1When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 2A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."
3Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy. 4Then Jesus said to him, "See that you don't tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them” – Matt. 8
Here is an interesting account of a miracle that is often seen as stupendous. But a closer look reveals that partial healing actually occurred.
A leper comes to Jesus and humbly asks for cleansing. The leper did not doubt Jesus’ ability to heal him, only His willingness to do so. Jesus was more than willing. He touched the man and immediately the man was made whole.
Interestingly, Jesus’ command to this man was to “tell no one” of his healing from leprosy, but instead go directly to the priest and fulfill the offering prescribed in Leviticus 14.
The man disobeyed the Lord and went and told everyone (cf. Mark 1:45). Thus, this man was healed in one way, but not in another.
Now here is the deal. People often want to come to Jesus for healing and for whatever they need to be delivered from. Jesus is the Person to come to for deliverance. But here’s the question to raise: “If you are delivered from your situation, will you then obey the One who healed you?”
The law of God given through Moses states that, when a man was healed of leprosy, then he was to go to the temple and show himself to the priests. And if, upon examination, the man indeed was healed, he was to undergo a ceremonial ritual of cleansing (Leviticus 14:1-20). Only after this ceremony had been completed by the priest could the man then be restored to the social life of his people. God taught the Jewish people, "Take heed in an outbreak of leprosy, that you carefully observe and do according to all that the priests, the Levites, shall teach you ; just as I commanded them, so you shall be careful to do" (Deuteronomy 24:8). And according to 2 Corinthians 7:1, this principle of law continues today.
You see, this man was delivered from his leprosy, but not from his disobedience. Now of course, one can hardly blame the man when you think of the excitement that came over him. How would you react? But that’s my point.
Disobedience to the Lord never has an excuse. If “excitement” is a good reason for disobedience, then Satan will keep on setting us up to receiving it. And if we disobey Jesus over our personal excitement, then what else will we use?
In this brief story, Jesus showed concern for two people: First, He showed concern and compassion for the leper. Jesus healed him. Second, Jesus showed concern for the priest. He wanted the man to go first to the priest as a testimony.
The priest had a duty to fulfill. He had to present the appropriate offerings, examine the man who claimed to be healed (many of the priests functioned like medical practitioners), and once verified shall make the public pronouncement that the man is cleansed (Lev. 14:11).
Now when the priest makes the pronouncement of being cleaned, who is he making it to? The people.
Notice in Matthew 8:4, Jesus said show yourself to the priest (singular); and then Jesus adds, “for a testimony to them” (plural). Some see the “them” referring back to the priest. But Jesus did not say “priests,” but “priest.” The “them” would refer to the people who might have heard the rumor of a miracle occurring and are now waiting for an official word from the priest.
In other words – now watch this – Jesus did want this man to tell others of what God had done for Him in healing him from his leprosy. Jesus wanted the priest to tell the people upon verification. In other words, Jesus wanted this man to go through the proper procedures and channels. Jesus is most certainly interested in glorying His Father by letting others know about such a compassionate act on the part of God. But never for the sake of disobedience. Jesus had a plan and He wanted this man to follow the law of ceremonial cleansing mentioned in Leviticus 14 for a purpose. More good would have resulted if this man did so. So Jesus, wants others to know about what God has graciously done for this man as long as the "telling" part is done through the proper channel.
We read in Mark 1:45 that Jesus could no longer enter publicly into a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas. This hindered the Lord’s ministry and it caused Him not to minister directly into cities where He could have done an even greater good. So now, people had to leave their cities and homes and find Jesus outside in deserted regions. This pose some restrictions in that not everyone was able to travel at those distances and it posed a great deal of inconvenience.
You see my point is this: Sure, we love this man’s joy, excitement and enthusiasm for having experience a divine touch from God which resulted in his healing. But his disobedience to Christ brought negative consequences on Jesus’ ministry and others.
It is important that when we come to Christ for healing and deliverance, we must be committed to obey Him fully especially if He is willing to grant our healing. Don’t use your excitement over a miracle as an excuse to do what you want to do and therefore put aside what Jesus wants you to do. What you think is right at the time, may yield unfavorable results later.
When coming to Jesus for deliverance, don’t settle for a one-sided healing. Instead, be healed completely – physically and spiritually. And the proof of spiritual healing is your obedience to the Lord.
You and I will never go wrong listening to Jesus and following His Word fully. Going through proper channels and procedures may seem like a waste of time, but God put such procedures in place for a reason. The real waste of time will occur when we don't do things God's way and the results end up being far worse.
No comments:
Post a Comment