Mark 1:40-45

Have you ever befriended someone or gone out of your way to help somebody who you knew would pay you back?

Have you ever helped someone because they had connections/something to gain?

- “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.”

Motivation is everything.. What motivates you to reach people for Jesus? OR are you motivated at all?

Jesus loved everyone and was motivated to help people.

Leprosy photos

Among the sixty-one defilements of ancient Jewish laws, leprosy was second only to a dead body in seriousness. A leper wasn’t allowed to come within six feet of any other human, including his own family. The disease was considered so revolting that the leper wasn’t permitted to come within 150 feet of anyone when the wind was blowing. Lepers lived in a community with other lepers until they either got better or died. This was the only way the people knew to contain the spread of the contagious forms of leprosy.

They were outcast/despised/looked down on.

Jesus was moved with compassion…

Definition.. sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others.

Jesus demonstrated this for us….so we can be like Him.

We can see three actions that we can learn from Jesus.

1) Jesus reached….(stretched out)

a. We have to be willing to get out of our comfort zone.

i. Maybe talk to someone you wouldn’t

ii. We must reach people with the love of Jesus.

2) Jesus touched….

a. Completely not what a Jewish teacher would do.

b. Nobody touched a leper.

c. Leper was probably shocked too.

d. We must touch the lives of sinners.

i. Being a friend to a lonely person.

ii. How can we expect people to change if we don’t touch their lives. Impact someone

3) Jesus spoke….

a. Must be willing to speak to people

i. You have no idea what a hello can do to someone

ii. When Jesus left this earth, He gave us the power to speak life into people through his word and love.

4) Go now! So many times we wait for our emotions to motivate us .. or wait for the perfect time..

a. Just start!

Jesus gave Him a STERN warning…..but the excitement was too much…. He had to tell everyone.

In Jewish culture, a priest had to do a procedure to have a leper restored back to his family/community.

Why would Jesus not want the man to tell everyone?

In verse 45, it tells us why….because Jesus knew large crowds would come to Him just to be healed.

Yes, God loves to heal people physically but He’s more concerned with healing people spiritually through preaching the gospel and repentance….

Jesus didn’t like crowds…. He wanted more one on one time with people.