Friday, February 24, 2017
Mark 1:43-44 As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."
THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS IS GOD'S WILL
That is our response to God's help. But more than our response, the thing that we want to focus on here as we consider that all things are possible for God is the reason why Jesus helped this man. He was moved with compassion. God's compassion, His love, His grace for us sinners is the reason behind why God hears and answers our prayers. The guarantee of this is the fact that, moved by His grace, His undeserved love, God determined to save us from sin and condemnation.
Leprosy was a terrible disease, but it only affected the body. Sin is a leprosy of body and soul. No mere man can heal our sin problem. No man deliver us from God's judgment and the eternal punishment that we deserve for sin. Only God can help us. Only God can deliver us from hell by forgiving our sins. When a paralyzed man was brought to Jesus to be healed, the first thing that Jesus said to him was, "...be of good cheer! Your sins are forgiven you" (Matthew 9:2). All of our earthly problems pale when compared to our eternal sin problem. So, we might think that the greatest priority, our greatest need, is to be delivered from some problem in this world. Our focus might be on something that I need to make my life more comfortable. But, what problem do we have that is greater than sin? What earthly comfort could we have that would make us more comfortable in hell? So God's highest priority on our list of needs is our sin problem. The greatest love that He could possibly show to us is to forgive our sins, to assure us that we will not go to hell, but to guarantee that we will go to heaven when we die. Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection are the guarantee of the love of God.
If you had a terminal illness and someone came to you and said, "What can I do for you? Anything at all?" The first response would not be, "I'd like a new car!" No, we'd say, "I'd like to be healthy!" After that, anything that we receive is an extra blessing. So it is with the leprosy of sin. God is willing that we be made clean. Jesus reached out and touched human flesh, becoming true Man, not afraid to touch our uncleanness, so that we might become cleansed of sin through Him. That is why He came into the world. That is how He wants people to know Him, as their Savior from sin.
And that is why, in our text, Jesus strictly warned the leper to say nothing to anyone about who had healed him. The leper couldn't keep his experience to himself, and we see what happened. "[The leper] went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction." Jesus did not want people to come to Him only for physical healing. He wanted them to come to Him as their Lord and Savior from sin. It was not His purpose to make our lives more comfortable in this world. He came to give us eternal life.
