Touched [Luke 5:12-16]
Last Sunday, we studied Luke 4:41-5:11, where Jesus models for us a lifestyle of faith: poured out in ministry, being refreshed through solitude with His Father, & calling other people to join Him in pouring out their lives in ministry with Him; listen to: “Are You All In?” (Nov 21, 2010) at: http://thecrossing.cfcchayward.org/sermons1009.htm. This week, we’ll continue by reading and reflecting on the next passage on your own: Luke 5:12-16.
Ever have someone you care about face a debilitating disease? Leprosy is a horrendous, painful skin condition caused by a specific kind of bacteria that first infects the nasal mucosa. It starts with red, open sores that erupt on the skin, causing intense pain & discomfort. Over time, it leads to serious nerve damage, which becomes a serious problem if you can’t feel it when you burn yourself while cooking or injure yourself while working. As a result, people living many years with this condition might horrifically cut a hand or foot, and end up losing appendages over time due to severely damaging numb, desensitized body parts. To make matters worse, there was a huge social stigma associated with the disease so when lepers needed compassion & kindness, they didn’t receive it. There were some people in the Bible (like King Uzziah in 2 Chronicles 26:16-23) who were stricken with leprosy as God’s judgment for sin, but not every leper suffered because of a particular sin in their life. But some religious people who were cruel, judgmental & unloving would proclaim that all lepers must be cursed of God and beyond mercy or hope, which made their lives even more lonely.
Imagine if you, or someone you love, seemed healthy, then one day you spot a rash developing on an arm that begins to spread. You’d be quarantined quickly for health purposes; you wouldn’t be allowed to live in the city or be part of the community anymore. You couldn’t go to the store, worship with God’s people, have meals with friends, travel freely; you’d have to live “outside the camp”, in exile. Since leprosy can be passed through sneezing, no one would want to be anywhere near you. You couldn’t hold a normal job (since you’re not allowed to be around other people), so you’d have to resort to begging. Friends & family could drop off money, food & supplies in a “safe spot”, but you’d have to come alone, later, to pick them up; no contact allowed. Leviticus 13:45-46 describes: “The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face & cry out, ‘unclean, unclean!’ as long as he has the infection, he remains unclean. He must live alone.” It was isolation, a living death… it was the AIDS, Ebola, West Nile virus, bubonic plague of its day. And it consumed your identity, because any time you were near people, as you approach, you’d have to shout: “unclean, unclean!”, and women & children would scream, and everyone would run. That’s your identity; that’s who you are to them, a leper. People would even throw rocks at lepers to drive them away. Imagine not only the physical deterioration, but the emotional devastation that accompanies leprosy
[Luke 5:12] Jesus has come on the scene, and He is at the top of His game - preaching powerfully, healing the sick, casting out demons - and he’s at the top of the charts - crowds are amazed by Him, following Him everywhere to see what’s going to happen next; He’s bigger than the Beatles… & Jesus invited some fishermen to come join Him in catching people for the Kingdom of God instead of fish, when this social outcast shows up. Dr. Luke diagnoses him as not simply a guy in the initial stages of the disease: “there came a man full of leprosy” - covered in open sores & visible bodily deterioration, possibly missing fingers & toes. And when the fellow sees Jesus, “he fell on his face” in complete humility & desperation, “and begged Him” in his hopeless (apart from the grace of God) condition. You can hear the quiver in his voice, & see the tears in his eyes: “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” He recognizes that Jesus Christ is Lord. And in this humble request & prayer of faith, he’s saying: “I worship you as Lord. You can do whatever You want, but because You are kind & loving, I’m making my request to You.”
[Luke 5:13] The crowd’s probably irate; this unclean man dares to come into the midst of the throngs of people & expose us to him? The religious leaders made up a rule (not in the Bible), that you cannot touch someone with leprosy, or else that makes you also ceremonially, ritually, religiously unclean. They could quickly turn into a mob that kicks him in his leprous face as he kneels, face down in the dirt, literally to kill him or drive him out of town. What is Jesus’ response? “Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him.” Amazing. How long do you think it’s been since anyone has touched this man “full of leprosy”, in his advanced condition of deterioration & isolation? Years? Decades? People would run from him, not walk toward him; the greatest fear people had around him was touching him. Yet Jesus touches him. He’s God, come to earth, and he doesn’t look at this man & simply say the words from a distance: “Be clean.” He could have; He’ll do just that in other circumstances of healing. In the middle of this swelling crowd of people (cf. Matt 8:1), in front of His first batch of disciples who He’s training to do ministry to serve God & people, before all the religious leaders & fans, Jesus stops teaching, stops answering questions, and for this moment, devotes all of His attention to this desperate, devastated, outcast of a man. Through a simple act of touch, Jesus shows all these people: “I love him; I’m identifying myself with him.” Jesus is willing, & immediately the fellow’s skin is healed.
[Luke 5:14] He then instructs the guy to go to the priest & make an offering, based on Biblical instruction in Leviticus 14:2-32; Jesus ignores all the goofy, made-up religious rules that aren’t in the Bible, but obeys everything in Scriptures. So the guy would have to make an appointment & go meet with a priest (a spiritual leader & mediator between God & people) outside the city / camp, to verify his healing. So here’s the process: After being examined & declared healed from leprosy by a priest, they’d take 2 birds (one for sacrifice, one to be set free) in a ceremony done over a bowl of clean water, showing that it’s God (by His grace) that cleanses. It’s very much like Yom Kippur [listen to “Family Traditions” (Oct 10, 2010) for more info on the Day of Atonement], where an act of worship & sacrifice symbolizes that you’re forgiven by God & that your sins are taken away. So the person would have to bathe (since they hadn’t bathed in a long time) & have their entire body shaved (since they were unkempt) so that they’d be like a baby, born again, given a brand-new life by God… kind of like when you become a Christian. And finally, he would be welcomed back into the community. Imagine, if he was married, not having seen his wife or held her hand for years… or if he was a dad, not being able to see his kids grow up… or not having dinner at anyone’s home, being hugged, invited to parties, etc… for years. They’d have a week-long party, celebrating, telling the story of God’s grace, & catching up. His whole identity has changed, & he will party for a week, because that’s the result of a right understanding of the work of Jesus in his life. He has a new identity as a clean person.
Yes, that healing is amazing, but let’s not miss the complete picture of what’s happening here; sometimes God uses physical healing to teach a spiritual truth. In Isaiah 1:4-6, God describes our condition of sin as being like leprosy: People are sinful; it makes us filthy & unclean… like a leper. Sin is a deep, incurable condition that deadens your spiritual nerves & separates you from real community & God; sin moves you outside His proverbial camp, & it ultimately leads to death. And God reveals that we’re sinners by nature & by choice, so because of our sin, we’re in the same position as the leper, spiritually-speaking. And deep-down, you recognize this is true. You’ve done filthy, dirty, nasty, vile things; you should be walking around shouting: “unclean, unclean!”… or you’ve had horrible, disgusting, vile things done to you, and you feel like your identity is unclean, unclean. But the truth is, Jesus puts His hand on us too, and cleanses us, just like this leper. Unlike those who’ve wounded us, Jesus reaches out to touch us in a safe way, in a loving way, in a comforting way, in a healing way. In Christ, you can be clean; in Christ, you are clean. In touching this man, Jesus takes his filth away; He gives his dignity back; the man gets a brand-new identity to go live a new life, as if he was reborn. That’s what Jesus gives; and He does it for us too. The Savior King & Lord God has come. He heals, cleanses, gives dignity & new identity… and He doesn’t do it from a distance. He does it with a loving, personal touch, no matter how unclean we are.
Reflection Questions:
(1) Have you ever felt like a leper?
When was a time that people treated you as an outsider? How did it feel? How did it hurt? Who reached out to you during your time of isolation? How did that show you what Jesus is like, how He is reaching out to touch you in safety, comfort, love, healing & redemption?
(2) Are there people you’ve rejected as lepers?
Who do you reject with your words, actions, attitude, avoidance? Who do you look at and internally scrutinize, get annoyed at, judge as dirty, filthy or someone you’d rather not associate with? Who do you avoid so you won’t be “contaminated” by their sinfulness or baggage, so you won’t be annoyed by their neediness or quirks?
(3) What spiritual leprosy do you need Jesus to cleanse in your life?
We’re all sinful by nature & by choice. How do you need Jesus to make you clean? What sins do you need to repent from… including if you’ve rejected other fellow “lepers”? What leprous old identity do you need to surrender so Jesus can give you a new identity as clean in Him?