"if you are willing"

Matthew 8:1-4

February 16, 2003

 

Many parts of our world can only be described as "desperate." Though we have much sophistication, technology, and wealth in the West, most of the "Two-Thirds World" lives each day in conditions defying our imagination. Hunger, disease, poverty, and deprivation of every sort are the norm with seemingly no way out of the endless cycle. I read this week in the latest issue of World about the garbage collectors of Calcutta, India. Many of their families survive on picking through garbage and recycling various items for sale or personal use. One Christian relief worker told of visiting one of their homes and being offered a slice of orange peeling to eat - an item that he realized had come from the garbage. When we read of two million people starving to death in North Korea over the past decade or millions on the African continent with the AIDS virus or tens of thousands of refugees fleeing civil war in multiple nations, it boggles our imagination. It is so mind bending that we often ignore it or doubt it or worst, deny that it happens. And yet, it is sad to say, that is our world and the wretched fallout of Adam's sin.

 

That same picture describes the world of ancient Palestine in which Jesus Christ lived. Most of the population lived from hand to mouth. A drought or famine would take its toll upon them, often with the result of many selling themselves into slavery or offering their daughters to prostitution to survive. With poor nutrition came weakened immune systems so that multitudes were subjected to the ravages of disease with nothing to abate its destruction. Desperation was part of life. As a case in point, consider that the multitude of 5000 that Christ fed had been three days in the wilderness without food in order to hear the life-giving message of Christ. Even casual reading through the Gospels brings us face to face with those that were demonized or debilitated by disease hoping for some relief. At such a time of desperation Jesus Christ entered humanity with all of its need, and demonstrated the power and grace of God for desperate people. It is against the backdrop of human misery that we often discover profound spiritual truths that affect every part of the world, as Jesus Christ intervened to give life where there was only death and hopelessness.

 

Such is the case of Christ healing the leper. No one felt more desperation in the First Century than lepers. Shunned by society, rejected by family, and ignored by the religious, lepers present a parable of the deepest spiritual woes known to mankind. It is in just that kind of setting that we find Jesus Christ bringing healing and hope, just as He continues to do in the most desperate settings of humanity. No spiritual condition lies outside both the willingness and power of Christ to transform. You may think that Christ can liberate only others but not yourself. Will you look to Christ in humility and faith even as the leper?

 

I. A humble request

 

Most New Testament scholars place the healing of the leper chronologically before the Sermon on the Mount. A look at Luke's record of this healing and the Sermon will show this to be true (5:12-16; 6:20ff). Matthew's approach and purpose was not to give a chronologically specific historical record of Christ. Luke comes much closer to this intent. Matthew, instead, wants his readers to get a good look at Jesus Christ. Who is this Christ? How does He fit into the prophetic scheme of the Old Testament Scriptures? What did He come to accomplish? What does He teach us? What is Jesus Christ like? Is Jesus Christ really the Messiah? Matthew answers these kinds of questions without bothering with chronology. That type of biographical approach was common in the First Century world though it is more unusual in our concept of detailed modern biographies.

 

But having made this point, Matthew seeks to connect Christ the Prophet that teaches the way to God with Christ the Priest that mediates the way to God. Since the Gospel writers only picked a few stories from Christ's life, it is likely that there were many lepers that were healed by Him. We certainly know of several. While the Sermon on the Mount sets forth the demands of God for which we are held accountable, the "Sermon on the Move," as Kent Hughes calls it, demonstrates the compassion of Christ for needy people [The Sermon on the Mount: The Message of the Kingdom, 263].

 

Many expositors have pointed out that the condition of leprosy offers the clearest parallel to man's sin condition apart from God's grace. And so as we consider this story we must grapple with the pictures and principles it sets forth in helping us to understand the work of Christ as our High Priest before God.

 

1. By one in desperate position

 

The opening words are really striking, "And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him." We find others coming to Christ, such as the Rich Young Ruler, and so we may consider this to be commonplace. But lepers in the First Century did not simply walk up to someone else, especially when a crowd was around. The ancients considered leprosy to be the judgment of God on a person. That was construed from God's response to the sins of Miriam, Gehazi, and Uzziah by afflicting them with leprosy. But as Christ taught concerning the blind man (John 9), illnesses and afflictions were not necessarily signs of judgment but part of human existence for which God shows forth His compassion and grace.

 

Once a man or woman was deemed leprous, he was totally abandoned by society. He had to keep his distance from others: six feet if there was no prevailing wind and over 100 feet if the wind was blowing. He also had to warn anyone in the vicinity that a leper was near by crying out, "Unclean, unclean!" Upon hearing such a cry the "normal" people of society would retreat to their homes or run away from the presence of the leper. No one dared to touch a leper either, for to do so would make a person ceremonially unclean. Anything the leper touched became unclean. So the man that came to Christ and bowed before Him broke the normal codes of society. We can only imagine that this man had watched from a distance and listened to the words of Christ. He had probably witnessed the compassion of Christ toward others. And so in a moment of abandon, he defied what everyone else might think of him and he fell before Christ. Such abandon shows the heart of a person that truly knows that Christ alone can deliver him from the burden of his soul.

 

Leprosy has been eliminated in many regions but still exists in pockets around the globe. The disease has been given a new name to tone down the stigma of leprosy. In 1871-1873 G. A. Hansen discovered an organism that caused leprosy, so the name was changed to "Hansen's Disease," for the mycobacterium leprae that he found. There is considerable debate in scholarly circles on whether or not every case of leprosy found in the Bible is Hansen's disease. But no doubt exists in the case of the leper of our text since Palestine's First Century had ample cases of Hansen's disease. Though there are many different variations of leprosy, at its basic root the mycobacterium leprae anesthetizes the leper's body so that he has no sensations to protect him from self-inflicted destruction. Cases are documented of leper's picking up objects from fires, walking across splintered glass, gripping shovel handles with protruding nails and working all day in that position without realizing the harm being done to the body. Missionary doctor Paul Brand, whose work with lepers is legendary, explained it like this: Hansen's disease "only numbs the extremities. The destruction follows solely because the warning system of pain is gone." He goes on to explain that the routine of life takes its toll upon lepers by cuts, burns, bruises, sprains, broken bones, all without any consciousness by the leper that it has happened. Consequently, he continues with open, festering wounds, or limps on twisted legs, and gradually becomes disfigured and repulsive to others [quoted by John MacArthur, MacArthur's New Testament Commentary: Matthew, II, 7-8]. 

 

So approaching Jesus Christ was a man from whom eyes would have turned due to the repulsive nature of this grotesque figure limping to Christ. The crowd's sense of smell would have recoiled at the odor of rotting flesh. Their ears would hear the distinctly raspy voice calling out, "Unclean, unclean!" No one would dare to help him - except Jesus Christ. In spite of his plight, the leper believed that Christ could help him so he cast aside all restraint and "bowed down before Him," as though a humble servant bows before his King. What if his pride had kept him back? Or what if he feared what others would say about him or even do to him for such a bold move? Let us learn a lesson from this poor leper that the way to Christ is the way of humility, as we cast aside the pride and self-importance that enslave us, and humbly, reverently yield to Christ.

 

2. Offered without presumption

 

There's something remarkable in the tone of that raspy voice before Christ, as the leper made his plea. "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." There is the suggestion in the language that he repeated this plea, perhaps doing so with every struggling step toward Christ. He made no demand upon Jesus Christ. He did not say, "Lord, You must heal me of my infirmity!" He dared not presume upon the divine will in thinking that Christ was obligated to assist him. He attached a condition to his plea: "if You are willing." That "if" stood between the leper and deliverance from his impossible condition. Maybe others stood in the distance and wondered if Christ would apply some balm to their lives, but the leper petitioned Christ himself. He did not presume to know what Christ would do. The fact that the Lord had healed others did not mean that He would choose to heal the leper. It was certainly not that the leper doubted the power of Christ to heal him for he asserted, "You can make me clean."

 

I found that little "if" to be a much needed remedy to the arrogance in our day. Many think that the Lord owe them something, so they make demands upon Him as though there is an obligation on the part of God to satisfy the whims of humanity. And when the Lord does not do what they want they become angry with Him. Some branches of Christianity even teach people to be demanding of God in areas of healing or finances. The result is that many are angry with God when He does not answer their demand, maybe even some among us. And for what reason are we angry? It is because we presume that God owes us what we desire because we have an exaggerated view of ourselves and a low view of God. But we have transgressed His law. We have spurned His tenderness time and again, and worn upon the divine patience by our obstinate ways. And yet when a need arises in our lives we demand that God do something to satisfy us so that we can continue living according to our own desires. I think that the leper was a very good theologian for he did not presume upon Christ's will while still affirming Christ's power and ability in his need. That is why he approached the Lord in humility. Have you looked to the Lord with such humility that does not presume upon the divine will?

 

II. A merciful response

 

The response of Christ gives us insight on His dealing with sinners in every age. That which was impossible with men - healing a leper - was possible with the Lord and that which was repulsive to men - the leper - was loved by Christ the Lord. Just as Christ showed compassion to the leper to raise him from his hopelessness, He does the same with us in our hopelessness due to sin.

 

1. He touches

 

One can almost imagine the crowd looking on this scene with both horror and wonder. The repulsive figure kneeling before Christ had nothing to offer Jesus other than a body and mind that had been wrecked by a hideous disease. But the poor leper asserts, "You can make me clean." We do no injustice to the text by insisting that the leper saw that it was Christ alone that could make him clean. Centuries before, King Jehoram reacted to Naaman the Syrian that came to him for healing, as Naaman delivered a note from his master requesting that the king of Israel heal his servant. Jehoram tore his clothes and replied, "Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man is sending word to me to cure a man of his leprosy?" Just as Jehoram could not heal the man neither could anyone else (II Kings 5). But the leper believed that Christ could heal him, he just did not know if he would.

 

The certainty came as "Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him." The Greek favors the idea, not of a touch with the tip of a finger but of Christ grabbing this pitiful creature and taking hold of him with a grip of eternal love. To touch a leper would make a person unclean, according to the ceremonial law. But Jesus illustrated that it was not what was outside the person that makes him unclean but that which is in his heart (15:16-20). Don Carson comments, "By touching an unclean leper, Jesus would become ceremonially defiled himself (cf. Lev 13-14). But at Jesus' touch nothing remains defiled. Far from becoming unclean, Jesus makes the unclean clean" [The Expositor's Bible Commentary: Matthew, I, 198].

 

John Calvin calls this "an expression and token of infinite grace and goodness" Calvin's Commentaries, XVI, 374]. Divine compassion extends to sinners. Consider yourself at this point. Look at the compassion of Christ shown to you. Think of your own unworthiness of divine favor and yet the God of all compassion extended His hand to touch you with a grip of eternal love. There's something of the picture of the Incarnation in this scene. He that is totally pure and holy, who knows nothing of sin blackening His heart, left the glory of heaven to become one of us - touching the foulness of humanity but not becoming Himself defiled. Instead, the unclean that He touches become clean by His compassionate work.

 

2. He wills

 

It is amazing that men presume to know the divine will without any qualms or questions. Some of the things that are asked for in prayer, even demanded of God are done without thought of the divine will. This certainly does not suggest that we should fear praying boldly as we have been commanded to do (Heb 4:14-16). We are not to pray carelessly. But we are to pray with a consciousness of seeking to know the divine will. Jesus taught us to pray, "Your will be done, on earth as in heaven." There is to be the longing in each of us to see God's will done in each life. When we pray for those things that we do not have clear Scriptural promise, then we must seek to know God's will or pray with the humble caveat, "Your will be done." What does that mean to the one that is praying? It means that even if the Lord does not meet that request then we as the suppliant will submit to His will and gladly trust His wisdom and compassion in light of our need. This caveat of "Your will be done" is not to be a trite phrase added to our praying but a consciousness of submission to the divine will for our lives. We are willing to trust the gracious wisdom of the Lord and to submit ourselves to continuing obedience.

 

The leper had such an attitude. He bowed in reverence to Christ. Whether he was actually worshiping or simply paying respect to Christ, we do not know. But his language shows one that was unusually conscious that he was unworthy of the goodness of God, yet because God is compassionate he could boldly appeal to the gracious willingness of the Lord to cleanse him from leprosy. "Lord, if you are willing, You can make me clean." The hand stretched and gently held firmly this poor man, and then the words brought immediate relief, "I am willing; be cleansed." William Hendriksen declares, "Here the will joins the power, and the subtraction of "if" conjoined with the addition of "Be cleansed" transforms a condition of hideous disease into one of hardy health" [New Testament Commentary: Matthew, 392].

 

No sweeter words were ever heard by mortal ear than those of Christ to the hopeless leper, "I am willing; be cleansed," unless, of course, it is the similar words that you've heard in your own heart when Christ met your plea for mercy. What impresses us in this phrase is the willingness of Christ to deliver the desperate. The hesitancy is certainly not on the part of Christ but in the mind of the one that thinks his condition too much for the power of Christ or his sin too great for the mercy of Christ. Hear the words of Jesus Christ, you who think that Christ will not meet you with the same compassion and power that the leper found. "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out" (John 6:37, italics added). So come to Christ, with all of your weightiness of sin and burden of heart, come to Him and discover that He will not reject you. "I am willing; be cleansed," He told the leper. Would Christ do any less for you that would humble yourself before Him, and appeal to Him for saving mercy to cleanse you from sin and make you whole before God?

 

3. He commands

 

It is interesting that the leper does not state, "If you are willing, You can heal me." That would certainly be true but he felt more than the weight of the physical. Leprosy separated a man from the worship of God in Israel. Lepers were not welcome to the Temple or for times of sacrifice and prayer. So this man viewed his leprosy as more than a physical need. It was a spiritual need as well, a need for cleansing and restoration to wholeness so that he might be part of the covenant community. Christ's words brought him that relief, "I am willing; be cleansed." The command displayed the ultimate authority of Christ to declare a man whole. "Be cleansed," meant no more separation from God's people, no more absence from the worship of the Lord.

 

That is precisely what the gospel of Christ speaks to our own spiritual need. When you begin to truly feel the weight of your sinfulness before God, and your separation from the presence of God, "be cleansed," lifts the burden of sin from your shoulders and liberates you into the presence of the Lord. Christ can declare us cleansed because He has provided all that is necessary to cleanse us. The leper bore in his body the leprae bacteria; Christ took it away. The sinner bears enmity with God in his soul; Christ bore the enmity in His own body on the cross and took it away. That which separates you from God, Christ Himself bore in the radical act of atonement at Calvary, so that all that come to Him, He can declare, "Be cleansed!" Do you know that cleansing command of Christ by the Holy Spirit's witness in your own heart?

 

4. He accomplishes

 

We may be sometimes accused of being all talk and no action, but not Jesus Christ. When He speaks, the authority of His utterance accomplishes what He commands. No bacteria can withstand His command; no stronghold of sin can last at His command. "And immediately his leprosy was cleansed." Before the eyes of this man whose skin had thickened, ulcerated, and scaled he suddenly became a whole man. Those hands that were twisted and distorted by multiplied accidents caused by numbness were suddenly made whole. Feeling returned to his hands and feet. He could stand erect. He could feel the wonderful sensations of movement. He could now be touched and touch others. Christ willed, commanded, and accomplished it all!

 

The leper provides us a close parallel to the work of Christ in our own hearts. To be in Christ is to be a new creation, with the old patterns, habits, and ways of sin gone, and everything now new (II Cor 5:17). To be in Christ is to now hear His voice and to follow Him gladly, obediently, and faithfully (John 10:4-5, 27). To be cleansed by Christ is to remove all of the old condemnation felt by the law's demands and to have the conscience made clean and whole by the blood of Christ so that you can now serve Christ instead of sin (Rom 8:1; Heb 9:14; Rom 6:17-18). To be in Christ is to know that you are now righteous before God, and therefore at peace with Him that is the Eternal Judge (Rom 5:1).

 

Conclusion

 

Have you humbled yourself before Christ, and appealed to His compassion to cleanse you from your sin? What hinders you from looking to Christ? Is it your pride or your feeling of hopelessness? See the abandon of the leper as he came to Christ. Do likewise, and find that Christ receives sinful men and cleanses them forever.

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