“When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”
Matthew 8:1-3 ESV
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Can you imagine this? It’s easy to just read on thinking, “yea yea, Jesus healed a guy”. But think about it! Imagine you were in that crowd following Jesus and some guy who’s clearly got some skin issues says this to Jesus. You look at the guy, you look at his skin decay, and then you look at Jesus. With no doubt in mind Jesus says four little powerful words, “I will; be clean”. And before your eyes, in that very moment, this person’s skin condition heals. No more leprosy, no more sickness. This guys skin is probably cleaner than your own. And then another guy comes up to him with a request. We’ll read about that tomorrow. But let’s not move on from this first miracle so quickly. Jesus healed a man, immediately upon saying, “I will”. People don’t possess this kind of power. But the Spirit of God does. And Jesus is the Christ, the visible image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). Jesus is our healer. God almighty loves people, and brings healing through Christ Jesus.
What would you think if you witnessed something like this in modern time? You and some others may write it down. It’s so remarkable it would probably reshape society in some ways…especially if it was a recurring event. Especially…ESPECIALLY…if this healer ended up being crucified and then came back to life and ascended into the heavens in front of a bunch of witnesses. Yes! It was written down, and yes, Jesus did rise from the dead and ascend into Heaven! It did reshape society and continues to do so. This blog in itself is just another ripple affect or a billion ripple affects from what happened 2,000 years ago. Why? Because God is a reality and that reality was realized through his Son whom he sent; Jesus who is the Christ. This truly happened, it’s not just another book of stories. Fairy tales don’t reshape society. God is true, and he is amazing. He has power over everything, including every sickness and every disease. But more importantly, he has the power to save you and me from the eternal hell we deserve. He is the Savior, the Messiah. And he paid the price on a cross to save you and me because we have sinned countless times against a perfectly Holy God. And we need forgiveness and we need saving. Let’s repent daily from our sick selfish sinful ways and turn to the one true God who deserves to be honored and praised.
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord, who paid the penalty for every sin so that we may be completely forgiven and redeemed. amen.
