Daily Devotional For Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Read the following from Matthew 8:1-4, “When He (Jesus) came down from the mountain, great crowds followed Him. (2) And behold, a leper came to Him and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, if You will, you can make me clean.” (3) And Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. (4) And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them” (ESV).

Matthew 8 begins a series of nine miracles that Jesus does to the shock and surprise of everyone, including His own disciples. The text describes this man as having leprosy. The Greek New Testament word used here is [λεπρός, lepros]. The word itself means “scaly.” Today we call this disease Hanson’s Disease. 

To have leprosy in that day was considered the worst disease to have for several reasons. First, it is highly contagious. Second, it kills nerves in your limbs such as hands and arms, legs and toes. You can literally cut off a finger or a hand and not know it until you saw the gushing of blood. Third, because of how deadly and contagious it was, you were ostracized from the community, even from your own family. 

In the Old Testament Law, God had laws about what to do with lepers. Read Leviticus 13:9-33. Lepers were alienated, alone, fearful, lonely and spiritual outcasts. In our modern minds, we tend to think this was over the top, but initially we treated people with AIDS the same way or Ebola or any other deadly contagious an infectious disease. In Jesus’ day, any skin problem was often labeled as leprosy. We know that leprosy started in Egypt from leprosy bacillus.

Even today, the worst form of leprosy is not curable, only treatable and can be kept in check by medication. Spongy, tumor-like swellings would eventually grow on the face and body, and the bacillus would become systemic and affect internal organs, while the bones would begin to deteriorate. Untreated in ancient times, it produced a weakness which made the victim vulnerable to tuberculosis or other diseases.

L. S. Huizenga describes some of the horrors of leprosy in his book, Unclean! Unclean!, “The disease which we today call leprosy generally begins with pain in certain areas of the body. Numbness follows. Soon the skin in such spots loses its original color. It gets to be thick, glossy, and scaly . . . As the sickness progresses, the thickened spots become dirty sores and ulcers due to poor blood supply. The skin, especially around the eyes and ears, begins to bunch, with deep furrows between the swellings, so that the face of the afflicted individual begins to resemble that of a lion. Fingers drop off or are absorbed; toes are affected similarly. Eyebrows and eyelashes drop out. By this time one can see the person in this pitiable condition is a leper. By a touch of the finger one can also feel it. One can even smell it, for the leper emits a very unpleasant odor. Moreover, in view of the fact that the disease-producing agent frequently also attacks the larynx, the leper’s voice acquires a grating quality. His throat becomes hoarse, and you can now not only see, feel, and smell the leper, but you can hear his rasping voice. And if you stay with him for some time, you can even imagine a peculiar taste in your mouth, probably due to the odor” (p. 388).

In some way, leprosy is similar to sin. Sin inflects, kills and destroys, corrupts and contaminates its host and is incurable by us. The fact this leper comes right up to Jesus is shocking because they were forbidden by the Old Testament Law as well as cultural law to avoid any contact with people. So, let me point out a few things here: 

1. First, not only did this leper approach Jesus, he did so with confidence. Look at Matthew 8:2b, “Lord, if You will, You can make me clean” (ESV). He didn’t ask Jesus if He had the power; he knew Jesus did. He must have sensed from hearing about Jesus how Jesus loved people, especially the disenfranchised. He must have sensed that Jesus would not be ashamed nor embarrassed to be with this man. You can almost see other people parting like the Red Sea when this leper approached. Jesus didn’t remind him of the Old Testament Law on this. He simply loved the man who came to Him with confidence that Jesus could heal him if He chose to do so. It reminds me of Hebrews 4:16, "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (ESV).
2. Second, this leper came to Jesus with humility. Look at Matthew 8:2b, “. . . a leper came to Him and knelt before Him . . .” (ESV). There was a reverence and awe by this leper towards Jesus. To him, Jesus was different from the other Jewish Rabbis. The Greek New Testament word used here for “knelt” is. [προσκυνέω, proskuneo] and it literally means “to prostrate oneself down on our knees to the ground in worship.” 
3. Third, this leper recognizes something that maybe even the disciples did not affirm. He affirmed Jesus’ deity. Look at Matthew 8:2c, “Lord, if You will, you can make me clean” (ESV). He didn’t say, “Sir” or “Excuse me mister” or “Pardon me Rabbi.” He called Jesus Lord. Somehow this leper knew he was in the presence of God, the only one on the planet Who could heal him of his leprosy.
4. Fourth, this leper came to Jesus with unbelievable faith. Look what he said to Jesus in Matthew 8:2c, “. . . You can make me clean” (ESV).

This leper never doubted Jesus could heal him. He never feared what other thought about his coming to Jesus. He knew that Jesus was God in human flesh and called out to Him in faith not yet even seen in the disciples. What was the result? Jesus healed him. Notice something very important here. Jews were forbidden by the Old Testament Law to touch a leper due to how contagious this disease was. Jesus did the unthinkable. He touched this man. You can almost hear all the oxygen leave that area as people gasped in shock. This was the first time this man had been touched possibly in years. And the wonder of all wonders is: he was touched physically by the hand of Jesus. And the healing was instantaneous.  

Consider this for a moment:

1. What are you willing to do to get to Jesus?
2. What barriers, fears, concerns do you have to overcome to get to Jesus? Do you fear what others might think of you if you try to get very close to Jesus in your relationship to Him?
3. Leprosy in this day kept all lepers away. What is the biggest obstacle, sin or fear, or problem that keeps you from Jesus?
4. If you could ask Jesus to heal you of anything, what is it and why?
5. How do you view Jesus? God in human flesh? A Nazarene? A great teacher? A great prophet? Who Jesus is to you will determine how intentional you are to get to Him?
6. Would Jesus say your life is characterized by humility or hubris? Why?
7. Someone has said, “You don't realize Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.” What do you personally think of this statement and why?

Scripture to Meditate On: James 4:8, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (ESV).

Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus, I am not sure if I have ever been as desperate as this leper to come to You. He knew he was a dead person walking. And the truth is, so am I. Please forgive me for my pride, my arrogance, and my sense of self-sufficiency. As in the words of that old hymn, `Lord, I need You, Oh I need You. Every hour I need You.’ Lord, I commit to You today to depend on You for everything in my life — the good, the bad, the ugly, the sinful and even the wounded parts of my soul. Lord, You can heal me of me. I ask that You do that in Jesus’ name, Amen!”