LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
The Will of Christ
Matthew 8:1-4, Mark 1:40-16, Luke 5:12-16.
In this passage, the way in which the Lord healed a leprous man is described. This man probably came unexpectedly, since lepers were strongly discriminated against at that time, since the disease was associated with sin. With the advancement of medicine, it is now known that leprosy is caused by a specific etiological agent that can be treated with medication.
This leper came before the Lord making an affirmation: "If you will, you can make me clean", which is clearly an indicator of faith. He did not question the Lord's healing power, but appealed to the will of Jesus. In other words, the leper said the following: "You have the power to heal me; you only need to will it". Perhaps it would have been different if the question had been: "Can you make me clean?".
Another important aspect regarding the leper's attitude before the Lord is his humiliation. All three gospels refer to it. Luke even says "he fell down with his face to the ground and begged him". Seeing this, and knowing the leper's faith, the Lord "touched him", according to Matthew, Mark and Luke. What does this mean? That the Lord was not disgusted by the leper's misery, bad odor, social lowliness and physical appearance. In his great mercy, the Lord Jesus did not discriminate against this man.
Mark says: "And Jesus having mercy on him...". Then humiliation, faith and mercy were combined. Only at that moment came the Lord's answer: "I will, be clean". Mark says: "And when he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed" (v. 42).
Today, leprosy does not exist as it did in ancient times, when it was an epidemic responsible for millions of deaths around the world. However, it exists in another form, as an allegory of sin, which affects all mankind. Biblically, leprosy was associated with sin; therefore, it is possible to understand sin as the leprosy of the human being.
Just as lepers were segregated, sin made separation between man and our Father. But blessed be our Lord who, seeing us sick, sinful and destitute of the glory of God, loved us and gave his life to cleanse us of our sins.
Note the expression of the leper: "If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean". He did not ask for healing, but for cleansing. What will happen then to the present lepers? We know that the Lord's answer was: "I will, be clean". We can infer that the Lord wants to cleanse today's lepers.
But we must keep in mind that the cleansing or healing of this leper and the cleansing of our sins had very different prices. To heal the leper, it was enough for the Lord to will; however, the cost of cleansing the sins of all mankind was our Lord's own life. Blessed be our precious Savior!