While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.
(verses 12-13)
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What a simple, poignant encounter. Yet the simplicity yields powerful insight.
One man steps into the centre of this story, right into Jesus’ line of sights. He kneels before him.
So many insights here. As these short verses unfold, Jesus gives undivided attention to this one. Remarkable. Jesus is in the midst of a teaching ministry, with people “crowding around him” (Luke 5:1), eager to hear the word of God. He has just called his first disciples into active engagement in ministry – they will be catching people alive into the nets of the kingdom. Such a strong beginning. So much happening. And yet, Jesus is not overwhelmed by the weight of the moment. He has time and focus for one. We, too, deal with a Saviour whose eye is focused on individuals. On me.
What’s more, this man shouldn’t have been there in the first place. He’s a leper. He was supposed to keep his distance, crying out, “Unclean! Unclean!”, pushing everyone else away. But he presses in. And Jesus, far from being repelled, gives attention. There is hope, too, for me.
The man falls at Jesus’s feet as an act of reverent petition. Matthew, in reporting this same incident (Matthew 8:2), intensifies the scene by using a specific word to describe this action. It’s a word commonly used in the New Testament for worship – proskuneo, literally meaning “to come towards to kiss.” When our need is so great that we have nowhere to go but to fall before Jesus, this act of desperate petition is itself a true act of worship. Jesus is the One, the only one, who can meet the need. The man cried out. So, too, do I – and it is worship.
There is such plaintive tenderness in the man’s petition: “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” There is such welcoming tenderness in Jesus’ response: “I am willing.” But of course. This is the One whose very purpose in coming was to seek and save the lost. This is the One who bears our burdens and carries our sorrows. Why do I ever allow the weight of my own need to cause me to doubt that he sees me, even me, and desires my healing and wholeness and best good?
Simultaneously, Jesus reaches out his hand to touch the man, breaking the barrier of isolation that had surrounded him ever since his leprosy first appeared. No one, apart from other lepers, would have dared touch him. The disease was viewed as highly contagious. It enveloped the man in uncleanness. He was cut off. Jesus’ outstretched hand communicates compassion, acceptance, grace.
Finally, Jesus speaks the word. “Be clean!” Immediately, the man is healed.
Once again, this presses me up against the mystery of prayer. As I, too, worship through heartfelt petition, my immersion in time may keep me from seeing the immediacy of my Lord’s response. But I lean into this simple story, trusting his goodness, knowing that my own need and uncleanness don’t disqualify me. He sees me and loves me and attends to me, speaking the word of his will into motion, even when I don’t yet see it.
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So, Lord, I worship in faith as I wait, kneeling at your feet.
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Reflect:
Take a moment right now to press into Jesus’ hands the request that weighs on your heart. Know that his attention is focused on you. He hears your heart. Put the request securely in his hands, trusting.
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Photo by Charles Postiaux on Unsplash
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