Those Touched by Jesus

Jesus Is Lord
Imitating Jesus
The Supremacy of Jesus Christ

Matthew 8:1-4

The Message

He Carried Our Diseases

8 ^1-2 Jesus came down the mountain with the cheers of the crowd still ringing in his ears. Then a leper appeared and went to his knees before Jesus, praying, “Master, if you want to, you can heal my body.”

^3-4 Jesus reached out and touched him, saying, “I want to. Be clean.” Then and there, all signs of the leprosy were gone. Jesus said, “Don’t talk about this all over town. Just quietly present your healed body to the priest, along with the appropriate expressions of thanks to God. Your cleansed and grateful life, not your words, will bear witness to what I have done.”

For Reflection

When we have addressed these passages in past times, the major question raised was, " Why did Jesus not want the leper to talk about this?"  We never quite arrived at a reasonable answer.

Now, it occurs to me that it is not that Jesus wanted the leper not to talk about it.  Jesus wanted others to recognize the change in the leper and ask him about it.  I think Jesus knew that If the leper sought out suitable street corners and shouted out that he had been cured the focus would surely been directed to this physical change and not to his spiritual change.  

Jesus asked of the leper just what he asks of us today.  Live a grateful life as a witness to your spiritual transformation.  Spoken quietly and in humility, the justice and compassion of God's gift will alone be more powerful than a multi-media barrage.

Pray

that your life, lived well in Christ, will scream volumes about the power of the Holy Spirit.  Give thanks and praise for your life; transformed by God's grace.