Jesus heals a Leper

Hook

INTRO

Study of power of touch, connect with the story of boy at Camp and his inability to connect due to a lack of touch

Pray

Book

TEXT- Luke 5: 12-16

CONTEXT

What is Going on?

Leper- skin disease by any kind. This could range from pimples to genuine skin aliments. Luke, a physician, full of leprosy details an advance stage of skin disease. From this conclusion, we can probably assume that the man had this disease for a long time. Long time meaning more than 6 months to over a year. Example- Stage 3 cancer. From a few months to 5 years. Full of leprosy was an advance term.

Jewish purity laws. In the Mosaic law any skin diseased people were exiled from their communities. They were forbidden to live with the common people. Meaning, they had their own community if they were lucky to have other people with skin diseases to be around. The family could not contact the person of the skin disease. The person could not work. The could not make food. They had nothing to make mends for themselves. They relied on their families or friends to give food clothing or any other item dropped off at a remote area for them to pick up. The pain of the disease most likely matched the pain of isolation.

Present yourself to the Priest- Imagine if a man sent to prison for fraud one day got out of prison and applied for jobs in the banking community. Most likely he is not going to make it. He’s not going to get hired, that’s for sure. What about this man that just got healed? It’s not like they’re going to let him walk into the market place, buy food, get a job, put on clothes. Presented yourself to the priest was, in a way, confirming a clean bill of health. This was part of the Mosaic Laws in order to come back into society, one had to be blessed off by a Priest. After the Priest did a thorough examination, can the man finally show himself and do business in the markets.

Withdrew to desolate places-Why? Can you imagine choosing to just wonder off to the whale gap of NTC? Literally a barren place surrounded by nothingness. This word means a dry or isolated land with no water. Water, according to science is the bases of all life. That is, exactly where Christ heads to. It is interesting that instead of hearing about the story of healing, the fame, the popularity, even riding the momentum of the miracle, Jesus goes off the grid. All that success to ride on the coat tails of this miracle and Jesus just seems to throw it away. Why is that? Popularity doesn’t always mean acceptability. It might mean jealously, envy, or even controversy. Not only that, Jesus doing these miracles would have made him a popular figure. Validation from the people. Just like his temptation in the wilderness, having all the kingdoms of the world praise you, it would have been very tempting to quickly distract the true importance of what was happening. Instead of seeing what really needed to be seen, Jesus could have distracted the reason why he did the miracles. He didn’t do it for fame, or recognition, or popularity. He didn’t do it to prove himself, or receive affirmation. He did it to show us God’s redemptive plan breaking through to our broken world to finally heal us and save us. God’s Kingdom colliding with the world’s kingdom. Suffering and sorrow being eradicated by hope and mercy.

Jesus withdrew to reconnect with the father and ensure he was focused on the mission of God, not taking away from God’s mission. Devoid of all life, Jesus refocused to reconnect with God.

Words/phrases to Study

-Vs 13 I will- What a powerful phrase Jesus says. This isn’t about being compelled to do something. Guilted to do it or the pressure to do it. The leprosy man is not an ends to a means. He is not their to validate Jesus’ ministry per say. The faith of the man already saved him. Being healed did not, but Christ miracle was to show the power of God in Christ. To show that Jesus is the true Messiah. I will means I wish when translated. To wish is to seek a hope beyond reality. To wish is to seek a hope beyond reality. That is, I wish I had my favorite rifle. It isn’t real, but it is something I want. Jesus’, words mean more than just a person to be healed, but his touch and connection symbolizes God’s desire to reconnect with people.

TENSION IN THE TEXT

Touched, but not touched

I fee like being so interconnected with people around the world we can be touched by stories, medicine, people, and experiences and yet feel empty and void inside.

-Story of woman in the ER room being touched, but not touched. Everyone was touching her, taking care of her, providing for her, but what she also needed was someone to be present and touch her human connection.

-Willing and able vs Unwilling but able.

The depth of what this story tells us, is that the man that was outcasted from society is reconnected back into society. Very much parallels our isolation from God. We, like the man, have a disease that has fully developed called sin. We, like the man, are not cut off from the city/garden God has made for us. The poetic symbolism in going to the priest, is that it was the priest who could give you the clean bill of health. Christ, in his work on the cross, our high priest, is the only one that can give us the clean bill of health that brings us into the community of God’s Kingdom. This story shows the heart of God. God does not just want you to live a happy prosperous life. He doesn’t want you to just be okay. He is not interested in just your mental health or clarity. He is the great physician curing us of the one disease that regardless of what we do, we can never get ride of.

Healing comes by faith not by works

As we acknowledge that Jesus is the way, Jesus reveals the heart of God that not only is God able to heal us. It doesn’t cost us works. Jesus never says to the man, you must pray to me 5 times a day. You must bow to me three times daily. You must attend church all your life. You must be a good person, you must, well, fill in the blank. It requires faith in Christ. Faith in knowing who Christ is and submitting to Christ, in-faith to what he can do for us.

By Faith we are saved.

The man did not ask first if Jesus had the power to heal. He asked if he was okay if the power would heal him. Meaning, he fully trusted in Jesus’ power to heal, he only hesitated would Jesus even bother with a person like me.

The reflection we need to see in this story is not the fame or popularity of Jesus’ power, but that Jesus is willing and able to heal us from our disease that separates us from God.

GOVERNING THEOLOGICAL THEME (GTT)

Have you been touched by God?

Look

BE- Faithful in God’s work.

-Faith defined as committed to God enduring trials with hope

KNOW- God is willing to touch the mess of your life.

-We can come boldly before the Lord who is willing to be in our mess

DO- Act in Faith, not in Works

-When we are ill, we do not need to do more, we need to trust more

Took

SO, WHAT

-All of us are Sinners all of us need to be healed

THEREFORE

-Healing comes by faith not by works