Mat 8:1-4 “When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.””

Jesus had just completed the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. Matthew wrote that the people were astonished at His teaching, “for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes,” Matt. 7:28-29. A leper came and worshiped Him. Those with leprosy were quarantined from the rest of the people and were to have no contact. If they were on a street they were to cry out a warning to the people they might meet. Leprosy is a disease that is debilitating and deforms the whole body. It was a disease for which there was no cure. Notice his attitude as he approached Jesus, “Lord if you are willing, You can make me clean.” Several things stand out about this man. First was his humility. He made his request by saying “If you are willing.” He did not coerce Jesus, or try to make Him feel guilty but rather left the decision up to Him. James wrote that our prayers should be prayed in the Lord’s will. Time is uncertain and we need to recognize that. James 4:14-15 says, “…whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”” This attitude puts us on God’s time line and not God on ours.

Second, the leper demonstrates faith. He recognized the power of Jesus over this disease for which there was no cure. Jesus was willing and healed the leper. Following the healing of the leper, a Centurion came in behalf of his servant who was deathly ill. Jesus also healed him. Was Jesus trying to put the doctors out of business? Of course, he wasn’t! His purpose was so much greater than that. Jn. 20:30-31 “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” These things were done to confirm Jesus as the Christ and His Words as the ultimate authority, (Heb. 2:2-4). The third reaction is that the very presence of Jesus gave Him hope. In this life the leper had no hope. When he saw Jesus, his hope was restored. Read Heb. 10:23, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” Our hope is only as good as the one who makes the promise. In this case our hope is perfected through the one who cannot lie.

We have an incurable disease called sin. Everyone is infected (Rom. 3:23) and the result is death, (Rom. 6:23).Our only hope is in Christ. 2 Thess. 2:16 states, “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, in order to enjoy the hope, one has to believe in Jesus as God’s Son. Without faith it is impossible to please God, (Heb. 11:6). By our faith and obedience, (James 2), Jesus will cleanse us of our sins. “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 Jn. 1:7).