Matt.
8:2-3
“A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, 'Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.' Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. 'I am willing,' he said. 'Be clean!' Immediately, he was cured of his leprosy.
“A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, 'Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.' Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. 'I am willing,' he said. 'Be clean!' Immediately, he was cured of his leprosy.
On our journey through Matthew, I must stop here. I have always needed to stop here to reflect. Those words, "I am willing" have always given me a glimpse of my Lord's smile upon me.
So many things strike me about these two verses. Being a list kind of person, I will list them.
- The first thing the man does is come. Notice, Jesus did not approach the leper. The leper approached him. The very idea that the leper came to a well person at all is a step of boldness and faith, as contact with world of the "living" was prohibited to those in his situation. But, he had already been given a death sentence to the best of his knowledge, so he really had nothing to lose.
- And then he knelt. Then he knelt. When a person is face to face with Jesus, there are only two options. You accept Him as Lord, or you reject Him. To be indifferent of it all is more of a slap in His face than to deny Him. To be apathetic is to declare yourself as god. In kneeling, this leper showed where he stood. Kneeling was his declaration that Christ was God.
- He admits that Jesus can, BUT DOES NOT HAVE TO. The man is accepting the decision either way. We are told to pray expectantly. What we are to expect is for God's perfect will to be done. (Oh, I know I am stirring up some debate here. No apologies.) He hears us. He listens to us. We tell Him our heart's desire. But in the end, it is His decision as to what will best be to His glory. And to be honest, I am okay with that. I am finite and can only see life linearly. And that, only my life. And I have not even reached the end of the line yet. God, however, is infinite, sees all things and the relationships between all, and has already seen the end. His boundlessness is also in his knowledge. All this in mind, I trust His choices more than my own.
- Jesus IS willing. Even with the above in mind, He does not hesitate when asked. There is nothing in the text to indicate it, but I can't picture this scene without seeing Jesus smile in relief to see that one of them "gets it." I can feel the love Jesus has for this man in the immediacy of the result. He doesn't wait to give him instructions first or warn him to stay away from other lepers or anything else first. It was as though he was just waiting to do this for him. That miracle blessed more than just the leper that day. It illustrated Jesus as God, giving glory to God, and giving life to a person for no other reason than that he asked. Yes, God knows the outcome of the human race, but what is even more amazing is that he is able to take part in the life of each individual. And he wants to. Your problem, large or small, may not matter to whole of mankind, but because of His love for you, it matters to Him.
We are told, as heirs to the throne, we may boldly approach God with all our requests. So, come to Him! Kneel before Him! Accept His greater Will! And bask in the comfort of His love for you.
John Calvin said about this verses this:
ReplyDelete2. Approaching, worshipped What is the meaning of the verb προσκυνεῖν, which is rendered in the Latin version, adorare, to adore or worship, may be easily learned from this passage. For the exposition of it we may rely on the other two Evangelists, of whom Mark says, that he fell on his knees, and Luke, that he fell down on his face The outward gesture of kneeling was exhibited by the leper as a token of reverence. Now we know, that such marks of respect were in general use among the Jews, as the people of the East are more addicted to that kind of ceremonies. Many people accordingly think, that the leper did not intend to render to Christ divine worship, but gave him a respectful salutation as a distinguished prophet of God.
I enter into no dispute as to the feelings which moved the leper to pay reverence to Christ. But I look at what he attributed to him, that he was able to cleanse him, if he were willing By these words he declared, that he acknowledged a divine power in Christ: and when Christ replies, I am willing, he shows that he claimed more for himself than belongs to man. He who, by the mere expression of his will, restores health to men, must possess supreme authority. Whether the leper believed that Christ was the Son of God, or that he had received this power in the same manner as Moses and the other prophets, he entertains no doubt that he held in his hand, and in his power, the gift of healing. True, he speaks conditionally, if thou art willing, thou art able But this is not inconsistent with that certainty of faith, which God demands in our prayers: for men ought not to expect more than God promises. The leper had not learned by any inspired communication, or any promise of God, what Christ would do. It would have been improper in him, therefore, to go beyond these limits for though we sometimes read that certain persons prayed without any condition, we ought to believe that they were guided by special movements of the Spirit, which must not be taken for a general rule. I am not even certain if we are at liberty to say, strictly speaking, that the leper offered a prayer. He only declares, that he is so fully convinced of the power of Christ, as to entertain no doubt that it is in his power to cure leprosy; and then presents himself to be healed, but uncertain as to the result, because he did not yet know the will of Christ.
3
3. Having stretched out his hand, he touched Under the Law, the touch of a leper was infectious; but as Christ possesses such purity as to repel all filth and defilement, he does not, by touching, either pollute himself with leprosy, or become a transgressor of the law. When he took upon him our flesh, he did not only deign to touch as with his hand, but was united to one and the same body with ourselves, that we might be flesh of his flesh, (Genesis 2:23.) Nor did he only stretch out his arm to us, but descended from heaven even to hell, and yet contracted no stain from it, but, retaining his innocence, took away all our impurities, and sprinkled us with his holiness. By his word alone he might have healed the leper; but he applied, at the same time, the touch of his hand, to express the feeling of compassion. Nor ought this to excite our wonder, since he chose to take upon him our flesh, that he might cleanse us from our sins. The stretching out of his hand was therefore an expression and token of infinite grace and goodness. What we indolently read, and coldly pass by, cannot be duly weighed without great astonishment. The Son of God was so far from disdaining to talk to a leper, that he even stretched out his hand to touch that uncleanness.
Thank you for your comments. Far be it from me to argue with John Calvin. It sounds to me that you are more well-studied in Scripture than I am. What I am hoping to present in my blog here is encouragement from my only resources of my Bible and the Holy Spirit's nudge in me. Personally, I hope to study Greek and read much more commentary on the Word of God someday. Today, I just offer encouragement. I hope I have not offended in making anyone believe that I have more to offer than that.
ReplyDeleteAnd that said, I appreciate your insight into these verses, especially the last point about Jesus reaching out to take our sin and absorbing it through his purity. Thank you for taking time to write.