HE IS NOT AFRAID OF US
1. A convenience that we all use at one time or another is the glove.
2. In this country we have access to a variety of gloves.
3. We have gloves that are made for heavy work (hold one up).
4. We have gloves that are supposed to keep our hands warm during the winter months.
5. We even have sanitary gloves.
WE USE GLOVES BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT WE DO NOT WANT TO TOUCH OR WE WANT SOME PROTECTION FOR OUR HANDS.
A. A few moments ago we listened to a few verses from Mk. 1:40-43.
B. According to the text there was a man who had leprosy.
C. This man came to see Jesus.
D. This man was not just a leper.
E. In
Luke’s account of (
F. In other words, this was an advanced case.
G. One man has defined this disease in this way.
i). Leprosy attacked a person’s skin, blood, flesh, and bones.
ii). People with leprosy rotted away inch by inch.
iii). These people gradually lost their body parts.
H. The Bible says that the man described in Mk. 1 was fully infected with the disease.
I. He may have been a sickening sight to look at.
J. According to Mark’s account this man did three things:
K. He begged, He kneeled before the Lord, and He asked to be made “clean.”
2. The Lord’s response to this man is carefully described in the text.
3. It is said that Jesus had compassion on this person.
4. It is possible to have compassion for someone but not help them.
5. We might feel for someone but do nothing to aid them.
6. Mark noted that the Lord’s compassion was active.
A. The word translated compassion means more than we might think.
B. The construction of the passage means that Jesus was gripped with compassion.
C. Either the sight of this man, his plea for help, or both things stirred the Lord’s spirit.
D. People can be moved by what they see and or hear.
E. On this occasion Jesus was moved.
F. Seeing and hearing this man affected the Lord’s emotions.
G. This was an intense moment for Jesus.
7. According to Mk. 1:41 Jesus stretched forth His hand and touched this man.
8. The word touched is worthy of special attaention.
9. To appreciate this we need to be mindful of some background information.
10. In this culture people didn’t get closer than 18 inches to a leper.
11. If you were 17 inches from a leper you had crossed the line; you were too close.
12. If people were downwind from a leper they were to be 150 feet away.
13. One Rabbi said he would not eat an egg from a shopkeeper if a leper had used that street.
14. Other rabbis hid themselves when lepers appeared.
A. Most of us have seen been in a group where someone was sick.
B. The one who was ill hacked, coughed, or looked infectious.
C. Perhaps we heard someone say (or we ourselves said), “Stay away from me.”
D. This was what it was like with the first century lepers.
15. These people had a condition that kept them separate from the rest of the population.
16. This separation was partly based upon man made rules.
17. It also had a foundation in scripture.
18. In the book of Leviticus God provided some information about lepers.
19. This material is in Lev. 13:44-45 – READ.
A. When people get very sick they may go several days without washing their hair.
B. They may not put on fresh clothes on a regular basis.
C. Some develop what I think of as the “rumpled look.”
D. This is what Moses described.
E. People tore their clothes because they were in mourning.
F. The hair was not washed and cared for.
G. The people had to say that they were “unclean.”
20. To us this doesn’t sound like a lot of fun.
21. To the people who had leprosy the instructions in Lev. 13 were a fate worse than death.
22. In
the
23. This was not the way that the Hebrews thought and acted.
24. Life in the first century involved others.
25. In the nation of Israel the people’s lives were attached to the Israelite nation.
26. These people had a strong sense of God, family, and community.
27. Leprosy took all of these things away.
28. If you were a leper you didn’t get to go to the temple.
29. If you were not at the temple you were cut off from the Hebrew religion.
30. Lepers were cut off from their community.
31. They lost out on the family aspects of life (something that were a mainstay of life).
32. This was very serious and troubling.
33. We do not know how long the leper cured by Jesus had been a leper.
34. However long it was this man was certainly a social outcast.
35. IN SPITE OF THIS MAN’S BEING CUT OFF FROM SOCIETY HE SOMEHOW MANAGED TO COME INTO CLOSE CONTACT WITH THE LORD AND THE BIBLE SAYS THAT JESUS TOUCHED HIM.
A. These should be some of the most comforting passages in the entire bible.
B. People sometimes ask, “Will God accept me?”
C. Other say, “I don’t feel worthy. I don’t feel good about myself.”
D. “I have many sins, flaws, and weaknesses.”
E. “I am far from perfect.”
F. “I need to work some things out before I come to God.”
36. A lot of people in the world have these kinds of ideas.
37. These conclusions are not based upon the Bible.
38. Jesus of Nazareth didn’t put on a pair of gloves before touching this man.
39. Here was a man who was full of leprosy and Jesus literally touched him.
40. The Lord didn’t run to find a sterile gown and face mask.
41. Jesus saw a man who was in desperate need of help and He touched him.
42. Here was a man that no one else wanted to have contact with but Jesus reached to Him.
43. Jesus did this 2,000 years ago. A lot of time has passed. What about today?
44. The Bible gives us the answer in Heb. 13:8 – READ
45. Jesus Christ still wants to touch people.
A. The Lord is still looking for the lepers.
B. He is ready to reach out to all people.
C. No one is too unclean or stained for the Lord’s love and compassion.
D. A man who was among the worst of the worst “gripped Jesus with compassion.”
46. Because of sin every accountable person in this room needs Jesus Christ.
47. According to what we have read we can know that Jesus is ready to help each one of us.
48. He is ready to cleanse us from each and every sin in our lives.
49. The leper described in the gospels was cleansed of a temporary problem.
50. We are cleansed of a problem that has eternal consequences.
51. The Bible calls this problem sin.
52. Jesus will insure that we are freed from our sins.
53. He can take away the worst of defilements in our lives.
54. This cleansing is available and it comes with an obligation.
55. Let’s return to Mk. 1 for just a moment.
56. The man who was cured from his leprosy received an instantaneous healing.
57. This cure was not available from any human medical facility or doctor.
58. After this man was healed of this horrible disease the Lord made a request.
A. A clear account of this request is found in Mk. 1:44.
B. Jesus said “Do not tell anyone about the healing.”
C. Was this a large request?
D. The leper had been healed at no charge.
E. He received a cure that only Jesus could perform.
F. Had this man not been healed by Jesus he would have surely died with this condition.
G. His flesh would have rotted.
H. Jesus asked this man to do a very simple thing: “Do not tell anyone about this miracle.”
I. This was a very reasonable request.
59. Bearing this in mind let’s take a look at Mk. 1:43 – READ
60. Notice if you will the words “strictly charged.”
61. This expression comes from a single word in the original text.
A. This word is a very strong word. It conveys the ideas of indignation and anger.
B. In other words Jesus was upset with this man.
C. It seems that Jesus knew that this man would disobey Him.
D. Jesus apparently knew that this man would not stay silent about the miracle.
E. According to Mk. 1:45 this man did the very opposite of what Jesus said – READ.
62. This story leaves us with two very clear lessons.
63. First, Jesus is not afraid to touch us. We are not too dirty or too far gone for Him to rescue us.
64. Do have we have some ugly stains and spots in our lives that we want removed?
65. If we are a Christian these are taken away by confession to God and prayer.
66. If we are not a Christian we need to obey the gospel – FRCB.
67. After we become a Christian we have some basic obligations.
68. The man in Mk. 1 was asked to do some simple things. We have a similar responsibility.
69. When we are made free from sin we are to live as the Lord’s word describes.
70. We need to be a faithful Christian.
71. If we are cleansed by the Lord from our sins and we do not do what He says, He is angry.
72. The leper was freed from a problem that he could not solve on his own.
73. When we are freed from a problem that we cannot fix.
74. If we take the Lord’s forgiveness but do not fulfill our basic obligations we are in trouble.
75. Have we taken the Lord’s forgiveness but failed to do the things He has asked in return?
76. Are we in need of cleansing and we want that now?