

A) Atoning Touch

B) Assuring Word

C) Absolute Deliverance

“Immediately the leprosy departed from him”

Where it went no one knows.

This man did not care, all he knew is that it was gone.

Micah 7:19 “He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; And thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

What Jesus does is absolute

This man went from deaths door, hanging over the pit of hell by a string

to swinging from the chandlers

When you get saved you are not sinless but you will sin less.

There will be a change of heart toward the things of God and God’s people

There will be a change of lifestyle

There will be a change of speech

Things will be different

And that was the case for this man

Then Jesus gives him some marching orders.

III. A Divine Commission

“Go, and shew thyself to the priest, and offer…”

When Christ saves, He not only cleanses us—He also commissions us.

Salvation is not the end, it’s the beginning of a brand new life.

A) He is to Walk (Go)

The first command Jesus gave was Go.

Salvation changes our direction.

Before, we were going our own way, but now we walk in obedience to Him.

Matthew 28:19 — “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations…”

2 Corinthians 5:7 — “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

Matthew 16:24 “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

If you’ve been cleansed, you can’t sit still—you must walk with Him.

A) He is to Walk (Go)

B) He is to Witness (Show thyself)

Jesus told the man to show himself to the priest.

Why?

Because a testimony must be seen.

Revelation 12:11 — “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony…”

When Christ changes a life, people should notice.

Your family, your coworkers, your neighbors should see a difference.

The greatest evidence of salvation is a transformed life.

A) He is to Walk (Go)

B) He is to Witness (Show thyself)

C) He is to Worship (Offer)

The final command was to offer.

True salvation produces worship.

The one who has been forgiven much will love much.

Romans 12:1 — “I beseech you therefore… that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

A cleansed life must become a consecrated life.

Worship is not just with lips on Sunday but with our lives every day.

Conclusion

The leper’s story is every sinner’s story.

He was ruined, hopeless, and condemned to die.

But one encounter with Jesus changed everything.

With a direct cry, he confessed his need.

With a definite cleansing, Jesus restored him.

And with a divine commission, he stepped into a brand-new life.

Friend, when Jesus touched that leper, everything changed. I want you to notice something:

Luke 5:15 says, “But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities.”

Mark 1:45 adds that the cleansed man “went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter.”

Do you see it?

When Christ cleanses a sinner, it cannot be hidden.

The news spreads.

Others are drawn.

Lives are changed.

This is what salvation does—it moves us from ruin to redemption, and then it makes us a witness of His redeeming grace.

But notice this: none of it would have happened if that leper had not come to Jesus in his desperate need.

And right now, you stand where he once stood.

You are unclean, but Christ can cleanse you.

You are ruined by sin, but Christ can redeem you.

Come to Him today.

Come with your sin.

Come with your shame.

Come with your burden.

Jesus is not only able—He is willing.

All you have to do is call out to him and He will save you

Romans 10:9–11

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”

So the question remains: Will you stay in your ruin, or will you come to Christ and be redeemed?