"Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. 'I am willing.' he said. 'Be clean!' Immediately he was cured of his leprosy." Matthew 8:3, NIV.
LEPROSY
In this passage, a man with leprosy kneels before Jesus and says, "Lord, if you are willing you can make me clean." Everyone knows what horrible disease leprosy is; it is highly contagious, and the afflicted were outcasts who were pelted with stones if they approached another person. Leprosy was often used to typify sin and sin's punishment, this symbolism was an additional stigma carried by the afflicted persons.
THE LEPER
He was a lonely, outcast, and estranged from society, but he comes and kneels before Jesus and expresses his faith in the Lord to have the ability to heal him. One wonders, did he intend to question Jesus' willingness to heal him? His words, "If you are willing." almost sounds sarcastic- or was he referring to the teaching that leprosy implied sin's punishment, which meant he was a sinner.
It was more, it was an act of faith; he believed in Jesus' power to heal, so he says, "If you are willing."
JESUS
Jesus is willing. "Jesus reached out his hand," and touched him on purpose; he did not accidentally brush him, but really reached out and touched the man. This man had not been touched by another person in who knows how long, and now he is touched by Jesus.
You can almost hear the crowd gasp today. A rabbi would never touch a person who was unclean, and a sensible person would never touch a leper. Yet in love, Jesus tosses that aside.
WE NEED HIS TOUCH
How much did that touch communicate to the leprous man? Love, acceptance, validation, worth, and emotional healing were all in that gentle touch. We all have pain and affliction, we have sorrow and hurt, many of us face dreadful situations that have scarred us, but Jesus is willing to heal, comfort, and love. We do not fully understand why we suffer but we know he is as grieved by our sorrows as we are. In the darkest depths of our woes, we find how high are the heights of His Love. We need to come to Jesus, kneel, and say, "Lord, I know you can perform a miracle in this situation." Jesus is willing.
