Today’s Message

Date:               March 12, 2006

Speaker:          Pastor Steven Thomas

Title:                Touching the Untouchable

Text:                Mark 1:40-45

40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

41 Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.

43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” 45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

Today’s take-home truth:  The leper served as a walking parable of the human condition.  From his encounter with Jesus we learn that:

I.          Our condition is worse than you think.  40

A.        The nature of our condition:

1.         It is ugly.

2.         It is isolating.

3.         It is incurable.

B.        The result of our condition

1.         It instills a sense of desperation.

2.         It drives us to plead for divine mercy.

II.        Jesus’ compassion is deeper than you imagine.  41-42

A.        He is willing to touch the untouchable.

B.        He is able to accomplish the unimaginable.

III.       Jesus’ mission is greater than you realize.  43-45

A.        His chief concern lies in a message that produces spiritual cleansing, not physical healing.

B.        He holds people accountable for what they do with his message.

1.         He requires those whom he has touched to help his mission, not hinder it.

2.         He requires those who hear his message to believe it, not oppose it.